'Exhilarating... a work of imagination and arresting originality' Sunday Telegraph

The war is ending, perhaps ended...

For the castle and its occupants the troubles are just beginning. Armed gangs roam its lawless land, where each farm and house supports a column of dark smoke. Taking to the roads with the other refugees, anonymous in their raggedness, seems safer than remaining in the ancient keep. But the lieutenant of an outlaw band has other ideas, and the castle becomes the focus for a dangerous game of desire, deceit and death...


Praise for Iain Banks:

'The most imaginative novelist of his generation' The Times

'His verve and talent will always be recognised, and his work will always find and enthral new readers' Ken MacLeod, Guardian

'His work was mordant, surreal, and fiercely intelligent' Neil Gaiman

'An exceptional wordsmith' Scotsman

Iain Banks's classic novel, reissued with a striking new cover

About the Author
Iain Banks came to widespread and controversial public notice with the publication of his first novel, The Wasp Factory, in 1984. He gained enormous popular and critical acclaim for both his mainstream and his science fiction novels. Iain Banks died in June 2013.

Reviews
An apocalyptic masterpiece * Financial Times *
Exhilarating... a work of imagination and arresting originality * Sunday Telegraph *
Compulsively readable... the enigma at the heart of the novel will ensure repeated readings * Times Literary Supplement *
Tour de force writing * Independent on Sunday *
His boldest and most ambitious experiment with fiction since The Bridge * Time Out *



Book Information
ISBN 9780349139265
Author Iain Banks
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Abacus
Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
Weight(grams) 200g
Dimensions(mm) 197mm * 130mm * 20mm