The Wasp Factory
by Iain Banks · first published 1984
66% recommend21% neutral13% critical
Why HN recommends it
Dark, unsettling short novel with a shocking ending and wild energy, praised as Banks' debut and by some as his best; suits readers who can handle disturbing themes and like his sci-fi.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Frank, no ordinary sixteen-year-old, lives with his father outsIde a remote Scottish village. Their life is, to say the least, unconventional. Frank's mother abandoned them years ago: his elder brother Eric is confined to a psychiatric hospital; and his father measures out his eccentricities on an imperial scale. Frank has turned to strange acts of violence to vent his frustrations. In the bizarre daily rituals there is some solace. But when news comes of Eric's escape from the hospital Frank has to prepare the ground for his brother's inevitable return - an event that explodes the mysteries o
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…several chapters. I hardly ever abandon books but have done so more often recently - encroaching age does lead to impatience in some things. I'm not sure how I would feel returning to Use of Weapons and The Wasp Factory, both of which I found shocking and profound the first time around. So the point of this is, your opinion of something might change, or maybe it's just that storytelling is like a magic trick which requires…
on “Nancy Pearl’s Rule of 50 for dropping a bad book” ↗By a large margin my favourite author. The Wasp Factory was the first novel of his I read and it was great, but Consider Phlebas and The Player of Games utterly blew my mind.
on “A Personal Statement from Iain Banks” ↗…obviously wrong or even absurd answer; kid object and says why (“but cats don’t float!”) and you can have a fun little Socratic dialogue. For a true expert level example of this process, read the novel The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks (no it is not science fiction and no, do not spoil it by reading Wikipedia)
on “My Favorite Liar (2008)” ↗…Someone already mentioned Neil Gaiman's "American Gods", but it's so good, I'll mention it again :) Very well constructed and has its specific atmosphere... - Anything by Iain Banks - "Walking on glass", "Wasp factory", "A song of stone" are definitely not light reading, but worth spending some time on them. His science-fiction is much simpler, but... didn't get me as excited as "Walking on glass". Non-fiction: -…
on “Ask HN: Summer Reading Recommendations?” ↗…story where the Minds' machinations are glimpsed only as outsize gear wheels or are the framing device for some sadistic non-Culture villain. BTW I'm not that big a fan of Banks' non-SF work, but The Wasp Factory is absolutely essential reading if you find his SF at all interesting - it's like the conceptual template for a great many other of his stories and sets out basic themes that he returns to over and over.
on “Our Favorite Cliché: A World Filled with Idiots” ↗Fiction: Iain Banks (the bridge; wasp factory; walking on glass; player of games). Ender's game. Asimov. Dostoyevski. Ayn Rand (Fountainhead). Sigurd Hoel. (excellent norwegian writer) Non-fiction: stuff about military strategy (Sun Tzu, Clausewitz;…
on “Do Hackers read *other* books?” ↗…through all the comments, seeing if someone mentioned the late great Mr Banks. His Culture books are almost perfect hard sci-fi in my opinion, and his contemporary collection contain some amazing books (The Wasp Factory, and The Bridge immediately come to mind).
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗…establishing an antagonistic relationship with his readers. His non-sci-fi literary work is kidna off-topic (and imho much less interesting) but I would definitely recommend people read his first book, The Wasp Factory. It's a short but excellent psychological horror story whose structural framework is unusually clear, and often repeats in his sci-fi work.
on “The Ambiguous Utopia of Iain M. Banks (2009)” ↗Iain Banks' Horror, non-SF stuff is great. Like you I enjoyed The Wasp Factory. Also, The Bridge. We lost him far too young. edit: and if you enjoyed Banks' Horror you'll probably get into Dan Simmons' stuff, another SF (Hyperion) and Horror writer. The Song of Kali was excellent.
on “The muscular imagination of Iain M. Banks: a future you might want” ↗93. The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
The Wasp Factory by Iain (M.) Banks
on “Book that was so good that you bought everything published by author?” ↗It's also worth trying his contemporary fiction which is just as good. Most people are aware of "The Wasp Factory" which can probably also be classed as science fiction (although not SciFi). He also wrote the excellent "Crow Road" which has probably one of the greatest opening lines in any book I've ever read.
on “A Few Questions About the Culture: An Interview with Iain Banks” ↗My first exposure to Banks was The Wasp Factory, which remains one of the only books that has ever literally nauseated me. It was excellent, but it's been hard for me to pick up another book of his since. Oh, actually I did read The Business, which…
on “Ask HN: What's your favorite HN post?” ↗I've loved most of his books since I first read The Wasp Factory in 1987. A sad loss. I hope someone does a faithful and sympathetic movie version of one of his culture novels. RIP
on “Iain Banks dies of cancer aged 59” ↗Btw: If this is your first intro to Banks I recommend starting with The Business, absolutely fantastic book! He's generally a great author. Wasp Factory is his most famous book I guess, but The Business is by far my favorite.
on “Iain M. Banks describing GPT – in 2005 novel” ↗