The Algebraist

I read a few books by Iain M. Banks years ago, then gave up despite the high standard of the stories, because he was simply too depressing (he has a tendency to be very, very hard on his characters, and to make the entire Universe go wrong). But I decided it was time to give him another try. The Algebraist is Banks on good but surprisingly mellow form. The story is strong and the world nicely painted. But when I reached the end, I wasn’t sure I’d just read a book by Banks – after all, I didn’t feel the urge to slit my wrists!

The story focuses on Fassin Taak, who is a Seer – one of a group of humans who travel into a gas giant planet to talk to the enigmatic Dwellers. The relationship between the Dwellers (who seem to have been around for billions of years) and the Quick (normal species like humans) is at the core of the book, especially the tension between the legends of awesome Dweller technology and their apparent low regard for technology itself. Through sneak attacks, war, journeys and discussions, Fassin must seek a lost secret in order to serve his new bureaucratic masters and to save his home system.

The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks

Although it’s a good book and well worth reading, it fails of excellence. It’s quite long and, although it never drags, I also didn’t feel that the story really justified the length. Parts of the world (like the origins and motivation of the Bad Guys) were never clear to me, which just niggled slightly. The general feel was, to me, of a book that could have been even better with stronger editing.

Paperback: 544 Pages
Publisher: Orbit (04 July 2005)
ISBN: 1841492299
My Rating: Rating: 4-0 Buy from Amazon