• Walking On Glass

  • By: Iain Banks
  • Narrated by: Peter Kenny
  • Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (33 ratings)

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Walking On Glass  By  cover art

Walking On Glass

By: Iain Banks
Narrated by: Peter Kenny
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Publisher's summary

Her eyes were black, wide as though with some sustained surprise, the skin from their outer corners to her small ears taut. Her lips were pale, and nearly too full for her small mouth, like something bled but bruised. He had never seen anyone or anything quite so beautiful in his life. Graham Park is in love. But Sara Fitch is an enigma to him, a creature of almost perverse mystery.

Steven Grout is paranoid - and with justice. He knows that They are out to get him. They are. Quiss, insecure in his fabulous if ramshackle castle, is forced to play interminable impossible games. The solution to the oldest of all paradoxical riddles will release him. But he must find an answer before he knows the question. Park, Grout, Quiss - no trio could be further apart. But their separate courses are set for collision.

©1985 Iain Banks (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"[A]n extraordinary feat, terrifying and baffling, going far beyond the bounds of fiction as it's usually defined." (Publishers Weekly)

"Establishes beyond doubt that Iain Banks is a novelist of remarkable talents." (Daily Telegraph)

What listeners say about Walking On Glass

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Outstanding Stories - Dead End

I really love Iain’s work, and I was typically enchanted and confused by the multiple stories that start out totally unrelated. I was caught up in the evolving stories and their delicate, growing interrelationships. Right up through the penultimate chapter I was thoroughly enjoying the book. Each of the plot lines were really well done. But then… it just ends.

I’m not saying the stories weren’t concluded, but they did not each reach a satisfactory resolution - at least not evenly - and in particular the book did not feel like it provided a consolidated denouement that did justice to the quality of the individual stories.

I will certainly re-read (re-listen) it in the future, and hopefully gain a better appreciation for it. Of the dozen Iain Banks novels I’ve read (and loved) this is unfortunately my least favorite.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Weak ending to a good story.

I love pretty much everything by this great author, both literary and science fiction. This story fell short of my expectations. I felt it had a lot of potential, but fizzled in the end. It is certainly still worth reading or listening to.

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