History Creator / IainBanks

Iain Banks had a [[Creator/QuentinTarantino Quentin-Tarantino-like]] reputation: he was famous for his first published novel ''Literature/TheWaspFactory'' which featured murder, animal mutilation and had a darkly comic tone. Explicit depictions of horrible events is a constant. Any article about him is sure to mention exploding grannies or heads on life-support used as punching bags.

* CombatPragmatist: In ''Whit'', BadassAdorable heroine Isis witnesses a black friend being menaced by racist thugs. She goes into an ordinary shop and buys a kid's water pistol and a bottle of Tabasco sauce. She combines the two to make instant [[NonLethalWarfare pepper spray]] [[spoiler:which she uses, to devastating effect.]]
* {{Cult}}: The Luskentyrians in ''Whit''.

* PervertDad: Actually Pervert Grandfather: in ''Whit'', Isis's grandfather deems that she has misbehaved according to the rules of the cult that he founded and she fervently believes in, so at first he has them pray together, then he insists that they undress (and she reluctantly complies)...and then she has to fight him off her.

* SoBeautifulItsACurse: Played straight and unusually successfully with Isis in ''Whit'': she's convincingly described as being gorgeous, but she's not really interested in sex [[spoiler:which is a bit of a problem since the Cult she belongs to plans to involve her in some kind of mating ritual.]]

* IncestIsRelative: He was very fond of writing about incestuous couplings.

* {{Asexuality}}: Played with in ''Whit'': the heroine/narrator isn't exactly asexual but she's certainly not nearly as sexual as everyone else wants her to be.

In his personal life he had a reputation for hard drinking, drug use, powerful cars and an interest in explosives. This rambunctious lifestyle seemed to inform his books, which exude an adolescent brio. Confoundingly, in person his appearance had been likened to a university lecturer, and for all the darkness in his novels he came across as quite upbeat and jovial. He was a regular at Science Fiction conventions -- not necessarily to promote himself but because he was "one of us" -- a fan in his own right. He also had one of greatest geek credentials of all time: he was an extra in the final scene of ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail''.

* BiTheWay: Insofar as Isis in ''Whit'' fancies people, they can be of either sex.

According to [[http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/banks_iain_m his entry]] in ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'', "Although differences in register can be detected between the two forms of his name, as a whole Banks's work is more usefully thought of as ranging through a wide spectrum, rather than as bifurcating into two separate categories. As in the case of Graham Greene's "real novels" and what he called "Entertainments", it is a distinction without visible merit, beyond its use in marketing terms. "

Ian Banks had a [[Creator/QuentinTarantino Quentin-Tarantino-like]] reputation: he was famous for his first published novel ''Literature/TheWaspFactory'' which featured murder, animal mutilation and had a darkly comic tone. Explicit depictions of horrible events is a constant. Any article about him is sure to mention exploding grannies or heads on life-support used as punching bags.

Iain Banks (1954 - 2013) was a Scottish writer who alternated between straight fiction (as Iain Banks) and ScienceFiction (as Iain M. Banks). He was listed by the ''Times'' as one of the 50 greatest British writers.

'''Iain Banks''' (1954 - 2013) was a Scottish writer who alternated between straight fiction (as Iain Banks) and ScienceFiction (as Iain M. Banks). He was listed by the ''Times'' as one of the 50 greatest British writers.

* CombatPragmatist: In ''Whit'', BadassAdorable heroine Isis witnesses a black friend being menaced by racist thugs. She herself is mixed race, although she looks white, and is horrified. She goes into an ordinary shop and buys a kid's water pistol and a bottle of Tabasco sauce. She combines the two to make instant [[NonLethalWarfare pepper spray]] [[spoiler:which she uses, to devastating effect.]]

->''...a story which both embraces and rejects the romanticism of space adventure; a story which unsettles as often as it thrills.''

Banks was happy to borrow ideas from all over the Science field. Sometimes this complexity gets out of hand. ''Feersum Endjinn'' is perhaps an example when the special effects take over and the story gets lost.

* ''Literature/AgainstADarkBackground'' (1994)

* {{BFG}}: In ''Literature/AgainstADarkBackground'', a group of solipsistic mercenaries dump an advanced weapon that they have been gifted after falsely assuming that it has run out of ammo. Previously they had used it to shoot down several jet fighters.

* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: Banks and fellow Scottish science fiction writer Creator/{{Ken MacLeod}} in real life.

* TheAtoner: Cheradenine Zakalwe
* BatmanGambit: The Culture is forever manipulating people. Manipulation features in many of his novels.
* {{BFG}}: Culture guns. In ''State of the Art'' there is the darkly amusing case of a {{BFG}} that is a smart gun -- considerably smarter than the wielder, in fact.
** The joke about the gun being smarter than the person wielding it was repreated in ''Literature/AgainstADarkBackground'' when a group of solipsistic mercenaries dump an advanced weapon that they have been gifted after falsely assuming that it has run out of ammo. Previously they had used it to shoot down several jet fighters.

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: ''Look to Windward''
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: ''Look to Windward'' has eight viewpoint characters.
* MindRape: When a multimillion ton starship derided with the name ''Meatfucker'' comes after your grey cells, it ain't pretty.

* PhysicalGod: The Minds. [[DeusEstMachina "We are close to gods, and on the far side."]]

* SociopathicHero: Turn up here and there in a lot of novels, particularly anything to do with Special Circumstances. And a ''lot'' of [[PsychoForHire Psychos For Hire]].

* SuperweaponSurprise
** The apparently helpless zeppelin-like Behemothaur natives of the airsphere have some big brothers, who will see that your species goes extinct if you mess with their charges.
** The Dwellers' hidden goodies in ''The Algebraist''.

* WarIsGlorious: There's just too much delight in the hardware and what it can do to avoid this one, though the Culture consciously tries to avoid this -- among other things, their warships are dubbed "Thug", "Torturer", "Murderer" class, where other cultures would choose the likes of "Vengeance" or "Glory".