Iain Banks
1 Alright for Iain Banks
I thought this book was very well put together until the very end where it seems like the main character's personality seems to unravel and ceases to be strong as she appears to be in the majority of a book.
2 Enjoyable ride, plot largely irrelevant
Such enjoyable and easy to read prose. Banks feels so comfortable and natural in what he's talking about, although he could easily sound nerdy or as if he's trying to show off with so many contemporary technology references.
There's a bit of a background thriller plot of some covert illuminati 'Business' of vast wealth, power and history, but it is largely that, just background. The foreground is the ramblings and reflections of the central character, a technology investment advisor in her late 30s. She's smart and won't compromise her views to flatter anyone, despite stating them with wit and respect. We get to like her and some of her close friends, and are buoyed along by settings and activities of outrageous extravagance and opulence.
I found the thriller ending a bit unconvincing: I suspect Banks doesn't want to insult his readers by spelling it out too much (something which makes him far more enjoyable to spend time with that the usual blunt Clancy's et. al), but the crucial 'clue' to me seemed pretty weak. Also our heroine seemed foolish in her final confrontation - just created a powerful foe without giving herself any protection as far as I could see.
But if we leave the thriller conclusion aside (which we can with Banks), the ride is quite enjoyable enough on its own. There's a bit of the 'noble savage' myth happening with the visit to a poorer country, but it's still interesting that he even bothers to juxtapose the two worlds. Banks seems to enjoy playing with cool characters with massive wealth and power, the most extreme I've seen being the 'culture' of some of his excellent SF novels (when he adds his middle initial 'M' to differentiate), but it's also there with his millionaire bassist in Espedair Street.
3 Well Written But Uninvolving
'The Business' is an extremely well written novel, and I managed to get through it without too much of a problem. However I can't say I enjoyed it that much. It was a little too wordy for my liking and the central character, Kate Telman, was not altogether likeable.
I think it would perhaps transfer to television as a mini-series more effectively than as a stand alone literary work.
4 Not Banks' best by a long shot
It's been said of the "Star Trek" movies that one should avoid the odd-numbered ones and see only the even-numbered. I'm not sure that such a rule applies to Iain Banks- but if it did, "The Business" would definitely belong in the odd-numbered category.
"The Business" presupposes the existence, since pre-Christian times, of a commercial concern which, without being the Freemasons, the international conspiracy of Judaism, or the Bavarian Illuminati, has managed to outlast, out-earn and out-entrench any or all of the above. Its protagonist, a mid-upper-level executive in this merito-bureaucracy (female, self-made, of humble Scottish origins), is a character with whom it becomes increasingly difficult to identify- neither sufficiently conflicted to be interesting on that count nor hubristic enough to topple satisfactorily.
On top of which, nothing much actually happens in the course of the book. A vague threat to the Business is resolved via minor automotive violence, every thread that could have led to an interesting conspiracy theory is cut off short, and all ends happily (we must assume) for our heroine, but the bottom line is- who cares? If I hadn't started this book on a transatlantic flight, with a predisposition to like its author, it's unlikely I'd have finished it. Banks' skill as a storyteller is sufficient to warrant a two-star rating- the story itself gets nothing.
5 Surprisingly- for Banks- even-keeled and mild
If I were inclined to find a quick description of Iain Banks' "The Business", it might well be " 'The Firm' on Prozac." Like the protagonist of Grisham's novel, Kate Telman- the main character of "The Business"- works for a decidedly low-profile but very influential organization, in which she has great prospects. But the comparison ends there.
Based on Banks' other fiction- "Complicity", "Against a Dark Background"- the reader would be forgiven for expecting Kate's carefully-ordered world to be in tatters at the end of the novel. Happily for her- but somewhat less so for the power and effect of Banks' novel- this never actually happens: despite its global reach, ambitions toward statehood, and presumably vast power, The Business is apparently a benign organization; the car accident affecting her uncle, a highly-placed Business executive, never turns out to be more than that; and Kate's uncovering of illicit maneuverings at the highest levels of the enterprise have an ultimately innocuous result. It also sports about the closest thing any Banks book has ever had to a happy ending.
