"The Algebraist" Not so sure on this selection...

[Rob]

I've only read the back cover, and I already have tired head. That, and I swore when I left college 20 years ago that I would never open another book that has "algebra" in the title. It does, however, look impressive on my nightstand.

[Whitaker]

I'm a 100 pages in, and I'm enjoying it so far. That said, at about 20+ pages, I realised that I'd read it before. Don't remember much of it, so it's practically like a first time read. Not sure if that's a good or bad sign. LOL!

[Rita]

I've got the book from the library and it is sitting in my living room, uncracked. Maybe it is the title, but it looks so daunting. I've read books that size before, probably hundreds of times. What's wrong with me?

* note to self: never name a book after mathematics *

[Jason]

My local library doesn't have The Algebraist, but they do have a couple of other Banks SF novels (Consider Phlebas and The Player of Games, I think). I thought about reading one of those instead this month because I don't want to buy a copy without knowing if I'll like it or not first.

[Shannon]

The only Banks' book I've read is Consider Phlebas and I loved it, but I agree: this book's title is daunting! What's it even about exactly?

[Richard]

I was very happy with the group's choice on this one. Not only is Banks one of my favourite authors but I hadn't read it and it was sitting on my shelf waiting to be read.
Admittedly it isn't an easy read, takes a bit of effort, but for a bunch of hardcore SciFi readers it should be very doable. If you like Hard SF and Space Opera then this one should be right up your street.
As for the Title, don't worry, what's so scary about a simple 3D coordinate transform.
I really enjoyed it, boils down to a fairly straightforward action adventure, with space battles, aliens and all the usual SciFi stuff. If you like Iain M's wordy clever style then you should like this.

[Paul]

I too, am very happy with this choice. It's on my bookshelf too. Banks is fast becoming a favorite-I've read Consider Phlebas and The Player of games.

[Rob]

Richard wrote: "I was very happy with the group's choice on this one. Not only is Banks one of my favourite authors but I hadn't read it and it was sitting on my shelf waiting to be read.
Admittedly it isn't an e..."

As long as you are promising me that something will get blown up, I'll crack it open by Monday.

[Rob]

Rita wrote: "I've got the book from the library and it is sitting in my living room, uncracked. Maybe it is the title, but it looks so daunting. I've read books that size before, probably hundreds of times. Wha..."

I had the same reaction. I read wrist-breaking books all the time, but for some reason this one looked like I was taking on the Bible. Fortunately, I have yet to put a bullet in the head of the book I'm reading now, so I can label this "prioritizing" instead of "procrastinating."

[Richard]

Monk wrote: "As long as you are promising me that something will get blown up, I'll crack it open by Monday...."


Monk, things will get blown up at relativistic velocities, also by Anti-Matter and by alien energy rays.
What more could you ask for.

[Rob]

Richard wrote: "Monk wrote: "As long as you are promising me that something will get blown up, I'll crack it open by Monday...."


Monk, things will get blown up at relativistic velocities, also by Anti-Matter and..."

I could ask for a cover art by Boris Vallejo, but I'll take what I can get.

[Richard]

Monk wrote: "I could ask for a cover art by Boris Vallejo..."

In that case you might like this site.

[Sandi]

I read this book a couple of years ago for a group and I loathed it. Half the time, I didn't know what the heck was going on. I didn't find any of the characters interesting or engaging. I also didn't think the aliens' thought processes were sufficiently alien. Their appearance and culture were so incredibly alien, it was implausible for them to behave the way they did.

[Rob]

Had just a few minutes to crack this open yesterday, and my first thought was that it reads like a parody of science fiction. But now that I've met the sadistic psychopath with an imagination, I'm intrigued. It's better than the book I've been reading by a long shot.

[Edward]

I found this book very frustrating at first--it was the first thing I'd read by Banks--but what I loved was its sheer audacity, and after a while I found myself hungry for more, so I read a couple of the Culture books (Matter and Excession), and found them frustrating too, at times, and flawed in various ways, but at the same time I know I want to read more, because the "world" of these books is just so vast. It's a strange thing to say, but I love the absence of Earth in these books; they just have a scope in time and space that not even much other space opera attempts.

Incidentally, does anyone else who's read the Culture books wonder why Banks didn't make this a Culture novel? It seems so similar to them.

[Rob]

Edward wrote: "I found this book very frustrating at first--it was the first thing I'd read by Banks--but what I loved was its sheer audacity, and after a while I found myself hungry for more, so I read a couple ..."

I'm new to Banks, but my reaction thus far is similar to yours. Compelled to keep going, but at times scratching my head with the bookmark. Like working through a good Thai meal...the taste keeps you going, even as you realize that the heat is going to put you in the hospital. Know nothing about the Culture series, but would be interested to check it out. Which book is first, or do they work as stand alone novels?

[Andrew]

Edward wrote: "Incidentally, does anyone else who's read the Culture books wonder why Banks didn't make this a Culture novel? It seems so similar to them."

It does always seem kind of strange (and somewhat disappointing) when he writes a non-Culture sci-fi book. Some of the science/technology in this one is different from the Culture universe, but I agree that it does feel similar in many ways. I guess the plot of the book might not have worked in the Culture universe (can't say why without spoiling it though!).

[Andrew]

Monk wrote: "Know nothing about the Culture series, but would be interested to check it out. Which book is first, or do they work as stand alone novels?"

I'd start with the first published, Consider Phlebas. The later books sometimes assume that you already know the Culture universe, so they'll make less sense if you read them first. Of course, Banks often introduces things without fully explaining what they are or how they are supposed to work - usually that's kind of fun and adds to the "alien" feel of the world.

[Tony]

Monk wrote: "Edward wrote: "Know nothing about the Culture series, but would be interested to check it out. Which book is first, or do they work as stand alone novels?"

They're not sequels of each other, in that sense they each stand on their own, and I don't think you'd lose much by reading them out of order. But there are obviously things revealed about the Culture universe that aren't reiterated again in subsequent books, and seeing as they're all (in my opinion) of a very similarly high standard, there's no good reason not to read them in order. Personally apart from the first three, I read them in order, pretty much as soon as they hit the shelves, that seemed to work for me ;).

[Charlie]

Which Culture books would you say are the best bets, and which (if any) would you recommend to stay away from? I've only read Consider Phlebas thus far. While I wasn't exactly blown away by it, it was fun enough to hook me in for more, so long that it gets better from here.

[Cindy]

Edward wrote: "It's a strange thing to say, but I love the absence of Earth in these books."

For the Culture series, Earth is dealt with/mentioned in The State Of The Art.

Yes, the vastness of the worlds is pretty overwhelming at times. I can't even fathom how Banks's mind must work.