Rating: 
Summary: Lousy
Review: I found this book to be far too predictable and, to be honest, quite boring. Though Mr. Banks is undoudtedly a fine writer, it seems as though he 'phoned it in' on this outing. At times it feels as if the story is heading in the right direction -particularly near the end - but then it hits a brick wall. I found the ending of the story very bland. What happened to Kathryn? What about Hazleton? All in all, a let down.
Rating: 
Summary: a departure and a synthesis
Review: i have read nearly all of bank's work. i find his prose engaging and literate, his perspective unusual and his stories interesting. this novel is, in some ways, a departure... more mainstream, to some degree, and also a bit more caricatured than his previous non-science fiction outings. in fact, it seems to me that the business synthesizes some of banks rather fantastic flights of imagination that give such a unique flavour to his science fiction with the more grounded focus of his mainstream 'thrillers.' for me it was a successful combination.i enjoyed the business quite a bit, found the plot convolutions engaging, and liked the philosophic musings woven into the sardonic observations of the main character kate. i find that bank's books are always worth reading, and even if the business may not be his best, it still outshines most authors' efforts.
Rating: 
Summary: Alright for Iain Banks
Review: I thought this book was very well put together until the very end where it seems like the main character's personality seems to unravel and ceases to be strong as she appears to be in the majority of a book.
Rating:
Summary: Not The Best Banks but Worth The Read
Review: Iain Banks has proven himself a master of various genres including science fiction, fantasy and plain old fiction. The Business is his latest contribution to the "regular" fiction genre. And Banks does not disappoint. The Business follows the life of a woman who works for "the business," an age-old company shrouded in mystery. Without revealing plot or storylines, let me just assure that Banks continues to do all the things he does so well - excellent character development, mystery and intrigue, excellent storytelling and settings and an overriding sense of morality that seems to guide most of the characters in his novels. Again Banks proves why he deserves such respect as an insightful and innovative author. Frankly the only reason why I can't give The Business five stars is that, compared to some of his other works such as The Bridge and The Player of Games, The Business, while excellent, does not quite measure up to his potential. But almost any effort by Banks is worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly- for Banks- even-keeled and mild
Review: If I were inclined to find a quick description of Iain Banks' "The Business", it might well be " 'The Firm' on Prozac." Like the protagonist of Grisham's novel, Kate Telman- the main character of "The Business"- works for a decidedly low-profile but very influential organization, in which she has great prospects. But the comparison ends there. Based on Banks' other fiction- "Complicity", "Against a Dark Background"- the reader would be forgiven for expecting Kate's carefully-ordered world to be in tatters at the end of the novel. Happily for her- but somewhat less so for the power and effect of Banks' novel- this never actually happens: despite its global reach, ambitions toward statehood, and presumably vast power, The Business is apparently a benign organization; the car accident affecting her uncle, a highly-placed Business executive, never turns out to be more than that; and Kate's uncovering of illicit maneuverings at the highest levels of the enterprise have an ultimately innocuous result. It also sports about the closest thing any Banks book has ever had to a happy ending. After the reader gets over the fact that the other shoe doesn't exist, much less that it's not going to drop, "The Business" is a reasonably entertaining read. In some ways, given the much more eventful but more depressing ends of "Complicity", "Consider Phlebas", and other novels, it's refreshing to close a Banks book with the majority of characters neither dead, bereft or outcast. However, it doesn't seem to make for nearly as good a story...
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly- for Banks- even-keeled and mild
Review: If I were inclined to find a quick description of Iain Banks' "The Business", it might well be " 'The Firm' on Prozac." Like the protagonist of Grisham's novel, Kate Telman- the main character of "The Business"- works for a decidedly low-profile but very influential organization, in which she has great prospects. But the comparison ends there. Based on Banks' other fiction- "Complicity", "Against a Dark Background"- the reader would be forgiven for expecting Kate's carefully-ordered world to be in tatters at the end of the novel. Happily for her- but somewhat less so for the power and effect of Banks' novel- this never actually happens: despite its global reach, ambitions toward statehood, and presumably vast power, The Business is apparently a benign organization; the car accident affecting her uncle, a highly-placed Business executive, never turns out to be more than that; and Kate's uncovering of illicit maneuverings at the highest levels of the enterprise have an ultimately innocuous result. It also sports about the closest thing any Banks book has ever had to a happy ending. After the reader gets over the fact that the other shoe doesn't exist, much less that it's not going to drop, "The Business" is a reasonably entertaining read. In some ways, given the much more eventful but more depressing ends of "Complicity", "Consider Phlebas", and other novels, it's refreshing to close a Banks book with the majority of characters neither dead, bereft or outcast. However, it doesn't seem to make for nearly as good a story...
Rating:
Summary: Not Banks' best by a long shot
Review: It's been said of the "Star Trek" movies that one should avoid the odd-numbered ones and see only the even-numbered. I'm not sure that such a rule applies to Iain Banks- but if it did, "The Business" would definitely belong in the odd-numbered category. "The Business" presupposes the existence, since pre-Christian times, of a commercial concern which, without being the Freemasons, the international conspiracy of Judaism, or the Bavarian Illuminati, has managed to outlast, out-earn and out-entrench any or all of the above. Its protagonist, a mid-upper-level executive in this merito-bureaucracy (female, self-made, of humble Scottish origins), is a character with whom it becomes increasingly difficult to identify- neither sufficiently conflicted to be interesting on that count nor hubristic enough to topple satisfactorily.
