The Algebraist, a book review

Iain M. Banks is one of the more literate authors to take on science fiction (he also writes mainstream literary fiction, as Iain Banks (without the ‘M.’)). I find his science fiction novels highly enjoyable, but he does have tendencies that can be obtrusive; in particular, he invariably includes horrific scenes, he often incorporates overtly evil villains, and his novels tend to be overstuffed with extraneous information (i.e.: they’d make a serviceable doorstop. For pure geek enjoyment this is a good thing, but it is ponderous at times).

I enjoyed The Algebraist, but struggled with a few sections. The villain is so over-the-top that I can picture him twirling the ends of a Snidely Whiplash moustache, and I faithfully slogged through the middle of the novel while feeling as if the book had entered into the ‘slow time’ of the main character, Fassin Taak (a Slow Seer, who delves the depths of a gas giant planet to converse with Dwellers, creatures that can live for billions of years and prefer to cogitate at a slower speed than humans).

The story is presented as an ‘epic’, huge in scope; and yet, it is really quite simple when divested of its accouterments. I enjoyed the first third of the book, aged faster than normal in the middle, enjoyed the build up to the ending, and found the summing-up satisfying (I was especially buoyed by the hopeful statement embodied in the final sentence).

I appreciate Iain M. Banks’ writing style; he can be quite humorous (even his morbid scenes can be comical), he creates interesting characters, and he usually includes enough imaginative ideas for several novels.

I didn’t think this was one of his better books; nevertheless, it was well worth the time invested in reading it.

Sadly, Iain Banks has been diagnosed with gall bladder cancer and is not expected to live more than a year. His final book, a work of literary fiction, The Quarry, is due for publication later this year. He has posted a personal message on his website, and there is a guestbook on his site that is set up for fans and friends to leave messages.

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Look to Windward; a book review

Look to Windward (2000) is another of Iain M. Banks literate, grand space-operas set within the interstellar society of the Culture. For those unfamiliar, Mr. Banks has written several stand-alone novels about the Culture, an exceedingly affluent and powerful civilization that places a high value on individual rights and liberty and has an uncomfortable habit of intervening in the business of other civilizations. Their ‘interventions’ are undertaken with the Culture’s best intentions, although their secret military branch (Special Circumstances) believes that the ends justify the means, and their actions sometimes have disastrous consequences (in case the reader misses the connection, Banks gives a hint that the novel’s politics resemble affairs in our own world: he dedicated the book to the Gulf War Veterans). And it is a disastrous consequence that drives the plot of Look to Windward. Prior to the events portrayed in the novel, agents of the Culture had attempted to dissolve a repressive, hierarchical social system and their actions precipitated a devastating civil-war in the Chelgrian civilization.

There are three main threads to the story:

i) Ziller, a famous Chelgrian composer, spurned the oppressive caste-system of Chel and left his society to live with the Culture citizens of Masaq’. He has composed a new work that he will conduct during an historic event on Masaq’.

ii) Quilan, an ambassador from Chel, travels to Masaq’; allegedly on a mission to convince Ziller to return to Chel, but Quilan, a former soldier, has a darker mission that is slowly revealed as the novel proceeds

iii) a young scientist studies an inscrutable, sentient dirigible within the thriving, internal ecology of a colossal gas bubble that roams through space (as an aside, my inner-geek really appreciated this thread, which epitomizes Banks’ ability to converge and diverge).

There isn’t much wiz-bang action, and the novel develops slowly, but the threads eventually intertwine to form an interesting conclusion.

I could have done without the vindictive, sadistic assassinations at the end, and I have some other quibbles, not the least of which is the fact that I’ve yet to read a book by Iain M. Banks that has completely blown me away as a novel. He writes well, creates an intricate story, has an exceptional imagination, fills his characters with depth, and is able to maintain my interest throughout the book, but his endings leave me oddly unfulfilled. Then again, perhaps this is exactly what he intends.

Recommended

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