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iain banks' sci-fi is fabulously complex and his thrillers can feel almost ostentatiously stripped-down. this is one of the latter. rather good, although rather junior league joyce carol oates as well. specifically j.c. oates under her thriller pseudonym, rosamund smith... he shares the same interest in doubles and obsessions and two characters who reflect each other's passions and weaknesses. there are also some unsurprisingly sharp critiques of materialism and various other classic and modern evils... the victims are a veritable Who's Who of Assholes Deserving Slaughter... the killer, demented as he may be, is something of a robin hood, taken to the next level (down). my main issue with the novel, besides the rather rote use of doubling, is that the lead character becomes somewhat tedious, at least to this reader. still, the writing is solid and the narrative is often riveting.

i particularly appreciated (view spoiler)[the flashback to the brief sexual interlude between the narrator and the killer as children. it was refreshing, particularly as this is not remotely a Gay Novel. sexual experimentation between kids of the same gender is common enough, of course, and does not automatically mean anything about their sexual orientation in the long run. except in my case - where the experience turned a devout hetero into the biggest fageleh in the kibbutz, oy vey. ha! a joke! just wanted to make sure you were paying attention. anyway, although the flashback eventually has a larger meaning (insofar as a deep connection is established between the two characters due to what happens immediately afterwards)... i was mainly impressed by the nonchalance displayed in that short scene (hide spoiler)]. indeed, that nonchalance is a hallmark of the entire novel, despite its potentially lurid subject matter.