I first read this book in my late teens and absolutely adored it. I loved the setting, the themes and escalating tension that Banks had so seamlessly created. Back then it was everything I wanted from a book and more. After a ten year gap, I decided to revisit the novel and found it to be, for lack of a better word...flat. The story itself isn't nearly as clever as it thinks it is and the characters felt slightly two dimensional.I guess this novel needs to be read at a certain age, it almost reminded me of Catcher in the Rye in that respect. I would recommend Wasp Factory and it's worth a look but I'm not sure I'd call it a modern day classic.
