He is a surprisingly fun writer to read, not just because he's a pretty overt commie. He is really good with imagery; he can paint a picture in your head, which is useful for the pretty unique qualities of his kooky sci fi. Perdido Street Station was bursting at the seams with great pulpy ideas that refreshed a very stale genre for me.

(I have heard some unpleasant things about him being emotionally abusive to his ex though. If you don't like having to separate the art from the artist you might want to keep that in mind.