On top of which, nothing much actually happens in the course of the book. A vague threat to the Business is resolved via minor automotive violence, every thread that could have led to an interesting conspiracy theory is cut off short, and all ends happily (we must assume) for our heroine, but the bottom line is- who cares? If I hadn't started this book on a transatlantic flight, with a predisposition to like its author, it's unlikely I'd have finished it. Banks' skill as a storyteller is sufficient to warrant a two-star rating- the story itself gets nothing.
Rating: 
Summary: Corporate globalism can be fun
Review: Known for his dark, wry wit and his speculative imagination (his SF novels are cult classics) Iain Banks' wide ranging novels ("The Wasp Factory," "Complicity") explore numerous facets of contemporary culture, duplicity and character. His latest, "The Business," takes on the comedy of corporate globalization. Narrator Kathryn Telman is "a senior executive officer, third level (counting from the top) in a commercial organization which has had many different names through the ages but which, these days, we usually just refer to as the Business." Urbane and ambitious, Kate is a girl on her way up. She has a flippant, ruthless wit and an outspoken weakness for the vital concerns of the less fortunate masses, which has never prevented her from advancing the interests of her employer. Kate herself was plucked from bleak Scottish poverty at age 8 and groomed for success. Now, with her mother and benefactor both dead, Kate regards the Business with gratitude, loyalty, admiration and a sharp, observant eye. She will need all of these qualities for the new task the Business has set her. The Business dates back to the Roman Empire (which it actually owned for a disastrous 66 days) and has a finger in almost everything, from the latest technologies to a collection of Michelangelo's pornographic paintings. Internally democratic - promotions are advanced by a vote of one's peers - the Business requires an atheistic oath from its management levels. Its highest level executives indulge themselves in hobbies firing barrages of heavy artillery and running derelict tankers aground. Notwithstanding their costly lesson in running an empire, the Business feels its lack of political clout in this increasingly borderless world and hankers after a nation, something small and manageable with a seat at the United Nations and that ingenious smuggling tool, the diplomatic pouch. Kate believes, like everyone else, that negotiations with a tiny Pacific Island are advancing despite occasional obstacles thrown up by the US and other nervous nations. But in a top-level meeting at a rambling Scottish castle she is informed that the island is a diversion. The Business has actually chosen a tiny Himalayan monarchy to acquire. And they've selected Kate to take charge; to go to Thulahn and judge how the Business's interests will mesh with those of the Thulahnese people. Initially terrified by its terrain (landing requires serious aerobatics), appalled by its lack of amenities (no TV!), vicious weather, cantankerous Queen mother and sticky children, she is slowly won over by attributes that have nothing to do with business, only to discover that the Business has not - surprise - been entirely frank with her. The fun is in the details - the little subplots, the maneuvering and manipulation, the over-the-top excesses (echoes of Richard Condon abound). Kate, by virtue of her lively narration, comes across as a real person who lives primarily by her wits. She's opinionated and articulate, sympathetic and humanistic, but not introspective. She lives in the moment and advances socialistic arguments at the dinner table while reveling in the prospect of her own private jet and a home on several continents. The other characters are defined mostly by their excesses and eccentricities. Kate's true-love interest is bland and blurry while the Thulahn prince, in pursuit of Kate, is amiably pathetic. Banks' energetic, imaginative prose and sharp wit bring the multinational corporate behemoth, if not to its knees, at least to its bottom line.
Rating:
Summary: a bit of a disappointment
Review: let me say up front that i was prepared to like this book. i like both iain banks and novels about business. perhaps somewhat naively, i expected a better synthesis of the two. unlike his other novels, 'the wasp factory' and 'complicity' most especially, the story here was utterly predictable less than half way through and, most damningly, the characters entirely stock and uninteresting. the only interesting thing about this novel is the feat of imagination that created the history-eating corporation of the title. for me atleast, that creation, read about in the back blurb, intrigued me enough to buy the book; that iain banks wrote it reassured me that i was going to enjoy it. i was disappointed. i think u'll agree that on whichever side of the seattle protests u find yourself, global capitalism is about to become, over the next couple of years, the background for any number of morality tales, much in the way that the renaissance or victorian england have. perhaps it is the newness of the subject matter, literarily atleast, that has resulted in a distinct lack of success so far. banks has company in this regard; john ralston saul comes to mind. thus far, the only writer i can think of to have satisfactorily got his writing pen around the topic is, peculiarly, robert ludlum, but his difficulty is that he can't write (neither can the man who comes in second in that particular contest, tom wolfe). if only we could combine ludlum's way around a business story and banks' writerliness, we might have a decent business novel
Rating:
Summary: Dark literary noodling
Review: Other reviewers have criticized The Business for not having a strong plot. There's some validity to this, but at the same time this is somewhat beside the point: the book is all about lush description and ambiguous emotion. It's a very atmospheric novel, it plays deep chords on our own ambitions and aspirations. In The Business, Banks is perhaps exploring the early pre-history of The Culture that he develops in his science-fiction novel. There are more than a few similarities to Whit, without being repetitious.
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