The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks

Humanity has spread through the galaxy, meeting other intelligent species everywhere. We war with some, ally with others and some of those alien sentients simply ignore the "quicks," like humans, who measure their life spans in centuries instead of millennia. In The Algebraist Iain M. Banks has brought us fascinating species, interesting characters, advanced technology and very personal stories all in one giant saga.

The alliance humans are party to, The Mercatoria, controls the Ulubis system and it is, in fact, mostly inhabited by humans. An incredibly vicious Mercatoria ex-patriot, turned military leader has learned that the Ulubis system may house a secret. A secret so momentous that it would give the ultimate advantage in power struggles between the "quicks" in the galaxy.

The Dwellers measure their lifetimes in tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of years and live in the atmospheric layers of gas giant planets all over the galaxy. It's even rumored they may travel between galaxies. They claim little interest in the short-lived species of the Mercatoria. They occasionally allow members of "quick" races to communicate with them and study them. Currently, humans have that privilege, but only a few of them.

. Fassin Taak is one of the few sentients the Dwellers will speak with. Fassin is tasked with entering the atmosphere of the gas giant where the local Dwellers reside and finding the truth about the ultimate secret. The very existence of this secret is improbable and the seemingly buffoonish Dwellers aid and hamper his search. Of course, if he does find it he is ordered to turn it over to The Mercatoria. Fassin Taak is an agonized man with torn loyalties and an uncertain future.

Iain M. Banks has managed in The Algebraist, again, to create a world with believable aliens, rich structure and, like all his novels, a future with disturbing aspects. Like all Banks novels I have read, The Algebraist has a certain creepiness peeking through from time to time; the race whose hubris had reduced them to collecting and storing dead bodies, scavenging corpses from battlefields and plagued planets. The leader of the invading forces is a ghoulish genius who compels loyalty through terror.

The Algebraist was nominated for the Hugo award in 2005 and rightly so. In a grand setting, Banks examines our ambiguity over advanced technology like artificial intelligence and nanotechnology. The balance between racial unity and possible friendship between vastly different sentients is pivotal to the story. Humanity's own ambiguity over personal freedom and government loyalty and the conflict between duty and love are constant background themes.

I highly recommend The Algebraist to science fiction lovers who enjoy relevant, challenging and compelling space opera.

The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks, London: Orbit, 2004