Customer Reviews

Business Signed

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

Iain Banks was born in Scotland in 1954 and published his first book - "The Wasp Factory" - in 1984. In the years since, he's won critical acclaim, topped best-seller lists and has even written Science Fiction books under the cunning nom-de-plume `Iain M. Banks'. "The Business" was first published in 1999, and is his tenth non sci-fi book.

The origins of the Business predate Christianity, and it - technically - owned the Roman Empire for an exceptionally short spell. (It turned out to be something of a mistake). The world headquarters are at Chateau d'Oex, in Switzerland, where there are - allegedly - some rather interesting items in their vaults. (These are rumoured to include a book that might just have made it into the Bible and some rather erotic doodlings sketched by Michelangelo). Although the Business has 'understandings' with several states and regimes, it is now planning to 'buy' its own country - allowing for a seat on the United Nations and diplomatic immunity for its senior executives. Officially, the country being considered if Fenua Uans, a small island in the Pacific.

Kate Telman is senior executive officer, third level with the Business. She started with Security, though has been keeping an eye on technology trends in recent years - luckily, her suggestions on where to invest have been paying off significantly. (As a result, she reached Level Three a good deal more quickly than she had dared hope). Kate is thirty eight years old and was born in Scotland, but holds joint British - US citizenship. Although she is currently on sabbatical, she has been with the organisation since she left school. She had been effectively groomed for the Business by Elizabeth Telman since childhood, following a chance meeting on the roadside in 1968. Elizabeth adopted Kate after her natural mother died, four years later. Now, with Elizabeth also dead, Freddy Ferrindonald is the closest thing to family she has left. Freddy, a step-brother of Elizabeth's, is also a high-ranking Business employee, not to mention exceptionally rich and just a little odd. He lives at Blysecrag House, which might just qualify as a stately home. (It has three hundred rooms and its cellars extend for two miles). The pair certainly get on very well together, and Kate admits to being very fond of Freddy.

Blysecrag is soon to be playing host to a very high-level meeting and some general hedonism - Kate is rather excited (and relieved) to have been invited. Unffortunately, Prince Suvinder Dzung from Thulan will also be among the other guests. Suvinder is a noted admirer of Kate's, but the admiration is entirely one way. Kate prefers Stephen Buzetski, another Business executive - unfortunately, he is proving to be stubbornly loyal to his wife. Events at Blysecrag lead to Kate doing a little more travelling and attending a few more meetings - leading to an offer she never seriously expected and didn't necessarily want. However, as time goes by, she becomes increasingly suspicious that the more senior executives are not being entirely straight about things...

Generally, I've found if a book has the name "Iain Banks" on the cover it's well worth reading. "The Crow Road" and "Whit" would both safely be included in my "10 Favourite Books of All Time", while "Canal Dreams" and "The Wasp Factory" would probably be knocking loudly on the door. In all those books, Banks has developed a strong 'lead' character whose past has contributed as much to the book as the 'current' events of the story. In comparison, "The Business" is a little weak : Kate's past isn't developed in the way Prentice McHoan's or Frank Cauldhame's are developed, while the story's 'current' events - meetings, parties and sightseeing - aren't quite as absorbing as the events of "Whit" and "Canal Dreams". However, "The Business" is still an Iain Banks book : even on an off-day, he'll tell a story a good deal more readable and a great deal more enjoyable than your average writer is capable of producing.

Banks is a very prolific writer of both "regular" and speculative fiction. Prior to this, I'd read two of what are generally considered his better books: the intensely creepy "The Wasp Factory", and the fantastical "The Bridge". I'd enjoyed those, so when I saw this at a yard sale for $1, I grabbed it. Unfortunately, I discovered there's a good reason the person was getting rid of it.

The story starts out with a lot of promise, as we meet likable 35ish heroine Kate Tellman. Plucked from poverty in Scotland by a benefactor and sent to boarding schools, the smart, stylish, funny, sexy, cunning, empathetic Kate has used her tech savvy to rise quickly in the ranks of "The Business." This mysterious firm is a massive global force, hidden behind a myriad of holding companies and silent partnerships. We first meet her in a comic scene in the dead of night, when a colleague about to embark on a key business trip wakes her up in a panic. It seems someone has drugged him and removed a good portion of his teeth...

