Complicity
by Iain M. Banks
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COMPLICITY n. 1. the fact of being an accomplice, esp. in a criminal act/ Local journalist Cameron Colley writes articles that are idealistic, from the viewpoint of the underdog. A twisted serial killer seems to have the same MO -- he commits brutal murders on behalf of the underdog. As the two stories begin to merge, Cameron finds himself inextricably and inexplicably implicated by the killer./ When the arms dealer whom Cameron plans to expose is found literally "disarmed" before Came...more
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Read in May, 2000
After reading the unforgettable The Wasp Factory, I've come to expect the unexpected from Iain Banks, and I guess I shouldn't be disappointed, since the last thing I expected was a slightly better than usual serial killer story.
Oh, there are the little horrors I've come to expect from Mr. Banks, but alas, no horrors or weirdness in Complicity. In the hands of any other writer I suppose this would have likely been a dud, but Banks is so compulsively readable and you never know what lies at the ...more
Oh, there are the little horrors I've come to expect from Mr. Banks, but alas, no horrors or weirdness in Complicity. In the hands of any other writer I suppose this would have likely been a dud, but Banks is so compulsively readable and you never know what lies at the ...more
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06/12/08
TITLE/AUTHOR: COMPLICITY by Iain Banks
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Fiction/1993/313 pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: Stand Alone
TIME/PLACE: 1990's/Scotland
CHARACTERS: Cameron Colley/newspaper journalist
FIRST LINES: You hear the car after an hour & a half.
COMMENTS: 03/20 rec as a bookcrossing ring/ray. A "1001" must read book. Told in alternate voices -- Cameron a quirky journalist and then from the serial killer's perspective.
TITLE/AUTHOR: COMPLICITY by Iain Banks
RATING: 4/B
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Fiction/1993/313 pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: Stand Alone
TIME/PLACE: 1990's/Scotland
CHARACTERS: Cameron Colley/newspaper journalist
FIRST LINES: You hear the car after an hour & a half.
COMMENTS: 03/20 rec as a bookcrossing ring/ray. A "1001" must read book. Told in alternate voices -- Cameron a quirky journalist and then from the serial killer's perspective.
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Read in November, 2006
It was an okay read. For a whodunnit it was predictable. I felt like the author wrote about a lot of things that he wanted to do and experience, but he knew he never would. He tried to bring new ideas and thoughts to the table, however none of them were new. If I didn't read a lot I and I didn't have interesting discussions with my friends, I may have enjoyed this book more.
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Read in May, 2003
The two-star rating here means: "It was OK."
Many people love this Iain Banks guy. I've read two of his novels now at other's behest, and I have yet to fall in love with his work or even like it very much if at all. This is a self-consciously clever thriller, but not all that clever. It read quickly, I suppose I can say that about it.
Many people love this Iain Banks guy. I've read two of his novels now at other's behest, and I have yet to fall in love with his work or even like it very much if at all. This is a self-consciously clever thriller, but not all that clever. It read quickly, I suppose I can say that about it.
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Read in January, 1992
This one almost qualifies as holiday reading. The murder mystery rips along at a fair old pace. People who have read more of this genre than I have could probably have guessed the murderer on about page 5. Could have done without all the narrator's detail about how good his computer is though. Who cares?!
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Read in June, 2008
Compelling and engaging. The POV device (sections in 2nd person) worked well in context. The narrator's language was just phenomenal, very much the Scotsman, with lots of terms that I only figured out through context. I got this from the library because I like his SF novels; this is nothing like them.
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I think I get what he was trying to accomplish, but it never quite gelled for me. This book has possibly the best use of second person I've ever read, but that doesn't really make up for the obviousness of its plot twists or the number of graphic depictions of anal rape.
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Read in May, 2008
I'd read some of his scifi, but this was the first of his mysteries I'd read. It's competent, even if the writing is a little show-offy. The gonzo journalist is appropriately berserk and yet spineless in the clinch; the nominal bad guy is much less well-characterised.
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
dirty anarchists
I loved Banks' Wasp Factory and Song of Stone but was disappointed by this book. The serial killer who only kills corrupt politicians/judges/generals seemed cheap and obvious to me, not very interesting. Although still a well constructed text.....
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Didn't make me want to get another Iain Banks. Really it's just an anti-Thatcher revenge fantasy, like Jonathan Coe's What a Carve Up!
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This isn't as good as the other Bank's book I've read, The Wasp Factory, but it's an okay mystery novel. Quick read.
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Read in August, 2007
The same author as The Wasp Factory. Has a dark side. Very good plane read - suspenseful murder mystery
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Read in April, 2007
really good read! i finished it in about 3 days tho...
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Grim and gruesome and dark, but also a fun romp.
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