the "national sport is emigration". It resembles an exaggerated version of Bhutan. Under the Business's plan, Thulahn would be utterly changed, if not destroyed, and its people thrust into the modern world. Kate is given the job of negotiating with Thulahn's Crown Prince Suvinder Dzung, who when he last met her had fallen in love with her. Literary significance and criticism The Business has been described as a science fiction book set in the present day. Part of Kate's job is to keep up to date with current technological developments, and Banks mentions many contemporary gadgets. Cars in particular (Freddy has a fine collection of vintage ones), and technology in general, are celebrated and described in detail here. References to DVD technology and flying on Concorde combine to date this book to a very narrow period. (In this it is like Dead Air.) At one point, Telman tortures a Ferrari 355's engine to force a villain to confess, and she rents an Audi A3. Kate's gradual falling in love with the place she is tasked to change beyond recognition is reminiscent of the 1983 film Local Hero. Bibliography The Business, Iain Banks, London : Little, Brown, 1999, ( (paperback)) External links Doing the Business, Guardian interview Another review 1999 British novels Little, Brown and Company books Novels about technology Novels by Iain Banks Novels set in fictional countries Satirical novels Scottish novels