Good, interesting, but not a page-turner.

I'm a fan of Iain Banks's novels since The Wasp Factory, and am well used to the range of subjects and storylines that he created. I must confess that I'm a bit bemused by this one. It's more of a mood piece than many of the others; nothing weird, no great twists. It creates its' own world, with characters coming and going, countries being visited, and business practices being discussed. You don't need to understand the latter, I'm glad to say. The lead is a woman who has her outlook on life, which doesn't really change, well not until the very end when suddenly it does. Maybe it was just me and everyone else would have seen it coming. It felt tacked on, but others may feel differently.
Harriet Kershaw did a good job of the narration, although my wife said she didn't like her voice. Kershaw managed to show a good range of accents, and her male voices (unlike some other female attempts at them) were good and didn't resort to almost comical tones. She didn't need to inject real pace at any point of the storyline, but always conveyed a suitable mood.
I'm not sure who to recommend this book to. It's not a clearly male novel, with it's woman lead and non-stereotypical business types, but it's definitely not a chick-lit book either (yes, I know women read all sorts of other books as well, my wife is one of them). I think maybe Banks was exploring a range of things with this novel; I'd be intrigued to read any comments he has made about it. Have a listen if it touches your interests, but don't expect a page-turner in any respect.

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Yet another good read

Another collection of great ideas beautifully woven together by a master word smith.
I love Banks sci,fi work and although this is definitely not sci fi, it is a lovely read with all his imagination and his wonderfully sense of humour.
Oh Mr Banks the literary world is missing one of its brightest stars, it was far too early for you to leave us.

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4 people found this helpful

Fabulous!

An excellent story (well, it's Iain Banks so say no more) really brought to life by the superb narration of Harriet Kershaw--a wonderfully gifted narrator who I will be seeking out for further titles.

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Typical Banks

A typical Iain Banks novel. As with several others it involves a large gathering at a big house, although this appears nearer the beginning.

On reservation is that during discussions between an American woman and a Scottsh women, the accents blend into one another

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2 people found this helpful

2D characters and clichés all the way

I can't remember why I chose this book, perhaps it was critics reviews or in the sale but admittedly it's not my usual fare.

Even with that in mind though I think it's poorly written. Very poorly written and simplistic, no depth to characters at all. At no point was I looking forward to starting the next part, I just slogged through it slowly. I would have returned it but it was in a deal of some sort so couldn't I think.

The narrator does an ok job with what's been given to her but it's not enough to make this book good.

Maybe I got confused about the authors name. Aren't there two Iain Banks..? Who knows! I'll choose more carefully in the future.

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Disappointing

As a big fan of Ian Banks (especially the Culture novels) I was very disappointed by this dull and ultimately pointless story.

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The worst Banks book I have read

The story itself is not that bad, but the voice acting is very difficult to listen to. When she reads male charachters she sounds like 2 kids in a trench coat trying to get in a bar.

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pants!

inane rubbish, no redeeming qualities whatsoever, awful characterisation, childish plot and conclusion left so open presumably for another book sale.

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