Dead Air

Dead Air

by IainBanks (Author)

Synopsis

Iain Banks' daring new novel opens in a loft apartment in the East End, in a former factory due to be knocked down in a few days. Ken Nott is a devoutly contrarian vaguely left-wing radio shock-jock living in London. After a wedding breakfast people start dropping fruits from a balcony on to a deserted carpark ten storeys below, then they start dropping other things; an old TV that doesn't work, a blown loudspeaker, beanbags, other unwanted furniture...Then they get carried away and start dropping things that are still working, while wrecking the rest of the apartment. But mobile phones start ringing and they're told to turn on a TV, because a plane has just crashed into the World Trade Centre. At ease with the volatility of modernity, Iain Banks is also our most accomplished literary writer of narrative-driven adventure stories that never ignore the injustices and moral conundrums of the real world. His new novel, set in contemporary London, displays the trademark dark wit, buoyancy and momentum of his finest work. It will be one of the most important novels of 2002.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 416
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: Little, Brown
Published: 05 Sep 2002

ISBN 10: 0316860549
ISBN 13: 9780316860543
Prizes: Shortlisted for WH Smith Book Awards (Fiction) 2003.

Media Reviews
The expectations for each successive Iain Banks novel grow ever greater, and Dead Air is unquestionably a literary event. Ken Nott is making a living as a radio shock-jock in London; he lives in a loft in the East End, in a former factory due to be knocked down. After a wedding breakfast, people begin to throw fruit from a balcony on to a deserted car park ten storeys below; then the guests become carried away and start dropping larger things while wrecking the rest of the apartment. But suddenly mobile phones begin ringing and they're told to turn on the TV, because a plane has just crashed into the World Trade Center. Banks' subject here is nothing less than the survival of the individual in the face of a chaotic world.
Author Bio
Iain Banks sprang to widespread and controversial public notice with the publication of his first novel THE WASP FACTORY in 1984. Since then he has gained enormous public acclaim with further works of fiction, or science fiction as Iain M. Banks.