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Summary: Wasp Factory Eclipsed by Tense and Dangerous Thriller
Review: Iain Banks - you've done it again. Take this book home and if you are a person willing to ride the wave of conspiracy, murder and exacting revenge - this is the story for you. We are introduced to a self-obsessed, depressive and slightly intriguing Scottish Journalist, who is on the highlands newspaper squad. Immediately, and soon into the book, we can see that this poor Hack has a difficult story coming up. Someone is giving leads, tips and ideas that suggest trouble is brewing. Step further into the book and you have a cleverly YOU vs ME narrative. If read with full attention, you are drawn into the novel and experience a certain disturbing "I am there" feeling. The pace is excellent, and Bank's ease with mod cons combined with thrilling storytelling provides a "can't put it down" scenario. The ending is slightly predictable, which lets the novel down, but it is still an exciting climax. There are moral questions throughout and the author paints a frank picture, leaving no controversial moment to our own imagination. This book confirms Bank's place in history as a truly remarkable author. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: A tight, disturbing read
Review: Iain Banks has lost the plot recently - buy this to see him at his best. This was far and away the most coherent of his books (having said that, some of the wilder ones were great fun - The Crow Road is a good example of that), and it's the one in which he nails his imagination to a solid plot. The result is thought-provoking and compelling.
Rating: 
Summary: Uggh...
Review: Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of Banks' sci-fi work. I'm as big a fan as they come, and his sci fi is as good as it gets. The characterization, desciptions, plot, action, dialogue, all of it is outstanding. Imagine my surprise and dismay, then, to find that this book seems to have been written by someone else. Sure, the dark tone is there, but the character is unsympathetic, the plot is mush, and the setting is tepid. Maybe I've been spoiled by his over the top space opera, but this was a total waste of time. You may disagree...
Rating:
Summary: Swings you from revulsion to agreement
Review: Like most of his books, this one makes you think. The basic theme, of people meeting their death by means of the same way they brought death or suffering to others, has one torn between feelings of disgust and agreement. Terrific book all round, one of his best
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Summary: thriller psicologico de gran inteligencia y eficacia
Review: Me ha gustado mucho esta novela de Iain Banks, al margen de la interesante trama detectivesca muy a lo Hitchcock, lo más interesante del libro es su inteligente sentido de la composición. Me explico: la dosificación de las noticias que se nos van suministrando sobre los asesinatos corre pareja con la aproximación a la vida, trabajo, soledad y frustración (adicción) de Cameron Colley. En ese sentido, es perfecta la dosificacion del material narrativo, pues lo que al principio es "sólo" un thriller apasionante se cconvierte, al cabo, en una dolorosa indagación en la vida, miserias y carencias de su protagonista. Junto a ello , no querría dejar pasar de lado el hecho de que la novela esté escrita en presente, alternado la primera y segunda persona, esa secuenciación cinematográfica, asfixiante en ocasiones, resulta de una tremenda eficacia al margen de su dificultad, muy bien sorteada por Banks. Como trasfondo, la Gran Bretaña hastiada de thacherismo, la crisis de valores de un juventud desarraigada, el trasfondo político de una historia detectivesca que trasciende con mucho el genero: una buena novela. En español está disponible en la Editorial Mondadori.
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Summary: Banks the Best author from Scotland, or even the UK .
Review: Sick, violent, naughty and sexy, this book is only for the strong stomached. This is a superb thriller based around a series of murders in Britain. The basis for this is in Edinburgh, where a reporter of the Caledonian Newspaper ( a parody of the Scotsman) goes on the trail of the murderer, but ends himself being implicated for them. I found that this book was deliciously in bad taste, but it leaves you with a good aftertaste. After reading this give the "Crow Road" a try. It is hard to get hold of in the States but it is worth getting it.
Rating: 
Summary: Awful
Review: Surely there is a law against prose like:'It's a Finnish hunting knife, which you think is pretty appropriate since you've used it to finish him off.' About a year ago I read an article in which I discovered that Iain Banks spends nine months of every year haring around Scotland and having a great time, then uses the remaining three months to write a book. As you would expect, a writer who produces novels as a filler between long periods of hedonistic gallavanting is unlikely to output anything of quality. Hence: Complicity. It's difficult to convey in this space the awfulness of Banks' prose, the vacuousness of his ideas, the masturbatory content. The book reads like a cross between FHM and a supermarket mystery novel. Avoid.
Rating:
Summary: The complex world in Complicity.
Review: The book complicity is one of Iain Banks finest and most enjoyable book in his life as a writer. It pivots around a some what mysterious beginning when a journalist called Cameron Colley is seen as being a rapist, murder and a phycotic killers, although is this the case. Throughout the book you are lead through many tunnels which all lead to Cameron Colley suppossedly being framed. The police follow Cameron,keeping a close eye on his movements. But do they find what they are looking for so they can catch the mad killer. Complete bliss!
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Summary: This is out of print? Why?
Review: The fact that Iain Banks isn't more widely read in this country is almost criminal and this book just emphasizes how wrong that is. Easily one of the best books of its' year, of any year, for that matter, at first glance it seems to be a standard thriller/mystery, with the unlikable (somewhat) journalist at its core, and some weird murders. But Banks spins a plot that's so knotty you miss the obvious, like the best mysteries the solution makes you go "Why didn't I see that?" Plus his command of the language is heads and shoulders above anyone else around, the characters seem to have more than three dimensions, the flashbacks literally tingle with realism, you don't read this story as much as you're drawn into it. Fortunately it's fairly short, or you'll find yourself neglecting family and friends trying to finish it in one sitting. It's quite possible. And yes, there are some brutal moments but the scary part of it is that it's nothing worse than you'll have read in your local newspaper. And the ending is nigh perfect, as good as they come. Having read Banks' science-fiction books I wasn't sure what to expect from his "regular" fiction but except that one genre has spaceships and ray guns, there's little difference, it's the same top quality. Read anything with this guy's name on it and harass the publishers until we get more of this guy's book in this country. You'll be glad for it.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic mix of Black Comedy and Thriller.
Review: The first non SF Banks book I read, it contains all the ingredients of a classic thriller; Corruption, several brutal murders, and a flawed central character with a sense of alienation. In common with his other work, of both genres, it illuminates the dark side of peoples's consciousness whilst exploring their emmotional frailties. Unique humour, blended with tragic and macabre circumstances, has become a hallmark of Banks' work. Comic highlights include the apparent house break-in, resembling the previous murders, that transpires to be Cameron Collie's on-going sado-masochistic relationship with his friend's wife, and throughout the novel his attitudes to just about everyone he meets. The eventual unmasking of the killer is both shocking and thought provoking and leads to a gripping conclusion that leaves the reader feeling both entertained and satisfied.
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