After the reader gets over the fact that the other shoe doesn't exist, much less that it's not going to drop, "The Business" is a reasonably entertaining read. In some ways, given the much more eventful but more depressing ends of "Complicity", "Consider Phlebas", and other novels, it's refreshing to close a Banks book with the majority of characters neither dead, bereft or outcast. However, it doesn't seem to make for nearly as good a story...
6 pretty good...
The reality that Banks portrays in 'The Business' is no less strange than those of his sci-fi novels; this really is science fiction set in the present. But it is Banks's brand of science-fiction; the characters are deep and fascinating, neither good nor evil, and the plot at times verges on the unbelievable but is skillfully carried to the end of the novel, before collapsing into nothingness in a way readers of Banks's Sci-fi will recognise. It is usually at this point that you realise that what you've been reading is not really a story with a plot as such, but a cleverly disguised desription of places and people and, in this case, a secret society predating the Christian Church. As with a lot of Banks, it's best to sit back and enjoy the world and characters he creates; what happens along the way is almost incidental.
Not brilliant, but enjoyable nonetheless.
7 Bland...check his other titles instead.
Without simply regurgitating what other reviews have said, for me it basically comes down to this: the book was boring. Sure, there can be slow parts for pacing of a storyline but the "slow part" lasted through the first half or more.
I REALLY like this author, but check the classic Wasp Factory or Song of Stone...those books are engaging and interesting.
8 Doin' ' The Business '
This is by no means his best writing however it's a much better book than it lets on to be and unlike a previous reviewer I rather liked the fact that we get hardly any insight into the mechinations of ' The Business .'
Telman's character is believable and it's an interesting enough journey she takes us on albeit a little too superficial. Once again though Mr. Bank's can't quite capture the nuance and timber of North American dialogue in spite of his brilliant skills in so many other ways.
9 Promised a lot, yet delivered a little.
He is one of modern fiction's most original and inventive writers, but this time Iain Banks has gotten lazy with "The Business".
He creates the menacing, powerful and secretive organization known only as "The Business", then spends the entire novel not talking about it! Sure - we don't need to know EVERYTHING, but why make it the premise (and title) of the novel and then studiously avoid any details?
The main character, Kate, has some very interesting moral decisions to make, but the book is spent with her deciding to decide to decide on her decision. When she FINALLY makes her choices on her various interesting dilemmas the book is over!
I would have preferred to see Kate make her moral choices early (like say - in the first 100 pages), then see the CONSEQUENCES of her actions. Good drama is almost always about the decisions people make, right or wrong, and how people deal with the results.
Don't write Banks off though. I prefer: "The Use of Weapons", "The Player of Games" or "Whit".
10 This is a good book!
The story is entertaining. The commentary is alternately scathing and profound. There's a salient and relevant lesson in the end. You should read this.
11 Lousy
I found this book to be far too predictable and, to be honest, quite boring. Though Mr. Banks is undoudtedly a fine writer, it seems as though he 'phoned it in' on this outing. At times it feels as if the story is heading in the right direction -particularly near the end - but then it hits a brick wall. I found the ending of the story very bland. What happened to Kathryn? What about Hazleton? All in all, a let down.
12 Dark literary noodling
Other reviewers have criticized The Business for not having a strong plot. There's some validity to this, but at the same time this is somewhat beside the point: the book is all about lush description and ambiguous emotion. It's a very atmospheric novel, it plays deep chords on our own ambitions and aspirations. In The Business, Banks is perhaps exploring the early pre-history of The Culture that he develops in his science-fiction novel.
There are more than a few similarities to Whit, without being repetitious.
13 Plot? What plot?
Smooth writing, rapid pace, wonderful characters; all in all a really fun book--but it has a plot that wouldn't hold up a novella. Hell, I'm not even sure what the plot was supposed to be. Maybe buying a third-world country? But that always seemed to be in the background. The conspiracy thing? It dissapeared for a few hundred pages in the middle of the book. I don't know. It was fun, but when I get to page 300 and ask myself what the plot is, I think there's a problem.
Why three stars, then? As I said, for sheer mechanics (other that plot) and readability it's a wonderful novel. And, as other Banks fans will attest to, even his occasional sub-par outing is better than most of the dross out there.
