Just not up to Iain Banks usual high standard of story-telling.

The quality of writing is (as usual) superb however the story jumps from one thing to another and the book never quite knows what it wants to be (shades of war, thriller, horror and even erotic novels creep in at various points).

As a read you hope for the turning point where everything switches in favour of the heroes (if indeed they are that) but it never really comes which served only to disappoint me culmonating in a rather depressing read.

I’m a fan of Banks’ literary fiction but if you’re looking for Banks at his best, look toward The Wasp Factory or The Crow Road.

You have been warned.

I love Iain Banks’s science fiction books, and I love his literary fiction even more. There is something beatiful about the vicious clarity with which he perceives the world. I highly recommend this novel. (8/21/04)