The last great non-M you read?

[haddonsman]

Having been disappointed by the way Stonemouth turned out, I've been thinking: what was the last really great non-M that I've read?

It's probably Whit.

There's been flashes of greatness since (parts of A Song Of Stone and The Business) but the rest have felt like contractual filler to me.

Your thought?

[Deep Black]

Yep agreed, Whit for me too, Transition was better than anything else since then

[von hitchofen]

I liked Transition and The Business, but Whit was yeah, whatever for me...

Stonemouth for me is just another step on the Whit/Song of Stone/Dead Air/Garbadale continuum

you read it and think - what has this book been written for?

[GeekByDay]

I really liked Transition but couldn't help feeling it had been sent to the wrong publisher and should have been an M book.
The Business was probably the last one, although I did enjoy Dead Air, maybe I should re-read it again soon and see if that still holds true as I remember thinking at the time it could age badly.

[oneexwidow]

I'm going to say A Song of Stone - unusually, I quite like it (or at least what it tries to do). Beyond then, I've been left with a feeling of disappointment with everything with the exception of Transition.

The Business is next on my programme of re-reading the non-Ms, so my opinion could change, of course!

[RedKing]

I would say Song of Stone / The Business. They're both flawed, but at least they're trying to do something - inject a bit of colour on the palette - rather the rather beigey-ness of Stonemouth.

[GINANDTONIC]

A Song of Stone is perfect literature. Or as close as one can get. Every word has been measured carefully. Re-read and re-read again. It's a thing of beauty- I'm genuinely shocked there aren't more fans of this.

[keefus]

I'm genuinely shocked there aren't more fans of this.

*Holds hands up*
Me! Me!! I think it's one of his best. Haunting, poetic and unsettling. About time for a re-read too.

[Skyehammer]

I'm just over half way through my collection of Iain Banks novels [ currently reading ' The Quarry ' ] - I began with ' Complicity ' and curiously [ it's the order I bought them ] have been working my way downwards ever since chronologically , in other words I've yet to read ' The Wasp Factory ', ' Walking On Glass ' , ' The Bridge ' etc - anyway , thus far it has been ' Transition ' that I enjoyed the most , though I do take on board it could have been classified as an ' M ' as far as its subject matter goes .

[Skyehammer]

A Song of Stone is perfect literature. Or as close as one can get. Every word has been measured carefully. Re-read and re-read again. It's a thing of beauty- I'm genuinely shocked there aren't more fans of this.

Years ago I used to belong to one of those Book Clubs whereby you received the Editor's Choice if you failed to tick a box or something - ' Song Of Stone ' was one of those books - I had read an Iain Banks book previously but wouldn't say I was au fait with the author at all - anyway , I read it and found it a bit depressing or sad [ it was a long time ago ] - so on your recommendation I shall re-read it .