_Canal Dreams_ is yet another understated work by Iain Banks. A famous cellist is on her way to Europe to perform a series of concerts. However, her ship is held up in the Panama Canal by a war, so she and the passengers of other trapped ships spend their days in a seemingly endless series of parties and other activities.

One day the ships are commandeered by guerilla fighters, and the cellist finds that she takes to wielding weapons as easily as a cello bow. This is typical Banks fare, interweaving past and present, letting the violent surprises wend their way through the intricate tale. This isn't the best of Banks' works I've read, but it's not bad.