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Title: A self-indulgent tedium from an author who knows better.
Review: As a great fan of this author, this was the single most disappointing piece of work of his that I've ever read.While the actual writing is near flawless as per usual, the book descends into sheer self indulgence as Banks loses his direction several times and then trys to rescue the focus with some pointlessly horrific scenes.The atmosphere is dark and brooding, and Banks' usual style has the successful effect of leaving you slighly stunned - but at the end of this book you feel as if you were invited to a great gothic horror party only to find that all the people there are desperately uninteresting.
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