As to the question of why Banks doesn't have the status in the States that he does in the UK, I would suggest it is the fact that he never does the same thing twice and that his books are, more often than not, somewhat downbeat. I don't think his SF output is responsable for this--in fact, all of his SF books have been published in the US, while many of his mainstream work has yet to make the transition (ie. Walking on Glass, Canal Dreams, Espedair Street, Crow Road, Whit). Also, he published three mainstream novels before Consider Phlebas (his first published SF), so any image of him as an author trying to escape SF is a misconception--moreover, he has stated that if he had to choose between mainstream and SF, he would choose the later.
All his novels are still in-print in the UK, so if you're a Banks fan, go help Amazon.com's sister company.
14 Get this book as fast as you can!
This book was sooo good. Iain Banks has created a heroine for even the most accomplished woman. If only women got roles like this in the movies. Kudos to the author for creating Kate, a truly cosmopolitan character that epitomizes what we wordly women truly aspire to be: savvy and mysterious, smart and powerful, fun and heroic. I read this book while I was in London years ago and to this day, this book inspires me. A fast read, a wonderful read. So much fun. I highly recommend this book!
15 Get this book as fast as you can!
This book was sooo good. Iain Banks has created a heroine for even the most accomplished woman. If only women got roles like this in the movies. Kudos to the author for creating Kate, a truly cosmopolitan character that epitomizes what we wordly women truly aspire to be: savvy and mysterious, smart and powerful, fun and heroic. I read this book while I was in London years ago and to this day, this book inspires me. A fast read, a wonderful read. So much fun. I highly recommend this book!
16 Strong, but never breaks the shackles of pot-boiler status
Banks is strangely not known that well in America. After a long series of novels all over the map, he still doesn't get the kind of play that you might think he would. I think that has to do with his SF beginnings, and the bias here against writers who've come out of that mold, regardless of the subjects they chose. And in "The Business" he sets his sights on another genrified topic- the big international conspiracy consortium. This choice is his unfortunate mistake, because he nevers gets ahead of the game in subverting this tried and true form.
While Banks attempts in many ways to improve on the likes of Robert Ludlum, this book becomes another one of its type. The flair that it does show is in the narative. The female lead has a good strong voice. This is swallowed up by the subject matter, though. The plot is not so ho hum as I make it sound- but I felt that someone as accomplished of Banks would break the shackles of the page-turner form with this. So while it is suitable for the beach, or the airplane, it isn't going on my shelf.
17 Disappointing and Feeble Plot
Having worked in a major corporation all my life, I agree that there is a great deal of jostling and maneuvering, back-stabbing and downright silliness in many strategic plans, but I nevertheless found The Business novel to be a feeble and weak take on the realities behind the scenes. Kate's voice comes across as written by an author obviously making up for his lack of solid personal experience in the business world with an abundance of mundane cliches, boring personal involvements and buzzwords to be found in any business magazine. Any wit in the Business inevitably also takes on a contrived feeling. My suggestion to anyone looking for a book grounded in personal experience, sharp satire, wit and humor revealing the realities of life in high-tech corporations, is to turn to the skillfully written episodes in "MANAGEMENT BY VICE" instead....And you'll get a candid, worthwhile eye-opener that won't disappoint!
18 Grippiong Stuff
This is an excellent read that kept me rivetted to it and desperate to get an opportunity to carry on reading when I had to stop (I was reading it on the train, the bus, and even at my desk in my lunchbreak).
The business is an ancient shadowy organisation that has strange things going on inside it that go all the way to the top. The hero(ine) is an unwitting pawn in some of this and you move through a twisty maze of cluse to the denouement.
19 Not The Best Banks but Worth The Read
Iain Banks has proven himself a master of various genres including science fiction, fantasy and plain old fiction. The Business is his latest contribution to the "regular" fiction genre. And Banks does not disappoint.
The Business follows the life of a woman who works for "the business," an age-old company shrouded in mystery. Without revealing plot or storylines, let me just assure that Banks continues to do all the things he does so well - excellent character development, mystery and intrigue, excellent storytelling and settings and an overriding sense of morality that seems to guide most of the characters in his novels. Again Banks proves why he deserves such respect as an insightful and innovative author.
