In this particular incarnation of Banks-ist Sci-fi, most of the gas giant planets in the galaxy are inhabited by extremely long-lived, eccentric alien life-forms known as 'Dwellers.' They aren't particularly interested in the other inhabitants of the galaxy, but a few of them allow a few of us, the humans, to visit them and chat, and exchange information. Seer Fassin Taak is one such individual, and in the course of his studies of the Dwellers, he finds a piece of information that a lot of people think is worthy of a lot of attention. And he has to find the rest of it, before the attention arrives.
The actual plot of the book is fairly solid, and has the kind of twists that I expected of Banks, after reading 'Consider Phlebas'. Unfortunately, the first 20 pages or so could put off a lot of people. He starts quite slowly... using long, flowery, over-complicated sentences to describe people and events that turn out to be almost completely irrelevant in later parts of the story. Whether he meant to provide an explanation for Seer Taak's uncle transforming himself into a Walrus, or whether this was just an off-hand way of describing the kind of technologies available isn't really clear. But that, and a few other things, could have been omitted to no detriment (and possibly an improvement).
However, perhaps Iain M has earned some indulgence over the years. If you press on past the first few pages, which require a lot of concentration and perseverance, you are rewarded with some superb descriptions of the Dweller, one of the most original sci-fi species I have ever heard of. It seems that Iain M Banks' talent lies very squarely in his aliens, which in this novel were entertaining and original, while still having a necessary ring-of-truth. The Dwellers are eccentric, and utterly alien. Their interactions with each other and with the Seers make for amusing reading. They are without-doubt the best part of the book.
There are some plot side-lines, as well. Some don’t seem to be completely necessary, but most of them at least gave some good character-development. For a reader that can go-with-the-flow and indulge the author, it is still quite enjoyable, though perhaps the book did suffer a little from a lack of editing, as so many really famous authors seem to.
This isn't the kind of book that I'd tell all my friends to go out and buy... for Banks novels, I'd put 'Consider Phlebas' quite a long way above 'the Algebraist', in readability and entertainment value. For those that do decide to read it, I’d recommend skim reading the first few pages, to avoid some of the more detailed descriptions. However, once past this, it becomes a very enjoyable read.
