Complicity

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The first thing one notices is that most material from the book is somehow stuffed into the film (with notable exception of Cameron's cancer and Basra Road episode - sorry for referring to the novel). The result is rapid succession of events that get barely touched, not leaving room for atmosphere or, paradoxically, even decent suspense to develop. There isn't a trace of suffocating mood of the novel. Events follow each other at the pace that does not allow them to evolve and to give viewer chance to absorb them. I think that Millar and Elsley would have done much better job if given (the superb BBC TV mini-series, also after Banks) The Crow Road format. I loved particularly the use of first and second person perspectives and the switching between them, used particularly deftly right at the end of the book. I also loved how well balanced the book was, as a reader you really have no idea what's going on, you know you have no idea what's going on but there's enough given to you that you don't feel lost or frustrated. Its two main characters are Cameron Colley, a journalist on a Scottish newspaper called The Caledonian (which resembles The Scotsman), and a serial murderer whose identity is a mystery. The passages dealing with the journalist are written in the first person, and those dealing with the murderer in the second person, so the novel presents, in alternate chapters, an unusual example of an unreliable narrator. The events take place mostly in and around Edinburgh. Banks's father was an officer in the Admiralty and his mother was once a professional ice skater. Iain Banks was educated at the University of Stirling where he studied English Literature, Philosophy and Psychology. He moved to London and lived in the south of England until 1988 when he returned to Scotland, living in Edinburgh and then Fife. Point of view (POV) describes whose head we’re in when we read a book ... from whose perspective we discover what’s going on – and the smells, sounds, sights and emotions involved.

Complicity is my second Banks novel, after The Wasp Factory. Both are 5 star reads, the main reason being that Banks is a captivating storyteller capable of evoking sympathy when the reader may not necessarily feel comfortable with the feeling. If life had not regularly intruded, then I would have happily and easily read this book in one sitting. Iain Banks is simply brilliant, with and without the M. His books steal a bit of headspace and never really leave you. Cameron Colley is an Edinburgh-based journalist with a habit for speed (both drug and motion), an obsession for computer games, and a highly developed sense of moral outrage. As a journalist, he worships the patron of all gonzos, St. Hunter S. Thompson, and his righteous indignation is expressed in print as exposes on cheap liquor, defense boondoggles, and inept judges. Of course Cameron is not without sin–no self respecting protagonist could be–and his is an adulterous affair and an abuse of substances. But he is a likable enough rogue that it would be hard to suspect him of a string of grisly revenge murders against a host of wealthy capitalists and political powermongers. We, however, get to see the story from his point-of-view, and the police don’t. We follow Cameron Colley, a journalist with a mild drug, drink and gaming habit. He doesn't actually seem to do much work, but runs around after an anonymous source called Archer, who is hinting at links between the deaths of Nuclear scientists and associated people. But what is going on is far more sinister. There's a series of brutal murders across the country and suddenly Cameron is arrested. He knows he didn't do them, but can he be sure he's not complicit in the crimes!And I’m there, in the one place I’ve hidden from myself’ not that cold day by the hole in the ice or the other day in the sunlit woods near the hole in the hill – days deniable because I was then not yet the me I have become – but just eighteen months ago; the time of my failure and my simple, shaming incapacity to reap and work the obvious power of what I was observing; the place that exposed my incompetence, my hopeless inability to witness. But this is not what he writes. He files stories about war is hell and peace too if you are female in this part of the world. He smokes good dope. He goes home. And this is the failure that haunts him so much he can’t even dream of it. This witnessing adds a level of reliability (even if we don’t like it). And readers aren’t daft. They know they’re not really the you-character, which means authors could use it as a tool to create surprise when the ‘you’ is unveiled later in the book. Set in a real place in Scotland - also the author's homeland - I could easily picture the surroundings thanks to Banks' descriptive imagery. He skillfully entwines interesting plots such as crime, politics and sex with sub-plots such as drug use and computer games to create a rich read that leaves you hooked for life! I found these sub/plots recurring in part or in parallel in the subsequent books I read by Banks, ScienceFiction or not. Thus Banks also spins a weave amongst his chain of books, making the reader fall into his literary trap in the same way that some of the main characters in the books spiral inside the novels. Given the reputation of Iain M Banks as a writer of unorthodox sci - fi and contraversial novels, I am surprised that only 2 of his works have ever been adapted for screen - The Crow Road (which I never liked either as a book or series) and Complicity, his only film outing.

