Raw Spirit
by Iain Banks
Arrow $116
On the cover of a book supposedly about whisky, Iain Banks' name is larger than the title, which is appropriate because the words deal more with the British author than the potent Scottish drink. Banks spent a couple of months 'researching' along Scotland's whisky trail. He rants about why he drives a Landrover Station Wagon Td5, what he dislikes about Tony Blair (or Tony Bliar as he calls him), what he dislikes about football (or fitba), and the time he got drunk at the World Science Fiction Convention in Brighton in 1987. The parts about whisky fall flat. Banks writes amusingly, but enjoyment of this book depends on whether you care that the T in Td5 stands for turbo or that his car has a five-cylinder diesel engine.
