A review by ronanmcd
A Song of Stone by Iain Banks

4.0

I read this post-Bosnia, 18 years ago, when it was published and I was in school. Revisiting, I expected a fast read. The earthy sodden language stopped me in its get bleakness. Banks used words with a spartan beauty, describing a loss of social order, magnitudes of transgression, and a decent to hell. A landed bon vivant has his possessions and heritage taken from him as social order falls apart. A stark, harsh story full of the imbecilic and profound stupidity of armed conflict.