A stylishly executed and well produced study in fear, loathing and victimisation which moves towards doom in measured steps * Observer * This is the first book in ages I've felt a real compulsion to read and finish, which is not to say it's necessarily better than the last few books I've read, just that it's the kind of book that's utterly compelling. That intrusive element is both its strength and its weakness. It’s powerful because it places readers at the heart of the story, and yet we – the ‘you’ – know less than the narrator.

I was so intrigued by this book that I bought an original DVD of the movie based on the book. But I admit without shame that I did not watch the movie before re-reading the book for the second time! It is about hopes and disappointments, unrequited love, bravery and cowardice. Technically, it’s a quintessentially modern English novel. There are two stories travelling at once. Neither of them is told chronologically – heaven forbid we should start at the beginning and end at the end, too passe. We do indeed have exposed sex, unexpurgated violence and a Thatcherite setting. But as well as this: As with his friend Ken MacLeod (another Scottish writer of technical and social science fiction) a strong awareness of left-wing history shows in his writings. The argument that an economy of abundance renders anarchy and adhocracy viable (or even inevitable) attracts many as an interesting potential experiment, were it ever to become testable. He was a signatory to the Declaration of Calton Hill, which calls for Scottish independence. Cameron Colley is a 30-ish Scottish journalist with liberal leanings, a tendency to binge on alcohol and other (illicit) stimulants, and an ongoing clandestine relationship with his childhood sweetheart Yvonne. Unfortunately for Cameron, Yvonne is married to their mutual friend William. A more serious problem is presented by the exploits of a Dexter-like serial killer, who is engaged in a spree of execution-style killings of prominent business leaders and corrupt politicians for which he is systematically framing Cameron.

Colley is a " Gonzo journalist" with an amphetamine habit, living in Edinburgh. He also smokes cigarettes and cannabis, drinks copious amounts of alcohol, plays computer games, and has adventurous sex with a married woman, Yvonne. He regrets his addictions and misdemeanours and occasionally tries (admittedly half-heartedly) to give them up. There can be multiple viewpoints in a book, not all of which have to belong to a single character. Plus, editors’ and authors’ opinions differ as to which approach works best, and what jars and why. This is only the second Banks novel I've read - I'm late to the party here. A friend of mine recently sent me "The Crow Road" as a gift, and I really enjoyed it, so when I spotted this in a charity shop, I thought I'd give it a go.There are a lot (and I mean it) of good things about this book. The book is written in Gonzo style, which basically means the story is being narrated in first person. Where the brilliance of this approach lies is that Banks uses this tool both for the protagonist Colley as well as the mysterious serial killer. As a result, you are perplexed as to whether Colley is indeed the culprit. The reader needs to be alert as Banks keeps switching the narration between Colley & the killer in almost every chapter until the identity of the killer is revealed. It all might seem a bit confusing at first but one gets used to it.

Banks claimed in an interview that Complicity is "[a] bit like The Wasp Factory except without the happy ending and redeeming air of cheerfulness". [1]Complicity was a violent, dark thriller, that furiously critiqued the excesses of Thatcherism. When freewheeling, amoral, drug addicted journalist Cameron Colle is drawn into a complex web of murder and deception as he probes the (supposedly) interlinked murders of several ruthless, shadowy Establishment types; the core of the case is too close for his own comfort; or the comfort of his condescending smug yuppy mates (who have the irritating habit of calling St Andrews - 'St Andy's'!?). The mix of humour, horror, emotion, and unflinchingly graphic scenes makes for an incredibly vivid story and the plot is suitably complex that even with these elements toned down it would be a great book, as it is though it's something quite special. It's really the sort of book Irvine Welsh seems to be trying to write, but can't.