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 doesnt work a blown loudspeaker beanbags other unwanted furniture... Then they get carried away & start dropping things that are still working while wrecking the rest of the apartment. But mobile phones start ringing & theyre 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 & moral conundrums of the real world. His new novel displays his trademark dark wit buoyancy & momentum.