I finished Dead Air by Iain Banks a few days ago but I've been to busy to write about it. I'm a big fan of Bank's books but only his non-science fiction ones. He writes science fiction as Iain M. Banks and even though I read a lot in that genre, I don't like his books very much. On the other hand, his non-science fiction books are mostly excellent and Dead Air is no exception. It is more in the vein of my favourite book of his, The Crow Road, than his stranger books like The Wasp Factory.

Dead Air starts right around the time of 9/11/2001 and the main characters are introduced at a party in London that ends with the news of the attacks in New York. The book follows the mis-adventures of a surly and sarcastic London "shock jock" as he sleeps around, parties and discusses politics with various friends. As I've commented before, UK writers seem to have an ear for colourful dialogue that is lacking in most North American writers. Banks is one of my prime examples of that and this novel doesn't disappoint. Highly recommended.

Amazon Link: Dead Air