The Algebraist

This one seems to divide people. It does have flaws, it takes an age to get going, the plot is a bit (OK a lot) daft and meandering, there's a pantomime villain whole doesn't actually twirl his moustache but could well do and it all might seem a bit inconsequential and self-indulgent.

None of this bothers me a great deal (YMMV) and if you can get past the first 150 or so pages it does become rather lot of fun. The gas-giant 'Dwellers' in particular are a great comic creation - a hugely long-lived and ancient race that from a human perspective appear eccentric and quixotic, seemingly incapable of taking anything seriously. The book starts to perk up when we encounter them. There's also war and space-battles and politics and stuff, all the usual entertaining Banksian space-opera paraphernalia.

So, perhaps not the best of IMBs SF but also far from the worst.