The Wasp Factory
Frank, no ordinary sixteen-year-old, lives with his father outsIde a remote Scottish village. Their life is, to say the least, unconventional. Frank's mother abandoned them years ago: his elder brother Eric is confined to a psychiatric hospital; and his father measures out his eccentricities on an imperial scale. Frank has turned to strange acts of violence to vent his frustrations. In the bizarre daily rituals there is some solace. But when news comes of Eric's escape from the hospital Frank has to prepare the ground for his brother's inevitable return - an event that explodes the mysteries of the past and changes Frank utterly. Iain Banks' celebrated first novel is a work of extraordinary originality, imagination and horrifying compulsion: horrifying, because it enters a mind whose realities are not our own, whose values of life and death are alien to our society; and compulsive, because the humour and compassion of that mind reach out to us all.
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25recommend
45mentions
38people
2009–2026years
58% recommend31% neutral11% critical
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What Hacker News says
- The death scene of the AI and its assassin/partner in death in Look to Windward is one of the best written things in his books.
God I wish he had written 1000 more novels. Every single one of his stories is phenomenal, even the non culture stuff. The Wasp Factory was the first of his novels I read. Imagine my surprise and elation in finding that most of his other works were absolute top tier sci-fi.
- Thank you for being the only one to include the opening line of a book to pique my interest. And piqued it is. I have enjoyed The Wasp Factory (haven't read his scifi yet), and this sounds as exciting.
I should really give Consider Phlebas another go.
- Iain Banks' Horror, non-SF stuff is great. Like you I enjoyed The Wasp Factory. Also, The Bridge. We lost him far too young.
edit: and if you enjoyed Banks' Horror you'll probably get into Dan Simmons' stuff, another SF (Hyperion) and Horror writer. The Song of Kali was excellent.
- Use of Weapons is great. I struggled a bit with Surface Detail and found it a bit meandering, like a few of the later books. It was good, but I definitely rate others above it.
Excession, Player of Games and Use of Weapons are probably my top Culture novels. With Feersum Endjinn up there in his general SF work, though I must admit I've only read it once as I don't have a copy.
Probably far too late for this thread, but lots of his non-SF work is amazing too. Though often dark and dealing with uncomfortable themes. The plots and themes of Song Of Stones + The Wasp Factory have popped into my head for decades after I read them.
- His first book, Wasp Factory[1] is also a game changer. His is a dark world right from the off! :D
1. It's non-sci-fi so published under the name Iain Banks rather than Iain M. Banks.
- Btw: If this is your first intro to Banks I recommend starting with The Business, absolutely fantastic book! He's generally a great author. Wasp Factory is his most famous book I guess, but The Business is by far my favorite.
