The Steep Approach to Garbadale

I've just finished reading The Steep Approach to Garbadale, by Iain Banks. Although it is fairly readable, I just did not think that it was up to his usual standards. The cover blurb, of course, would have you think that it was a masterpiece, but I don't think I will remember it in six months.

Out of interest, I looked at the readers comments on Amazon, and was reassured to see that I was not alone. The following comments pretty much agreed with me:

"... we know that Banks is capable of a lot more, and this book seems 'light' in comparison to some of his meatier work."

" the resolution feels somewhat rushed and in many ways too neat for the complicated network of familial relationships that Banks spends the book depicting."

All in all, I'd say it is worth the read, but it isn't in my Top 10 (or Top 100). Out of Banks' books, I'd score several much higher, with The Bridge being my favourite of his novels.