{"title":"Iain Banks","description":"Iain Banks came to widespread and controversial public notice with the original publication of his first novel, The Wasp Factory,  recently selected in a British poll as one of the top 100 novels of the century. Since then he has gained enormous popular and critical acclaim with further works of fiction and, as Iain M. Banks, science fiction. He lives in Scotland","products":[{"product_id":"the-wasp-factory-paperback","title":"The Wasp Factory - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe polarizing literary debut by Scottish author Ian Banks, The Wasp Factory is the bizarre, imaginative, disturbing, and darkly comic look into the mind of a child psychopath.Meet Frank Cauldhame. Just sixteen, and unconventional to say the least: Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I'd disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim. That's my score to date. Three. I haven't killed anybody for years, and don't intend to ever again. It was just a stage I was going through.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51370070933727,"sku":"9780684853154","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/rkvrelaQ4k9780684853154.webp?v=1789150298"},{"product_id":"a-song-of-stone-paperback","title":"A Song of Stone - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eA European nation not unlike Bosnia: armed forces roam the lawless land where dark columns of smoke rise up from the surrounding farms and houses. The war is ending, perhaps ended. But for the castle and its occupants, a young lord and lady, the trouble is just beginning. \u003cbr\u003e Fearing an invasion of soldiers, the amorous couple takes to the road with the other refugees, disguised in rags. But the brutal female lieutenant of an outlaw band of guerrillas has other ideas. Just hours into their escape, the fleeing aristocrats are delivered back to the castle, where, now prisoners in their own home, they become pawns in the lieutenant's dangerous game of desire, deceit, and death. \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eA Song of Stone\u003c\/i\u003e demonstrates Iain Banks's unique ability to combine gripping narrative with a soaring, voyaging imagination. This noir fable confirms his reputation as the master of things dark and debauched. Singular, haunting, and viciously wry, \u003ci\u003eA Song of Stone\u003c\/i\u003e is a tour de force of contemporary fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA European nation not unlike Bosnia: armed forces roam the lawless land where dark columns of smoke rise up from the surrounding farms and houses. The war is ending, perhaps ended. But for the castle and its occupants, a young lord and lady, the trouble is just beginning.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFearing an invasion of soldiers, the amorous couple takes to the road with the other refugees, disguised in rags. But the brutal female lieutenant of an outlaw band of guerrillas has other ideas. Just hours into their escape, the fleeing aristocrats are delivered back to the castle, where, now prisoners in their own home, they become pawns in the lieutenant's dangerous game of desire, deceit, and death.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA Song of Stone demonstrates Iain Bank's unique ability to combine gripping narrative with a soaring, voyaging imagination. This noir fable confirms his reputation as the master of things dark and debauched. Singular, haunting, and viciously wry, A Song of Stone is a tour de force of contemporary fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51370077159647,"sku":"9780684855363","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/ZGPowf-3Em9780684855363.webp?v=1789150310"},{"product_id":"complicity-paperback","title":"Complicity - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCOMPLICITY\u003c\/b\u003e n. 1. the fact of being an accomplice, esp. in a criminal act \u003cbr\u003e Local journalist Cameron Colley writes articles that are idealistic, from the viewpoint of the underdog. A twisted serial killer seems to have the same MO -- he commits brutal murders on behalf of the underdog. As the two stories begin to merge, Cameron finds himself inextricably and inexplicably implicated by the killer. \u003cbr\u003e When the arms dealer whom Cameron plans to expose is found literally \"disarmed\" before Cameron can even put pen to paper and the brewery chief, loathed by Cameron, who sold out at the expense of his workers finds himself permanently unemployable, the police become convinced of Cameron's guilt, as do half his friends and colleagues, forcing Cameron to employ all his investigative skills to find the real killer and his motive.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51370081190111,"sku":"9780743200189","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/SyvxmG7h179780743200189.webp?v=1789150319"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/iain-banks.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}