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Just like most of us have a BS detector that we use routinely in real life (and for which Bernie Madoff's clients wished they had a more sensitive one), most of us SF readers have a "suspension of disbelief" detector that goes off when our personal comfort level of "distance from reality" is exceeded. My comfort level is fairly close to reality, which is why I generally don't read fantasy. Mrs. Overclock (a.k.a. Dr. Overclock, Medicine Woman) is more liberal in this respect. However, I do generally find the stuff of Iain Banks etc. acceptable.
Of course, there are (weird) exceptions: I loved JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR. NORRELL, but Mrs. Overclock (etc.) did not share my enthusiasm. But it also tickled the historical fiction receptors in my brain.
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@Chip Overclock: For, me a story has to set up, for lack of better words, "realism parameters." If the author does not set some parameter for realism for something in the beginning, I assume it functions as it does in the real world. For example, if some story uses telepathy from the beginning as a plot device, I'm fine with it. If telepathy suddenly appears half-way through the story in an otherwise realistic universe, my BS detector goes off and I have a hard time enjoying the rest of story. Every author creates their own world when they write a story, but they need to stick to the rules of the world they created in order for me to suspend my disbelief.
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@Chip Overclock: I thought Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell was fascinating, because the subject matter was fantastic, but the treatment of it was very realistic, IMO.
Also, there is some beautiful language in there.
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