Frankly the only reason why I can't give The Business five stars is that, compared to some of his other works such as The Bridge and The Player of Games, The Business, while excellent, does not quite measure up to his potential. But almost any effort by Banks is worth reading.
20 I'm not this rich, and neither are you
Despite the technology, there is something cheerfully old-fashioned about The Business: here we have, among other things, a Himalayan kingdom, an eccentric "uncle" with a love of fast cars, and mysterious get-togethers in various parts of the world. I think it might actually be unfair to compare this book with Banks' other work; a better frame of reference might be late-Victorian adventure stories? Of course, Banks turns the whole thing on its head: here, the Business may be slightly shadowy, but it's not sinister, and for such a page-turner it's remarkable that the heroine isn't ever in any "peril" as such. Interspersed throughout are musings on the correct use of power and money, loyalty, and sacrifice, with a healthy dose of wit.
If you want "typical" Iain (M) Banks, then you'll have to look elsewhere, but if you're after some old-style entertainment, you shouldn't be disappointed.
21 Product Endorsements
This is the first work by Mr. Banks that I have read. Based on this reading experience I will try his work again, but the decision to do so was close for two reasons. Firstly, the plot was hardly new and there was not enough to make it a good spin on an old idea. Secondly, every blasted item the main character touched was branded. Just a few examples would include; her watch, her sunglasses, most of her designer clothes, about half a dozen car companies, at least three planes, and three helicopter firms, hotels, Champagne, and enough detail on a car that was not hers to fill a brochure.
On the very positive end I thought Ms. Telman, the book's central character was great. Bright, a wicked wit, and a female character that is strong as opposed to clichˇ. The fools and the typical weaknesses are generally the domain of the male, and I found this to be a pleasant change. The best example of this was her slow and painful destruction of an extremely expensive sports car while the male owner sobbed, cursed, and had his digits damaged by turn, as she convinced him to chat. The car's owner could have bought a fleet of them, so the Author's portrayal of his insane behavior about the car, was all the more entertaining.
Like other books of this type the story travels around the globe a few times with the expected national Capitols making an appearance. Thrown into the mix is a Prince, a Dowager Queen who has kept to her "bed" for nearly 3 decades, and an endearing curmudgeon with a taste for fast cars.
The book is entertaining but I doubt the Author's best. While there are books of this type that are better, there are far more that are worse.
Call it 3.5 stars.
22 Not bad... Could be a lot better...
The Business is not a bad book but it is does not have what I've come to expect from a Banks novel. I am actually a reader of books written by "M." Banks (i.e. a Culture fan). This book is the third non-scifi novel I've read from Banks, the others being a Song of Stone and Complicity.
The backdrop for this novel, involving a discreet outfit of businesspeople with a long history deciding to buy a small nation in order to have a corporate HQ and other fringe benefits such as a seat in the UN and diplomatic passports, sounded pretty interesting. The fact that it was Banks telling the story had the promise of fine woven details and a mind boggling plot.
The nice touches are there but the main plot was, well, straightforward. In the presence of masterpieces like Use of Weapons, Feersum Endjinn and Complicity, the plot in this book doesn't do justice neither to the reputation of the author nor to the potential of the subject.
23 Disappointing.
I am an avid fan of all of Iain Banks' work but this book I found to be a big letdown. At times I had to force myself to keep reading because unfortunately the plot wasn't enough to retain my interest for the duration. The only reason I read it in it's entirety was because Iain Banks wrote it and I am too big a fan to give up. The base idea was fine but I got the impression that this was a book only in the draft stage ergo released before it's potential was reached.
24 A good read, but not his best book
The "business" of the title is a vast two-thousand-year-old entity that has been around since early in the life of the Roman Empire. However, this is not an "Illuminatus" novel; there is no conspiracy to take over the world here; no secret cabal controlling presidents and monarchs; no "Protocol of the Elders of Zion". This is a business, and they just want to make money. Of course they do it on scale that even General Motors might envy; much of the book's plot turns on their desire to get a seat at the UN by getting control of one of the tinier nations. (Quite openly, and with the agreement of that nation's government.)