This plotline is quickly left behind, as Kate stumbles onto some kind of shady business at one of her firm's factories. There may be high-level involvement in some sort of embezzlement -- but before she can dig too deeply, she's off to a lifestyles of the rich and famous type party hosted by her adopted Uncle Freddy at his vast Yorkshire estate. There, we learn of her yen for a married colleague, as well as of a Thulahnese prince's amorous designs on her. Thulahn is a kind of Bhutan/Nepal nestled in the Himalayas, and before long, she is sent there to inspect it for a top-secret Business scheme.

But despite all this jet-setting, and nice scene-setting, humorous descriptions and dialogue -- nothing much happens. The plotline concerning fraud at The Business kind of drifts in and out without any vigor, and ends up being rather easily (if unconvincingly) resolved. The other plotline, revolving around Thulahn, is wrapped up with such perfunctory haste that it smacks of Banks having totally lost interest in his book partway through. The book feels somewhat like "Banks lite", as most of the characters are one-dimensional eccentrics (Uncle Freddy is a car nut, a senior American boss is a munitions nut, a senior Malaysian boss wants to ram a ship into a beach, Kate's main girlfriend spends all her time berating her, Kate's love interest is Mr. Perfect, the Queen of Thulahn hasn't left her bed in 30 years), and you keep having to remind yourself what the plot actually is. Alas, the ending is so abrupt and anticlimactic that many readers will be checking their copy for a missing final chapter (or two). There are some nice definitely some clever turns of phrase, but overall, this is disappointingly thin stuff.

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.

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.

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.

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 cliché. 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.

As I worked my way through this book I found myself becoming frustrated and disenchanted. This author had been recommended to me by a friend who revels in Bank's science fiction efforts but who suggested this one in view of my prediliction about economics. I have always enjoyed a good read but tend to find myself in the company of rather esoteric texts rather than with novels. Others have indicated that there are flaws in this book concerning plot and have issues and to a certain extent I would concur. Until, that is, it dawned on mewhat the book is all about.

Now perhaps I may be wrong. Perhaps I am attributing too much to the author's intent here, perhaps I am reading too much into what I have read I could be wrong but this is why I find this a clever little book.

I enjoyed the whole concept of a sustained business empire existing through the millenia with locations in places one would never dream of. I enjoyed the imaginative way Banks describes some of the places like the house in Yorkshire and Switzerland. What I did not realise until I was someway into the book was the degree to which he melds together the products he mentions with the corporate lifestyles of the executive. My realisation came with the references the author makes to popular music. It is not the fact that Banks displays a wide appreciation of adult orientated rock but his use of the artists names and some song titles. Given that the publication date precedes I-Pod the fact that the hero can access at will a whole variety of tunes without lugging around a huge box of CDs seemed odd. Why would a high powered exec carry them? However, given the current exhaltation of celebrity and popular culture in Western post-industrialised societies it has meaning within that context. As I looked back over the earlier pages I had read it dawned on me that in the present world of television and TIVO producers resort to product placement on their shows so why not in novels?

Eureka. It all started to make sense to me that business is pervasive throughout the whole book. Banks praises business in a sense and lays out a whole panorama about the benefits resulting from it but he does so while at the same time poking fun. Sure there are benefits to the elite few but underneath it all is the constant temptation to sharp practice. Opportunity has two sides both of which are highlighted here. The world of the rich is distinct from the world of the many. Banks holds out hope that good will vanquish bad and in the end the hero wins the prize in a display of rejection of some corporate values but does so in the context of becoming the spouse of a monarch of a poor country who is independently wealthy but who will be on a course to many more riches.

Banks' novel is therefore much more subtle than your average whodunnit although at the end of the day a whodunnit it is. I enjoyed the book from a consumer's point of view but not from a detective story point of view but I must give the author credit. If it is done deliberately he has achieved a great success and written a subtle, humourus and satisfying clever little book. Did I mention how much I like diet coke with lemon?

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...

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.