The Algebraist
OCLC 56645233 | | |
Preceded by | Raw Spirit | |
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Followed by | The Steep Approach to Garbadale |
The Algebraist is a
It was his third science fiction novel not to be based or set in The Culture, the earlier two being Against a Dark Background and Feersum Endjinn.
Plot summary
The novel takes place in 4034. With the assistance of other species, humans have spread across the galaxy, which is largely ruled by the Mercatoria, a complex feudal hierarchy, with a religious zeal to rid the galaxy of
The central character is the human Fassin Taak who is a "Slow Seer" at the Court of the Nasqueron Dwellers. The Nasqueron's star system has been cut off from the rest of Mercatoria civilization because their
The Nasqueron Dwellers are an advanced and ancient civilisation of non-humanoids who inhabit
Taak is looking forward to a life of quiet scholarship when he is astonished to be
The Dweller List is only a list of star systems. Portals are relatively small and can be anywhere within a system so long as it is a point of low
The Archimandrite Luseferous is a tyrannical warlord of the Starveling Cult. He is in loose alliance with the Beyonders. He sets out to invade the Ulubis system from the Cluster Epiphany Five Disconnect while also aiming to possess the secrets of the Dweller portals. A Mercatoria counter-attack fleet hurries to defend Ulubis against the Starveling Cult ships and their Beyonder allies. Both fleets are forced to travel at sub light speeds, leaving the inhabitants of the Ulubis system anxiously wondering which will arrive first.
Taak's hunt for the Transform takes him on a journey, partly through the Dweller wormhole network. In a back story, it is revealed that he has been out of sympathy with the Mercatoria for some time, particularly over their treatment of artificial intelligences, and has in fact been a Beyonder agent. It is also revealed that the Dwellers have been harbouring artificial intelligences from Mercatoria persecution.
The Beyonder/Starveling forces arrive and easily overwhelm Ulubis's native defences. They discover to their dismay that the counter-attack force is arriving much sooner than predicted, and is superior. The Beyonder factions despair of locating Taak and the secret in the time available before the recapture of Ulubis, and retreat. The Starvelings under Luseferous remain. He makes a last-ditch attempt to force the Dwellers to yield up Taak, threatening them with antimatter weapons. The Dwellers respond with devastating blows on his fleet. Luseferous flees under Mercatoria pursuit.
Taak returns from his journey with his memory partly erased. He is still able to piece together the secret from the remaining clues: every massive body has a region of zero net gravitational attraction at its exact centre. The Dwellers have hidden wormhole portals in the cores of all their occupied planets, and the Transform was never necessary. It remains unclear whether the Dwellers will give the necessary cooperation in allowing other species access to their network, now that the secret is out.
The novel ends with Taak, having left Ulubis and joined the Beyonders, suggesting to a lifelong friend he has just discovered is an AI, "One day we'll all be free".
Reception
In an interview in 2004, Banks stated that "It probably could become a trilogy, but for now it’s a standalone novel."[2] The Algebraist was shortlisted for the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novel.[3] In 2011, the novel was short-listed for the NPR Top-100 Science Fiction, Fantasy Titles.[4]
Release details
- First edition hardcover: The Algebraist, Iain M. Banks, London: Orbit, 2004 ISBN 1-84149-155-1(UK)
- ISBN 1-59780-026-0)
See also
References
- ^ "2005 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. 24 July 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
- ^ "October 2004 Interview: Iain Banks". Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "2005 Hugo Awards". 24 July 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
- ^ "Science Fiction And Fantasy Finalists". NPR. Retrieved 3 August 2011.