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I used to be a voracious Science Fiction reader, but a few years ago I got a little bored with the genre, and read lots of other stuff instead.

On the recommendation of a friend, I recently returned to SF in the form of The Algebraist by Iain M Banks.

Its got me hooked again! It has all the best attributes of a SF novel. It creates an entirely believable futuristic universe, with aliens that go beyond the star-trek-humanoid-with-a-funny-shaped-head variety! The Dwellers for example, are a major feature of this book. They are an extremely long lived species which consequently have a very different outlook on life. Their society operates with little formal structure, where status is based on kudos and kudos is earned in a variety of surprising ways!

Travelling around the Galaxy, even close to light speed can still take years, unless you can use the managed system of wormholes. This system of wormholes is really the basis of the story, following a rumour that the Dwellers have their own private wormhole network.

A bit confusing to start with, the plot jumps across several strands which appear unconnected, but eventually converge. The writing is excellent and paints both scenes and emotions with a consumate skill.

If you like SF, this is a real treat.