The protagonist is Kathryn Telman, adopted into the business at an early age, and now, at 38, a rising executive with a sharp eye for company politics and a strong sense of ethics. She is faced with several ethical choices in "The Business", and she makes, by and large, intelligent decisions. However, the book is also, in a quiet way, a political thriller, and though there are no actual dead bodies, there is certainly some skulduggery for Kathryn to get to the bottom of.
One of Banks' greatest assets is his ability to weld a good story to a worthwhile problem, and tell the whole thing entertainingly. "The Business" is no exception. It's not his best book: I'd recommend "The Bridge" or "Complicity" if you want to start somewhere else, or "The Player of Games" if you like science fiction; but it's a fine, smooth, and thought-provoking read.
25 a departure and a synthesis
i have read nearly all of bank's work. i find his prose engaging and literate, his perspective unusual and his stories interesting. this novel is, in some ways, a departure... more mainstream, to some degree, and also a bit more caricatured than his previous non-science fiction outings. in fact, it seems to me that the business synthesizes some of banks rather fantastic flights of imagination that give such a unique flavour to his science fiction with the more grounded focus of his mainstream 'thrillers.' for me it was a successful combination.
i enjoyed the business quite a bit, found the plot convolutions engaging, and liked the philosophic musings woven into the sardonic observations of the main character kate. i find that bank's books are always worth reading, and even if the business may not be his best, it still outshines most authors' efforts.
26 Corporate globalism can be fun
Known for his dark, wry wit and his speculative imagination (his SF novels are cult classics) Iain Banks' wide ranging novels ("The Wasp Factory," "Complicity") explore numerous facets of contemporary culture, duplicity and character. His latest, "The Business," takes on the comedy of corporate globalization.
Narrator Kathryn Telman is "a senior executive officer, third level (counting from the top) in a commercial organization which has had many different names through the ages but which, these days, we usually just refer to as the Business." Urbane and ambitious, Kate is a girl on her way up. She has a flippant, ruthless wit and an outspoken weakness for the vital concerns of the less fortunate masses, which has never prevented her from advancing the interests of her employer. Kate herself was plucked from bleak Scottish poverty at age 8 and groomed for success. Now, with her mother and benefactor both dead, Kate regards the Business with gratitude, loyalty, admiration and a sharp, observant eye. She will need all of these qualities for the new task the Business has set her.
The Business dates back to the Roman Empire (which it actually owned for a disastrous 66 days) and has a finger in almost everything, from the latest technologies to a collection of Michelangelo's pornographic paintings. Internally democratic - promotions are advanced by a vote of one's peers - the Business requires an atheistic oath from its management levels. Its highest level executives indulge themselves in hobbies firing barrages of heavy artillery and running derelict tankers aground.
Notwithstanding their costly lesson in running an empire, the Business feels its lack of political clout in this increasingly borderless world and hankers after a nation, something small and manageable with a seat at the United Nations and that ingenious smuggling tool, the diplomatic pouch.
Kate believes, like everyone else, that negotiations with a tiny Pacific Island are advancing despite occasional obstacles thrown up by the US and other nervous nations. But in a top-level meeting at a rambling Scottish castle she is informed that the island is a diversion. The Business has actually chosen a tiny Himalayan monarchy to acquire. And they've selected Kate to take charge; to go to Thulahn and judge how the Business's interests will mesh with those of the Thulahnese people.
Initially terrified by its terrain (landing requires serious aerobatics), appalled by its lack of amenities (no TV!), vicious weather, cantankerous Queen mother and sticky children, she is slowly won over by attributes that have nothing to do with business, only to discover that the Business has not - surprise - been entirely frank with her.
The fun is in the details - the little subplots, the maneuvering and manipulation, the over-the-top excesses (echoes of Richard Condon abound). Kate, by virtue of her lively narration, comes across as a real person who lives primarily by her wits. She's opinionated and articulate, sympathetic and humanistic, but not introspective. She lives in the moment and advances socialistic arguments at the dinner table while reveling in the prospect of her own private jet and a home on several continents.
