ONE of the acclaimed science fiction novels by the late Scottish writer Iain Banks is to be made into a major television series by Amazon.

Consider Phlebas, the first of the 'Culture' novels, is to be seen for the first time on screen for the company's video streaming service.

The novel was first published in 1987, and introduced readers Banks' science fiction universe, which centres around the Culture, his largely Utopian vision of a highly advanced, post-scarcity socialist society.

Banks, who published his science fiction novels under the name Iain M. Banks, died in 2013 but his estate is to be attached to the project as executive producers.

It is to be adapted for the screen by Plan B Entertainment, which was founded by the actor Brad Pitt and has been behind films including World War Z, 12 Years a Slave, The Big Short and Moonlight.

It will be adapted by the writer Dennis Kelly, the British writer who co-wrote Matilda and created the Channel 4 conspiracy thriller Utopia.

No cast has yet been revealed, or where it will be shot.

Consider Phlebas largely takes place in outer space and on a desolate planet.

Kelly said: "Iain Banks has long been a hero of mine, and his innate warmth, humor and humanism shines through these novels.

"Far from being the dystopian nightmares that we are used to, Banks creates a kind of flawed paradise, a society truly worth fighting for—rather than a warning from the future, his books are a beckoning."

People in the Culture largely live in huge artificial planets, large spaceships called GSVs, and can change sex and appearance at will.

Amazon said that Consider Phlebas would be a "kinetic, action-packed adventure on a huge canvas.

"Consider Phlebas draws upon the extraordinary world and mythology Banks created in the Culture, in which a highly advanced and progressive society ends up at war with the Idirans, a deeply religious, warlike race intent on dominating the entire galaxy."

The story focusses on Horza, an agent given the mission of finding a missing 'Mind', an artificial intelligence many times more powerful than any human brain.

Sharon Tal Yguardo, head of scripted series at Amazon Studios, said: "The story of the Culture is so rich and captivating that for years Hollywood has been trying to bring this utopian society to life on the screen.

"We are honored that we have been chosen, along with Dennis Kelly and Plan B Entertainment, to make Consider Phlebas into a television series we think will be loved by fans for years to come.”

A statement for Plan B said: "We revere the work of Iain Banks and continue to be moved by his inimitable spirit and his commitment to imagining a better future even in the darkest of times.

"Consider Phlebas, simultaneously explores the deepest questions concerning humanity and our future.

"We are so grateful to the Estate of Iain Banks for the opportunity to bring his work to life, and to Amazon for the scope of their ambition to building Iain’s prescient world.”