It is 4034 AD. Humanity has made it to the stars. Fassin Taak, a Slow Seer at the Court of the Nasqueron Dwellers, will be fortunate if he makes it to the end of the year. The Nasqueron Dwellers inhabit a gas giant on the outskirts of the galaxy, in a system awaiting its wormhole connection to the rest of civilization. In the meantime, they are dismissed as decadents living in a state of highly developed barbarism, hoarding data without order, hunting their own young and fighting pointless formal wars. Seconded to a military-religious order he's barely heard of - part of the baroque hierarchy of the Mercatoria, the latest galactic hegemony - Fassin Taak has to travel again amongst the Dwellers. He is in search of a secret hidden for half a billion years. But with each day that passes a war draws closer - a war that threatens to overwhelm everything and everyone he's ever known.
The Algebraist
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From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Banks (Look to Windward) pulls out all the stops in this gloriously over-the-top, state-of-the-art space opera, a Hugo nominee in its British edition. In a galaxy teeming with intelligent life-forms and dominated by the intensely hierarchical society known as the Mercatoria, the Ulubis system has been cut off from the rest of civilization for over a century as its citizens impatiently await the arrival of a starship carrying an artificial wormhole to replace one destroyed in a previous war. Fassin Taak is a Slow Seer, an anthropologist who studies the Dwellers, the ancient, enigmatic species that inhabits gas giants throughout the galaxy, including Nasqueron in the Ulubis system. Fassin's research contains clues to the existence of a secret wormhole network, one operated by the Dwellers and free from the repressive control of the Mercatoria. Unfortunately, the monstrous ruler of a nearby star system has also learned of this discovery, as has the Mercatoria itself. Now two enormous battle fleets converge on Ulubis, and Fassin must undertake a quest deep into Nasqueron to uncover the Dwellers' secret. This is an enormously enjoyable book, full of wonderful aliens, a sense of wonder and subtle political commentary on current events.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
'A wild imagination.' -- Mail on Sunday
'Banks is a phenomenon.' -- William Gibson
'Captivating.' -- Time Out
'Confirms Banks as the standard by which the rest of SF is judged.' -- The Guardian
'Explosive.' -- Sunday Times
'Gripping, touching and funny.' -- T.L.S.
'One of the very best just got even better.' -- Starburst
'Spectacular ... the field needs his energy.' -- The Scotsman
'There is now no British SF writer to whose work I look forward with greater keenness.' -- The Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
'Banks is a phenomenon.' -- William Gibson
'Captivating.' -- Time Out
'Confirms Banks as the standard by which the rest of SF is judged.' -- The Guardian
'Explosive.' -- Sunday Times
'Gripping, touching and funny.' -- T.L.S.
'One of the very best just got even better.' -- Starburst
'Spectacular ... the field needs his energy.' -- The Scotsman
'There is now no British SF writer to whose work I look forward with greater keenness.' -- The Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
The search for the "Dwellers List" of hidden wormholes that spans the Galaxy
Sep 1 2012
By fastreader
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Fassin Taak is a Seer but he is a young Seer and to him it's all about the exploration and the physical experience of directly meeting with and conversing with the Dwellers. His elders are more comfortable just communing remotely
The Dwellers are an ancient race that populate gas giant planets which are basically an iron core surrounded by a lot of hot toxic gases. Doesn't sound like much fun, but with the Dwellers having been in the galaxy, and rumoured to be in all other galaxies, for billions of years and they know stuff.
In fact due to their longevity they have time to explore and obtain very very valuable information.
In the case of Fassin he unwittingly uncovered an obscure reference to a mythological item called the Dwellers List. The Dwellers List is rumoured to contain a list of the locations of an inter galactic wormhole network that can transport you anywhere within the network of wormholes at near light speed. This wormhole system is on top of the existing small worm hole system in use
What a boon this would be for exploration. Unfortunately it would also be a boon for war. And besides it's only a rumour, right ?
Seer Fassin Taak is charged with the task of finding the list. Unfortunately no one knows where it may be and the Dwellers for all the data they have collected over billions of years are eclectic to say the least in the handling of that information tending to just deposit it in random order in files etc.
Just to add to Fasin's task a powerfull military presence has found out about the list and has sent a fleet to conquer Fassin's world and force him to hand over the list.
What follows is the story of Fassin's search for the list, if it exists, and the war bretween Fassins world and the invading fleet. Colourfull and compelling characters inhabit and inhibit Fassin in his search and there is a war.
Does the list really exist ? If Fassin finds it who will he give it to ? Why won't the Dwellers either confirm or deny the existence of the list ?
Fast paced - HIGHLY entertaining - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
The Dwellers are an ancient race that populate gas giant planets which are basically an iron core surrounded by a lot of hot toxic gases. Doesn't sound like much fun, but with the Dwellers having been in the galaxy, and rumoured to be in all other galaxies, for billions of years and they know stuff.
In fact due to their longevity they have time to explore and obtain very very valuable information.
In the case of Fassin he unwittingly uncovered an obscure reference to a mythological item called the Dwellers List. The Dwellers List is rumoured to contain a list of the locations of an inter galactic wormhole network that can transport you anywhere within the network of wormholes at near light speed. This wormhole system is on top of the existing small worm hole system in use
What a boon this would be for exploration. Unfortunately it would also be a boon for war. And besides it's only a rumour, right ?
Seer Fassin Taak is charged with the task of finding the list. Unfortunately no one knows where it may be and the Dwellers for all the data they have collected over billions of years are eclectic to say the least in the handling of that information tending to just deposit it in random order in files etc.
Just to add to Fasin's task a powerfull military presence has found out about the list and has sent a fleet to conquer Fassin's world and force him to hand over the list.
What follows is the story of Fassin's search for the list, if it exists, and the war bretween Fassins world and the invading fleet. Colourfull and compelling characters inhabit and inhibit Fassin in his search and there is a war.
Does the list really exist ? If Fassin finds it who will he give it to ? Why won't the Dwellers either confirm or deny the existence of the list ?
Fast paced - HIGHLY entertaining - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By mateo
Format:Paperback
I picked up this book on a whim for something to read on the train and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the author's fiction. For me there's nothing like 'unending depth' to make a story worth reading. The book is less Potter and more Tolkien in terms of vast epic feel, exactly how a galaxy-spanning novel should be. Cheers
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although I'm only a little more than halfway through Iain M. Banks latest ( I'm going intentionally slow enjoying every sentence ), it's clear " The Algebraist " is as exciting and well wrought as any of his earlier SF.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
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