High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Walking on Glass was the second novel by Scottish writer Iain Banks. It was published in 1985.It has three storylines that do not appear to be linked, but eventually come together, to an extent that depends upon how much the reader wishes to read into the book.Perhaps unjustly, Walking on Glass is now one of Banks' least regarded books. It was keenly awaited after the critical acclaim for Banks' first novel, The Wasp Factory, and many critics felt that, although the structure was clever, the book was too much about structure and that the characters were inadequately developed. Many, if not all, of the themes and devices used here are arguably done better in his other works.