Iain M Banks - The Algebraist
Fassin Taak is a slow seer, who undertakes delves, explorations of Dweller culture and knowledge. The Dwellers are inhabitants of gas giant planets and are among the most ancient and long-living creatures in the galaxy. While investigating some of their library materials, Taak unwittingly uncovers a clue to a legendary network of wormholes, rumoured to be secretly used by the Dwellers in their incredibly long excursions through the universe. It’s immensely valuable information that is in danger of being misused if it gets into the wrong hands, but word of its existence has leaked out. The whole system is on the brink of war, with attacks already being launched by troublesome Beyonder and E-5 Disconnect factions and a particularly bloodthirsty character, the Archimandrite Luseferous. Taak is charged with finding out the key to the conflict that his clue has uncovered, taking him on a journey to the far reaches of the galaxy. The plot of Iain Banks’ new novel is fairly straightforward an...