A Song Of Stone [Paperback]

Iain M. Banks paints a grim picture of a European nation after a bloody battle. Armed forces roam the lawless land where dark columns of smoke rise up from the surrounding farms and houses. For a young lord and lady, however, the trouble is only starting.

The couple are being kept captive in their home--a castle--by a sadistic female lieutenant from an outlaw band of guerillas. They are pawns in her dangerous game of desire, deceit, and death. The physical, sexual and political tensions that ensue catapult the narrative from war story to universal morality tale.

His satire is exquisitely poised, his storytelling gripping. (INDEPENDENT )

Entertaining...comically inspired. (GUARDIAN )

A phenomenon! (WILLIAM GIBSON )

An apocalyptic masterpiece (FINANCIAL TIMES )

"Entertaining...comically inspired."

"A phenomenon!"

"An apocalyptic masterpiece"

* Paperback reissue of 'an apocalyptic masterpiece', Iain Banks' A SONG OF STONE * 'His boldest and most ambitious experiment with fiction since THE BRIDGE' - TIME OUT

The war is ending, perhaps ended. For the castle and its occupants the troubles are just beginning. Armed gangs roam a 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. However, the lieutenant of an outlaw band has other ideas and the castle becomes the focus for a dangerous game of desire, deceit and death. Iain Bank's masterly novel reveals his unique ability to combine gripping narrative with a relentlessly voyaging imagination. The narrative technique and sheer brio of A SONG OF STONE reveal a great novelist at the height of his powers.

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.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Iain Banks came to widespread and controversial public notice with the publication of his first novel, THE WASP FACTORY, in 1984. Since then he has gained enormous popular and critical acclaim. In 1993 he was acknowledged as one of the Best of Young British Writers.