A great book, lot of twists and turns, action, humour and originality.

We are given the answer to Taak's quest right at the start so the book is really about the journey not the goal which makes a pleasant change with the surprise ending not being required.

The writing is great with lot of strange characters.
The Dwellers supply a lot of humour being written like those old British explorers who had no interest in money and no real concept of danger but simply did whatever they wanted for the hell of it.

Taak is likeable and there is a nice sub-plot based around his old friends and events in his past that bring a more human side to what could have been an otherwise shallow book.

This book really has everything.

  Spoilers.

I thought he was going to let me down with his billion year old aliens: I generally don't like it when characters are any more than centuries old, because to have lived that long they generally just have to be way more powerful, profound and, more importantly, unkillable, than they usually are. But I was reassuredhe has Stephen King's ability to make you feel uncomfortable when he wants you to. But he's got so much more - he doesn't just live in the vibe. I relished the revelation of the A.I.s - cracker scene. And more cracker because he doesn't try to throw scenes like this in constantly. The story really coheres: Banks manages to make Fassin's quest matter, yet he's still plausible as a pawn. Other characters along the way aren't just throwaways - Taince, Saluus, even the `truetwins', all sorts, are affecting and feel meaty.

I notice I've often rated Banks as a B+, finding something to dislike among the many strengths. But here while there were perhaps less real standout scenes than in some books I've also criticised, I didn't think he missed a beat anywhere (even in the Grail revelation - which is a pretty big demand). And even in saying that, the writing is simply good - evocative, not insulting, potent, assured. He's got a fabulous imagination - some great `what if's' about things like what would ancient races look like, what about living on gas giants?

Did I mention that Banks is very good?

  This is the first non-Culture novel I have read by Banks.I approached it with some reluctance, not sure of what I was in for.The first 30 pages or so seemed a bit of a slog, but it quickly became hard to put down.Worth the time it takes.

*** some spoilers ahead ***

For a novel, entitled "Algebraist", I had expected some exotic use of math as a key device in the story, but instead we got some vague mention of mathematical transforms plus some elementary math errors.e.g. when the author said that the equations of the transform "equals zero" and thus amount to nothing, it doesn't really make sense, since ALL equations can be written as F(x)=0, and thus the equations equaling zero doesn't mean the equations are meaningless as the author implied.Rather what matters are the ROOTS of the equations (i.e. specific values of x which made F(x)=0).I guess Ian Banks doesn't really have trainings in higher math, thus the confusion between the equations and their roots.Incidentally Issac Asimov also made similar mistakes in his Foundation series: the Prime Radiant should be a device that displays the solutions (roots) of the psychohistorical equations, rather than the equations themselves.

But if you can overlook this rather common mistake among sci-fi writers, the novel itself is a very good read with some original ideas and sweeping vistas involving gas giants.The story did end with a cliffhanger and the author indicated that he may develop this story into a trilogy.I'll be eagerly waiting and hoping that the author will brush up on his math before writing the next novels.

Although this book is one of a series, it can be understood and enjoyed as a single novel.It does make me want to read more of the books in the series, as the culture described is so intriguing.
I found the characters sympathetic and credible, the plot wassuspenseful and the ending took me by surprise.The writing is first rate and often has a delightful touch of humour.
This book will entertain you and also leave you with things to think about.