Transition (Used, good condition)
by Iain Banks
From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com Reviewed by Michael Dirda Iain Banks is well known for one crotchet that every reviewer of his work is obliged to mention: Under this name, the popular Scottish author writes edgy mainstream fiction, often psychological thrillers such as his unsettling first book, "The Wasp Factory" (1984). But as Iain M. Banks he produces science fiction, usually glorious space-operatic science fiction involving a future civilization called the Culture. In these latter books, human beings and sentient AI machines coexist as equal citizens of a pan-galactic utopia, one that has eliminated want, disease and other common social ills. The first two novels in the series are the evocatively titled "Consider Phlebas" -- a two-word quote from T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" -- and "The Player of Games." So, given the presence of that middle initial M., Banks clearly signals that "Transition" should be regarded as a science-fiction novel, even if it's not part of the Culture universe. Yet in Britain "Transition" was published sans M., as a literary thriller or apocalyptic fable, with contemporary social and political commentary attached. It is certainly that, too. In whichever edition you read it, though, Banks's new novel is wildly entertaining, albeit a bit confusing at first .
