Rating: 
Summary: Well Written But Uninvolving
Review: 'The Business' is an extremely well written novel, and I managed to get through it without too much of a problem. However I can't say I enjoyed it that much. It was a little too wordy for my liking and the central character, Kate Telman, was not altogether likeable.I think it would perhaps transfer to television as a mini-series more effectively than as a stand alone literary work.
Rating: 
Summary: Banks gets romantic.
Review: A fortunate encounter plucks Kate Tellmann from a life of poverty and she is inducted into an organisation, The Business, which, since Roman Times has been a world-wide financial force. Kate rises through the corporate ranks and finds herself to be the love-interest of the prince of a small Himalayan country, which is also of interest to The Business. Kate's feelings lie with one of her colleagues, however, who refuses to be disloyal to his wife. But in the end, Kate has to balance what is good for The Business, the prince and his country, and her feelings. The Business is something of a departure for Iain Banks in that there isn't any of the grisly stuff one would associate with his books. I think this is a good thing for he has at last broken away from the type of material he is expected to produce, and has come up with something new to get his teeth into.
Rating:
Summary: Strong, but never breaks the shackles of pot-boiler status
Review: Banks is strangely not known that well in America. After a long series of novels all over the map, he still doesn't get the kind of play that you might think he would. I think that has to do with his SF beginnings, and the bias here against writers who've come out of that mold, regardless of the subjects they chose. And in "The Business" he sets his sights on another genrified topic- the big international conspiracy consortium. This choice is his unfortunate mistake, because he nevers gets ahead of the game in subverting this tried and true form. While Banks attempts in many ways to improve on the likes of Robert Ludlum, this book becomes another one of its type. The flair that it does show is in the narative. The female lead has a good strong voice. This is swallowed up by the subject matter, though. The plot is not so ho hum as I make it sound- but I felt that someone as accomplished of Banks would break the shackles of the page-turner form with this. So while it is suitable for the beach, or the airplane, it isn't going on my shelf.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm not this rich, and neither are you
Review: Despite the technology, there is something cheerfully old-fashioned about The Business: here we have, among other things, a Himalayan kingdom, an eccentric "uncle" with a love of fast cars, and mysterious get-togethers in various parts of the world. I think it might actually be unfair to compare this book with Banks' other work; a better frame of reference might be late-Victorian adventure stories? Of course, Banks turns the whole thing on its head: here, the Business may be slightly shadowy, but it's not sinister, and for such a page-turner it's remarkable that the heroine isn't ever in any "peril" as such. Interspersed throughout are musings on the correct use of power and money, loyalty, and sacrifice, with a healthy dose of wit. If you want "typical" Iain (M) Banks, then you'll have to look elsewhere, but if you're after some old-style entertainment, you shouldn't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: I'm not this rich, and neither are you
Review: Despite the technology, there is something cheerfully old-fashioned about The Business: here we have, among other things, a Himalayan kingdom, an eccentric "uncle" with a love of fast cars, and mysterious get-togethers in various parts of the world. I think it might actually be unfair to compare this book with Banks' other work; a better frame of reference might be late-Victorian adventure stories? Of course, Banks turns the whole thing on its head: here, the Business may be slightly shadowy, but it's not sinister, and for such a page-turner it's remarkable that the heroine isn't ever in any "peril" as such. Interspersed throughout are musings on the correct use of power and money, loyalty, and sacrifice, with a healthy dose of wit. If you want "typical" Iain (M) Banks, then you'll have to look elsewhere, but if you're after some old-style entertainment, you shouldn't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing and Feeble Plot
Review: Having worked in a major corporation all my life, I agree that there is a great deal of jostling and maneuvering, back-stabbing and downright silliness in many strategic plans, but I nevertheless found The Business novel to be a feeble and weak take on the realities behind the scenes. Kate's voice comes across as written by an author obviously making up for his lack of solid personal experience in the business world with an abundance of mundane cliches, boring personal involvements and buzzwords to be found in any business magazine. Any wit in the Business inevitably also takes on a contrived feeling. My suggestion to anyone looking for a book grounded in personal experience, sharp satire, wit and humor revealing the realities of life in high-tech corporations, is to turn to the skillfully written episodes in "MANAGEMENT BY VICE" instead....And you'll get a candid, worthwhile eye-opener that won't disappoint!
Rating:
Summary: Promised a lot, yet delivered a little.
Review: He is one of modern fiction's most original and inventive writers, but this time Iain Banks has gotten lazy with "The Business". He creates the menacing, powerful and secretive organization known only as "The Business", then spends the entire novel not talking about it! Sure - we don't need to know EVERYTHING, but why make it the premise (and title) of the novel and then studiously avoid any details? The main character, Kate, has some very interesting moral decisions to make, but the book is spent with her deciding to decide to decide on her decision. When she FINALLY makes her choices on her various interesting dilemmas the book is over! I would have preferred to see Kate make her moral choices early (like say - in the first 100 pages), then see the CONSEQUENCES of her actions. Good drama is almost always about the decisions people make, right or wrong, and how people deal with the results. Don't write Banks off though. I prefer: "The Use of Weapons", "The Player of Games" or "Whit".
Rating:
Summary: Promised a lot, yet delivered a little.
Review: He is one of modern fiction's most original and inventive writers, but this time Iain Banks has gotten lazy with "The Business". He creates the menacing, powerful and secretive organization known only as "The Business", then spends the entire novel not talking about it! Sure - we don't need to know EVERYTHING, but why make it the premise (and title) of the novel and then studiously avoid any details? The main character, Kate, has some very interesting moral decisions to make, but the book is spent with her deciding to decide to decide on her decision. When she FINALLY makes her choices on her various interesting dilemmas the book is over! I would have preferred to see Kate make her moral choices early (like say - in the first 100 pages), then see the CONSEQUENCES of her actions. Good drama is almost always about the decisions people make, right or wrong, and how people deal with the results. Don't write Banks off though. I prefer: "The Use of Weapons", "The Player of Games" or "Whit".
Rating:
Summary: The most un-Banks-like novel to date?
Review: Hmmm. Has Banks gone off the boil a bit? The Business strikes me as a fairly run-of-the-mill thriller about corporate shenanigans, with a bit of historical intrigue thrown in. Whilst it is perfectly readable, (sometimes reminding me of the far superior Complicity) it never quite grabs the reader in the way earlier Banks' novels do. This isn't the first time Banks has written from a female 1st person perspective (check out Canal Dreams and the excellent Whit), but in The Business, the adventures of our amoral Jackie-the-lad (Kate) struck me as less than convincing. Some elements of the plot certainly strain the reader's credulity too; sending an encrypted bank account number via some imaginative dental work, and the astonishing amount of micro-control some cars' electric windows possess, will probably provoke a few snorts of derision. But hang on a mo. Perhaps I'm being too harsh? If this were a debut novel from an up-and-coming author, it would be hailed as a powerful and impressive work. I guess it's just that Banks has set the standard so very high with magical works like The Bridge and Wasp Factory, that anything falling short of such class will inevitably pale in comparison. So still a worthwhile read, but cannot be counted amongst his best.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing.
Review: I am an avid fan of all of Iain Banks' work but this book I found to be a big letdown. At times I had to force myself to keep reading because unfortunately the plot wasn't enough to retain my interest for the duration. The only reason I read it in it's entirety was because Iain Banks wrote it and I am too big a fan to give up. The base idea was fine but I got the impression that this was a book only in the draft stage ergo released before it's potential was reached.
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