The Algebraist (Iain Banks)

I enjoyed this huge, deep novel about a galaxy chock-full of alien factions, slow-motion wars, intrigue, hidden codes, and more. Most of the technology seemed plausible and I cared about the main characters. I thought the space warfare was handled especially skifully. That said, I still had problems with part of it, mostly the time frames. I know why it was necessary, but still, species that not only survive but stay at essentially the same technological and sociological level for billions of years? Even among the main characters, technology didn't change over hundreds of years. Think back 200 years and decide how likely that is. Also, all the species (with one significant exception) are at basically the same technological level, and even that one exception is not different by orders of magnitude. These factors kept getting in the way of my suspension of disbelief. Overall, though, I liked it.