Of the British science-fiction and fantasy writers who began their careers in the 1980s, Iain M. Banks is one of the most important--and is certainly the most diverse in terms of the range of his published work. Primarily a novelist, he has tried his han...

Iain Banks's fiction captures the complexities of subjectivity and locale. At its best his writing offers insights into the tensions of masculine identity in a competitive consumerist culture. His prose can be vibrant, flexible, and stylish. It can catch...

An organization known as the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) was formed in August 1943 as an amalgamation of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, started by Air Transport Command employee Nancy Love in September 1942, and the Women's Flying Training Detachment, founded in November...

WASP BITES WASP Many types of colonial insects share information via body contact. One of the more mysterious forms of such contact is known as social biting, and species that engage in the practice don't necessarily restrict themselves to dainty nibbles. Polybia occidentalis wasps,...

Explores the common ground occupied by Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" and Iain Bank's "The Wasp Factory." Considers the key theme of isolation in each work and details a clear comparison that can be made from the two stories regarding animal imagery.