Synopses & Reviews
The Wopuld family built its fortune on a board game called Empire! now a hugely successful computer game. So successful, the American Spraint Corp wants to buy the firm out. Young renegade Alban, who has been living wild and evading the family tentacles for years, is run to ground and persuaded to attend the forthcoming gathering part birthday celebration, part Extraordinary General Meeting convened by Win, the Wopuld matriarch and most powerful member of the board.
Alban, at first reluctant to involve himself in the buyout, increasingly thinks Spraint Corp and its executives, Fromlax and Feaguing, should be treated with suspicion. But he also has other things on his mind. Being drawn back into the bosom of the clan brings inevitable and disconcerting confrontation with his past. What drove his mother to take her own life? And is he yet over Sophie, his beautiful enchanting cousin and teenage love? Grandmother Win's revelations will radically alter Alban's perspective for ever.
Review
"Banks begins his most consistent book since The Crow Road with sleight-of-hand tricks displaying the master in rude form ... These shifts in voice are so perfect, so clean and witty that when Alban comes to the fore, we feel he's one of is ... the maturity of voice and verve if the writing mean Garbadale matches anything in the Banks canon." Waterstones Books Quarterly
Review
"Banks is at his best in moments of high drama with extremes of human emotions." The Observer
Synopsis
Dark family secrets and a long-lost love affair lie at the heart of a fabulous new novel by the author of Matter and The Wasp Factory The Wopuld family built its fortune on a board game called Empire!, now a hugely successful computer game. So successful, in fact, that the American Spraint Corp wants to buy the firm out. Young renegade Alban, who has evaded the family clutches for years, is persuded to attend the forthcoming family gathering—part birthday party, part Extraordinary General Meeting—convened by Win, Wopuld matriarch and most powerful member of the board, at Garbadale, the family's highland castle. Being drawn back into the bosom of the clan brings a disconcerting confrontation with Alban's past. What drove his mother to take her own life? And is he ready to see Sophie, his beautiful cousin and teenage love? Grandmother Win's revelations will radically alter Alban's perspective forever.
About the Author
Iain Banks has gained enormous popular and critical acclaim for both his mainstream and his science fiction novels. He is perhaps best known for his Culture series of novels, which includes Consider Phlebas, Matter, and Surface Detail.