The Algebraist - Iain M. Banks

‘The Algebraist’ is the welcomed return of Iain M Banks (aka Iain Banks) to science fiction and I’m glad to say he has continues where he left off producing another intriguing and cerebral piece of fiction. Iain M Banks is best known for his novels set in the ‘Culture’ universe (The Player Of Games, Consider Phlebas) dealing with the development of human civilisation thousands of years in the future where machines have been completely integrated to the point where they have become sentient beings achieving equal footing with humans. ‘The Algebraist’ is different, the Culture does not exist (or maybe has not yet developed) in this universe in the ...  Read the complete review

Iain Banks writes "proper" (which is not perhaps the best word to use for an author whose list includes "Wasp Factory") literary fiction. Iain M. Banks who, on the surface of things, just happens to be the same person , writes mind-blowingly grand space opera. As many a big name in sci-fi and fantasy, Iain M. Banks created a future world in which most of his stories take place - these are so called Culture novels. "The Algebraist " is not a Culture novel, though to be honest it's hard to actually work that one out and only the actual absence of Culture itself as well as the fact that AI is banned rather than one of dominant life ...  Read the complete review

Iain Banks is one of my favourite authors. His debut The Wasp Factory gripped me from cover to cover, a grim gothic novel stunningly executed; Walking On Glass blended three entirely sepearate narratives together perfectly without ever drawing all three together. Banks is hailed by some as one of the greatest authors of our time, and with that opinion I am forced to agree. He is certainly prolific, and can lend his hand to any one of a vast repertoire of genres, frequently blending more than one together with unusual but inevitably brilliant (for what is in my opinion the best example of this in his writing, see Walking On Glass). Each of his books is as good as his ...  Read the complete review