This is the first Iain Banks novel I’ve read for years, mainly because the recent ones struck me as macabre, if not gruesome. This one doesn’t fall into that category though and was a fun read – I’d forgotten just how funny Iain Banks can be. The book includes his typical gritty scenes from Scotland as well as colourful scenes (and stereotypes) from America. Having read books by this author before, I wasn’t expecting the plot to be fully resolved at the end, and it wasn’t (I would have rated the book more highly if there had been more content about the intriguing double-cross that the main character discovered).
musingstudio 
This is easily my favourite of Mr Banks’ non-SF output – I found it bounced along rather nicely; the characters are engaging, and the story is great. It may not be high literature, but it’s a terrific read.