Iain Banks - Wasp Factory

Pros: The writing. This is true talent at work here.
Cons: I didn't write it.

I could probably sit here staring at this book for the next several days and I still wouldn’t know where to begin. But this review ain’t gonna write itself, now is it? So I guess it really is up to me. sigh. Iain Banks’s THE WASP FACTORY is a ...

Pros: ----
Cons: ----

Scottish writer Iain Banks has specialised interchangeably with the gothic macabre black comedy genre and the science fiction genre, though he uses the pseudonym Iain M. Banks when writing sci-fi. He made a notorious debut in 1984 with his disturbing and ...

Pros: Dark, thought provoking page turner - exceedingly well written
Cons: Dark. Very dark. Disturbing. Scenes of animal and child cruelty

Seventeen year old Frank is a killer. He kills birds, mice and other small animals. Fortunately, he doesn't kill people any more - it was just a passing phase, when he killed Blythe, Paul and Esmeralda (not all at once, mind you). Frank's brother Eric is ...

Pros: A really interesting and obscure read.
Cons: Somewhat 'sick' in parts.

The Wasp Factory. ********************* I spotted Iain Bank's the Wasp Factory on a friend's bookshelf at the end of last year. It was the title that intrigued me more than anything. The book is described on the front as a 'gothic horror novel' and the ...

Pros: One of the best authors of our time. Incredible story you will not put down.
Cons: Disturbing subject matter.

From the back cover: "Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I'd disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda. more or less on a whim....

Pros: One of the greatest books of all time. No question.
Cons: Even after 20 years, America isn't prepared for this.

The Wasp Factory was Iain Banks' early 1980's debut novel. In what we have come to know as a style all of Bank's own he graphically describes the tale of a teenager who has been left sexless in childhood after the attack of a violently-tempered dog. ...

Pros: Viewing another side of life. A great twist of events.
Cons: A somewhat disappointing ending, although still disturbing and twisted.

It's hard nowadays to find a really good book to read. Most of the time, people suggest different books to me that they think are really great, but then it turns out it's just another one of "their" books about love or mystery. So, I received guidance...

Pros: It sets a all new standard for "Sick and Twisted"
Cons: Not for children (or most adults for that matter...)

This book was sick, twisted and perverse and I mean that lovingly!
Any book that starts with pages and pages of reviews that call it "filth" and a "disgrace to the british way of life" is off to a good start.
Twisted and...

Pros: Well written, filled with dry british humor
Cons: Some people may find it disturbing

I don't even know where to begin describing this book. The basic plot of the book revolves around a boy named Frank, and the imminent return of his brother Eric, who has just escaped from a mental asylum. Eric has a few problems. One of which is the fact...

Pros: Amazingly written, twisted.
Cons: may be a bit over the top for some people

I had quite a strong idea of what to expect before I read this book. I had my tutor who hated it. He said it was gratutious and pathetic. Other people were saying that it was the most amazing book they had ever read. So I thought that I would read it for...

Pros: Well written, amusing.
Cons: Sick.

The first thing to say about this book is that you will need an extremely strong stomach to get through it. I don't consider myself some sort of wilting flower- my favourite films include Reservoir Dogs and Full Metal Jacket- but even I balked at the...