The Business - Iain Banks

With the current collapse of the World Economy there has never been a better time to investigate globalisation and the integration of companies into giant world spanning conglomerates. No longer do you need a butterfly to flap its wings in the Rainforest for the world to change; it's easier for someone in Brazil to go directly to the source and embezzle billions from a Swiss account. Like it or not the World has shrunk. Personally, I find it depressing to watch a modern travelogue on TV and see yet another Starbuck's in the background. If there is money to be found in a third world country it won't be long until McDonalds and Coca Cola move in. The Credit ...  Read the complete review

Every Iain Banks book is different, if there's one constancy about his writing it's the inconstancy of his stories. 'The Business' conforms to this non-comfortity, with a story that is surprisingly straighforward and with a deft touch of unexpected romance. The eponymous Business are a near invisible corporation that have been around since the days of the Roman empire (which they owned, briefly, at one point). They are there in the background, everywhere but nowhere, not a conspiracy exactly, but enought to provide ample ammunition to legions of conspiracy theorists. The Business is a closed world, it has its own rituals and corporate culture, ...  Read the complete review

Iain Banks novel, The Business seems to have got a bit of a mixed reception here in Dooyoo - I am one of the book's advocates but once you've read my op I'd suggest you look at some others for balance! "The Business" is a multi-national organisation who's origins predate the Chrisitian Church. It is basically the largest of all capitalist concerns, with fingers in many pies in the form of commercial arrangements some of which ethically speaking may be construed as a little bit dodgy! The story centres around Kate Telman, a Level Three executive of "The Business" who holds responsibility for high-tech investments. ...  Read the complete review

This novel starts with a common conceit for any conspiracy theorist, an all powerful shadowy organisation, that controls all, although in this case influences is probably more accurate. It them moves on from this ingenious premise to broaden out into a study of how this business has affected and influenced one woman's life from the Glasgow gutter to the international jet set. The characters are sharply and sympathetically drawn in a breathtakingly small number of words and although relying largely on stereotypes transcend them to create real, living people. Banks' dark humour is still present although with less gruesome touches than in many of his other books. A ...  Read the complete review

Given the mayhem of some of Banks' other works, 'The Business' is intriguing in that very little actually happens in it. The most important thing is the idea, a company which has existed since the era of the ancient Roman empire, whose influence stretches across the world and into every avenue of life. The book is narrated by Kate Telman, an insider working on technology research who is moved to a remote Himalayan nation which the Business intends to buy, and get a seat on the UN. Banks hasn't really written a bad book (wearing his non-sci-fi hat, anyway), and this is a quietly involving thriller, though seemingly devoid of events and action. ...  Read the complete review