The other characters are defined mostly by their excesses and eccentricities. Kate's true-love interest is bland and blurry while the Thulahn prince, in pursuit of Kate, is amiably pathetic.
Banks' energetic, imaginative prose and sharp wit bring the multinational corporate behemoth, if not to its knees, at least to its bottom line.
27 a bit of a disappointment
let me say up front that i was prepared to like this book. i like both iain banks and novels about business. perhaps somewhat naively, i expected a better synthesis of the two. unlike his other novels, 'the wasp factory' and 'complicity' most especially, the story here was utterly predictable less than half way through and, most damningly, the characters entirely stock and uninteresting. the only interesting thing about this novel is the feat of imagination that created the history-eating corporation of the title. for me atleast, that creation, read about in the back blurb, intrigued me enough to buy the book; that iain banks wrote it reassured me that i was going to enjoy it. i was disappointed. i think u'll agree that on whichever side of the seattle protests u find yourself, global capitalism is about to become, over the next couple of years, the background for any number of morality tales, much in the way that the renaissance or victorian england have. perhaps it is the newness of the subject matter, literarily atleast, that has resulted in a distinct lack of success so far. banks has company in this regard; john ralston saul comes to mind. thus far, the only writer i can think of to have satisfactorily got his writing pen around the topic is, peculiarly, robert ludlum, but his difficulty is that he can't write (neither can the man who comes in second in that particular contest, tom wolfe). if only we could combine ludlum's way around a business story and banks' writerliness, we might have a decent business novel
28 The most un-Banks-like novel to date?
Hmmm. Has Banks gone off the boil a bit? The Business strikes me as a fairly run-of-the-mill thriller about corporate shenanigans, with a bit of historical intrigue thrown in. Whilst it is perfectly readable, (sometimes reminding me of the far superior Complicity) it never quite grabs the reader in the way earlier Banks' novels do. This isn't the first time Banks has written from a female 1st person perspective (check out Canal Dreams and the excellent Whit), but in The Business, the adventures of our amoral Jackie-the-lad (Kate) struck me as less than convincing. Some elements of the plot certainly strain the reader's credulity too; sending an encrypted bank account number via some imaginative dental work, and the astonishing amount of micro-control some cars' electric windows possess, will probably provoke a few snorts of derision. But hang on a mo. Perhaps I'm being too harsh? If this were a debut novel from an up-and-coming author, it would be hailed as a powerful and impressive work. I guess it's just that Banks has set the standard so very high with magical works like The Bridge and Wasp Factory, that anything falling short of such class will inevitably pale in comparison. So still a worthwhile read, but cannot be counted amongst his best.
29 Banks gets romantic.
A fortunate encounter plucks Kate Tellmann from a life of poverty and she is inducted into an organisation, The Business, which, since Roman Times has been a world-wide financial force. Kate rises through the corporate ranks and finds herself to be the love-interest of the prince of a small Himalayan country, which is also of interest to The Business. Kate's feelings lie with one of her colleagues, however, who refuses to be disloyal to his wife. But in the end, Kate has to balance what is good for The Business, the prince and his country, and her feelings.
The Business is something of a departure for Iain Banks in that there isn't any of the grisly stuff one would associate with his books. I think this is a good thing for he has at last broken away from the type of material he is expected to produce, and has come up with something new to get his teeth into.
30 Poorly executed & predictable
Up until this book I had only read Iain Banks science fiction novels, and if it is representative of his mainstream fiction, I shall restrict myself to his science fiction in future.
The story was predictable on both the small and large scale. For the most part the characters were unintersting stereotypes, with the exception of the main character and her eventual partner.
Little effort was made to establish The Business as a believable entity, and the story relied on almost-but-not-quite incompetance on behalf of the bad guys. The author seemed to be trying to create the flamboyance and power of The Culture (from his sci-fi novels), but writ small. It did not work.
On the positive...it was not badly written, more than anything just disappointing since I have come to expect a lot more from Mr. Banks.
31 Great Deal
Our Scottish heroine in the novel works for 'The Business', an organisation that has been around for a very long time. Hand picked as a young girl, she has grown to realise that she may be in deeper than she thinks. Another page turner by Iain Banks - you won't rest until it's finished.
