The Business

Kate Telman is a senior executive officer in The Business, a powerful and massively discreet transglobal organisation. Financially transparent, internally democratic and disavowing conventional familial inheritance, the character of The Business seems, even to Kate, to be vague to the point of invisibility. It possesses, allegedly, a book of Leonardo cartoons, several sets of Crown Jewels and wants to buy its own State in order to acquire a seat at the United Nations.

Kate's job is to keep abreast of current technological developments and her global reach encompasses Silicon Valley, a ranch in Nebraska, the firm's secretive Swiss headquarters, and a remote Himalayan principality. In the course of her journey Kate must peel away layers of emotional insulation and the assumptions of a lifetime. She must learn to keep her world at arm's length.

To take control, she has to do The Business.

“Consistently engaging....From its hilarious opening, a telephone conversation with a man who has lost his teeth, to the touching finale...it hardly misses a beat. SUNDAY TELEGRAPH-- 'Slick and streetwise. SUNDAY TIMES”

A poisoned bonbon, a bitter fairy tale... Written with enormous energy, crunchy wit and more curves than an alpine road Independent
A highly inventive piece of work, amusing and sinister by turns... crammed with arresting conceits and surprises... any chapter of The Business, picked at random, will give an idea of Iain Bank's merits: the technical pizzazz, the profound compassion, above all an understanding of the way the world works ripe to confound the average English novelist who thinks that 'science' is simply a noisy irrelevance Guardian
It is impressive to find a British writer with such evident range... intellectually exhilarating Observer
Imagination, wit and complexity are Banks' hallmarks and The Business is no exception The Times
Eng. Lit. for the age of www Independent on Sunday

Iain Banks came to widespread and controversial public notice with the publication of his first novel, THE WASP FACTORY, in 1984. He has since gained enormous popular and critical acclaim for both his mainstream and his science fiction novels.

'Imagination, wit and complexity are Banks' hallmarks and The Business is no exception' Sunday Express Kate Telman is a senior executive officer in The Business, a powerful and massively discreet transglobal organisation whose origins predate the Christian Church. Financially transparent, internally democratic it wants to buy its own state in order to acquire a seat at the United Nations. Kate's job is to keep abreast of current technological developments and her global reach encompasses Silicon Valley to the remote Himalayas. In the course of her journey Kate must peel away layers of emotional insulation and the assumptions of a lifetime. She must learn to keep the world at arm's length. To take control, she has to do The Business. 'Devilishly inventive and inventively devilish' Sunday Times

Kate Telman is a senior executive officer in The Business, a powerful and massively discreet transglobal organisation. Financially transparent, internally democratic and disavowing conventional familial inheritance, the character of The Business seems, even to Kate, to be vague to the point of invisibility. It possesses, allegedly, a book of Leonardo cartoons, several sets of Crown Jewels and wants to buy its own State in order to acquire a seat at the United Nations.Kate's job is to keep abreast of current technological developments and her global reach encompasses Silicon Valley, a ranch in Nebraska, the firm's secretive Swiss headquarters, and a remote Himalayan principality. In the course of her journey Kate must peel away layers of emotional insulation and the assumptions of a lifetime. She must learn to keep her world at arm's length.To take control, she has to do The Business.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.