Complicity [Hardcover]

Iain Banks (Author), Iain M. Banks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1994

Cameron Colley, a cheerfully subversive journalist, is suspected of committing a series of revenge crimes against vicious criminals and must clear his name by finding the vigilante--but the real culprit turns out to be very close to home.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1984, Banks's first novel, The Wasp Factory, attained cult status in England for its accomplished yet brutal portrait of a serial killer. His newest novel (after Against a Dark Background) carries on that tradition by centering on a series of cruel, if poetically just, killings. The point of view shifts back and forth between that of the unnamed murderer, whose outrages are presented in the second person, and that of an Edinburgh-based journalist, Cameron Colley, who's tracking the killer and whose story is told in the first person. The police think that Colley, who models himself slavishly on "St. Hunter" (Hunter S. Thompson)-downing double whiskeys, smoking dope, speaking a gonzo slang and carrying on an S&M affair with a married woman- is the murderer. Certainly, Colley feels a certain admiration for that avenging angel, who tailors his punishments to fit his victims' supposed crimes, e.g., brutally raping a judge who once exhibited leniency to a rapist. Banks's handling of this volatile scenario is extremely graphic, sadistic-and rather obvious, though effective. He's a good enough writer to seduce readers into sharing not only Colley's admiration for the killer but also, through his use of the second person, the killer's relish in the act of murder: complicity, indeed.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Although this remarkable novel will first strike readers as a burned-out journalist's distasteful account of his pathetically shallow and lonely life, it soon becomes clear that author Banks is just playing cat-and-mouse with his audience. Before long, we are mesmerized by Banks' violent and disturbing story about a latter-day avenger who's lost faith in the system's ability to punish wrongdoers. Cameron Colley, a Scottish journalist, is a disillusioned but likable cokehead who treats life--and the articles he writes for his Edinburgh newspaper--with cheerful disdain. While Cameron is blithely snorting coke, somewhere in Scotland a "self-styled avenger" is busy designing his own psychotically savage punishments for the judge who was overly lenient with a rapist, the pornographer who made one too many snuff films, and the amoral businessman whose negligence caused hundreds of deaths. All the obvious clues are leading the police to Colley, who swears he's been framed--but by whom? If he can just figure out who knows him well enough to set him up--and who among his acquaintances is clever enough and deranged enough to extract such terrible justice--maybe he can solve the mystery and get the police off his case. Dark, cynical, shocking, but immensely satisfying, this one's a must-have. Emily Melton

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 299 pages
• Publisher: Nan A. Talese (December 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385475403
• ISBN-13: 978-0385475402
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,245,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is out of print? Why?, May 27, 1999

By 

Michael Battaglia - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Complicity (Hardcover)

The fact that Iain Banks isn't more widely read in this country is almost criminal and this book just emphasizes how wrong that is. Easily one of the best books of its' year, of any year, for that matter, at first glance it seems to be a standard thriller/mystery, with the unlikable (somewhat) journalist at its core, and some weird murders. But Banks spins a plot that's so knotty you miss the obvious, like the best mysteries the solution makes you go "Why didn't I see that?" Plus his command of the language is heads and shoulders above anyone else around, the characters seem to have more than three dimensions, the flashbacks literally tingle with realism, you don't read this story as much as you're drawn into it. Fortunately it's fairly short, or you'll find yourself neglecting family and friends trying to finish it in one sitting. It's quite possible. And yes, there are some brutal moments but the scary part of it is that it's nothing worse than you'll have read in your local newspaper. And the ending is nigh perfect, as good as they come. Having read Banks' science-fiction books I wasn't sure what to expect from his "regular" fiction but except that one genre has spaceships and ray guns, there's little difference, it's the same top quality. Read anything with this guy's name on it and harass the publishers until we get more of this guy's book in this country. You'll be glad for it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Reminder of the Darker side of Western Culture, October 1, 2004

By 

Mark Jones (Austria) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Complicity (Paperback)

This is a presentation of an alternative moral viewpoint but wrapped up as a murder-mystery. As a murder mystery it's entertaining though not brilliant. As a pointer to alternative views of our Western society it is thought provoking.

It's not a novel for people with weak stomachs. The murders are gruesome, a characteristic of Banks writing, though the violence is not gratuitous; it's there for a reason. Nor is it for those who suffer nightmares easily. It is certainly not for those who accept what authority, be it legal, religious or moral, tells us to think.

It is a novel for those who are prepared to think what mainstream society believes unthinkable. It's a novel that provokes thought about the inequitable, brutal, and irrational culture that Western society has become. For those with an open, enquiring and above all a suspicious mind this will add fuel to any distrust of authority.

Don't expect to be uplifted, this is as dark as it gets, but then that's how the world is turning out. Read it and think..... while you're still allowed to.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Perspective, March 30, 2005

By 

Bromptonboy "Bromptonboy" (Doylestown, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Complicity (Paperback)

This is the first of Bank's non-SciFi novels that I have read. His Culture series of stories had me so roped in, I thought I would give his 'regular' fiction a try...I was not disappointed.

This is an action packed thriller that keeps changing the reader's perspective from a crusading murderer...to Scottish journalist (who is man with a number of flaws!). When describing the killer's actions, he keeps using 2nd person - such as 'You open the door' or 'You disarm the alarm'. So you are along for the ride in the passenger seat for each graphic misadventure.

I was quickly engaged by the characters, who are all well thought out. The main character is like an onion, with surprise after surprise becoming aparent as the layers are peeled back.