The Algebraist : Solved!

It took me a while to get through this one. I started the book on holiday last year, got about a quarter of the way through and then just stalled, overloaded by alien names - hierchons, archimandrites, mercatorias and shrievalities. It's happened a few times when I've been reading books by certain authors - notably Clive Barker, whose doorstop of a novel Imajica I got half way through, left on the shelf for six months and then finished in a weekend.
 
The Algebraist is SF, although not set in the Culture universe - indeed the central conceit would not work with that particular background. In a nutshell, the universe is inhabited by the Dwellers, an unimaginably ancient and slow living species that are to be found in nearly every gas giant planet. They have a secret list of portals that would theoretically connect every system in the universe together and make the existing limited and vulnerable portal network used by every other galactic species redundant. The raw list is useless without a key - a mathematical transformation or piece of algebra that would give the exact location of each portal - which most people believe is just a myth. Fassin Taak, a slow seer, who specialises in communicating with the Dwellers unwittingly uncovers a lead to the location of the key, and turns his home system into a target for a murderous invasion fleet.
 
The bulk of the novel is a picaresque quest, as Fassin journeys through the truly alien Dweller society and beyond in search of something that may or may not exist, whilst events in the wider galaxy spiral out of control. It is an enjoyable journey, although it goes off in some quite unexpected directions. A particular sub-plot is ignored for hundreds of pages, interesting and intriguing ideas (such as a religion based on the idea that the universe is a giant simulation and that if enough people believe the Truth it will be overthrown) are picked up and then tossed aside and the idea of Dwellers living life at a much slower speed than the 'quick' races is never fully explored.

In the end, this is science fiction of ideas on a grand scale. It is a Maguffin hunt and a huge cosmic joke and a vast space opera with spaceships 'n' lasers 'n' aliens 'n' stuff, but enjoyable on its own terms. Definitely one for fans of Iain M. Banks, with the 'M' being the important letter.