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mattp3's review
4.0
Pretty classic miliary sci-fi from Asher here. Was a bit dense in places, but otherwise an enjoyable enough episode of the Polity universe.
jercox's review
4.0
Good addition to the series. More weirdness and crazy scary lethal creatures, gabbleducks, heroyns and hooders, plus some big reveals on Jain technology.
Every book in this series has the same sort of multi person viewpoint switching, plotlines that don't quite make sense, and AIs that are godlike but not really. It isn't at all clear through the whole thing why humans are involved at all. Other than that, great story.
Every book in this series has the same sort of multi person viewpoint switching, plotlines that don't quite make sense, and AIs that are godlike but not really. It isn't at all clear through the whole thing why humans are involved at all. Other than that, great story.
gavreads's review against another edition
Neal Asher has to be one of my favourite authors, notice I didn’t say SF authors (why add an unneeded label), but I’ve been reading his Polity series in a bit of an odd order.
Here is the internal chronological order:
Prador Moon
The Shadow of the Scorpion
Gridlinked
The Line of Polity
Brass Man
Polity Agent
Line War
The Technician
The Skinner
The Voyage of the Sable Keech
Orbus
Hilldiggers
Plus a collection of Polity-focused short stories
The Gabble and Other Stories
And here is the order I’ve read them in so far:
The Gabble and Other Stories
Prador Moon
The Shadow of the Scorpion
The Skinner (audiobook)
The Voyage of the Sable Keech (audiobook)
Hilldiggers
Orbus (audiobook)
The Technician
Gridlinked
The Line of Polity
The reason that I mention my reading history is that I’ve already seen the aftermath of some of the events in The Line of Polity from reading The Technician but probably not realised their significance. The same can probably said of Agent Cormac as The Shadow of the Scorpion explores the Cormac as he’s manipulated (or should I say shaped) into Agent Cormac.
I’m not unhappy with my reading order though as The Skinner, The Voyage of Sable Keech and Orbus make up their own trilogy and Hilldiggers and The Technician are stand-alones. And The Gabble is a great introduction and if you like short stories they really hooked me into flavour of the Polity.
What it has done is make me want to re-read The Technician again, in fact I want to re-read all Neal’s Polity books. There is something about the continual exploration/evolution/enjoyment of Asher’s Polity that makes it fascinating to read – though also makes me read his books slowly (when I’m not listening to the audiobooks) so I can digest everything.
The plots themselves, like The Line of Polity, are pacy, and the details that are absorbing. And in this one we have Agent Cormac again called on to deal with the alien known as Dragon (though not the same aspect as found in Gridlinked) at the same time as the planet Masada is going through a slow rebellion in the hope that the Polity will intervene.
Neal weaves three main threads, which really start off as the two mentioned above, before Cormac underestimates the skills and knowledge of a biophysicist called Skellor who brings a whole new danger with him.
What I like about Asher’s stories is that he has a passion for biology and uses that to inject new variations of life on to the worlds he presents. This time we have deadly creatures, who have said mostly away from the human inhabitants of Masada until chaos unfolds drawing their attention.
He also shows a love of technology and layers different levels of advancements with the Theoracy having low worn out tech, there is an outline station, Miranda, that is old by Polity standards but above Theocracy, and then we have Dragon whose is able to construct creatures with advanced DNA and then we have what Skellor initiates.
The level of thought and details always makes Asher, for me, slow reading as the plot wants to zip but I want to enjoy the ideas and the settings. It’s quite a skill I think to give you a pacy plot that you want to slow down so you can take everything in.
The current paperback is 660 pages and towards the end you come to realise that it’s not going to be a neat ending. And that the next one, Brass Man, has to pick up certain bits left behind, as does The Line of Polity in some respects.
The danger of intertextual conversions is that the author cannibalises their own ideas so much they end up as skin and bones, but from experience of the Splatterjay trilogy Asher digs deeper, which is why I said earlier that I really want to get round to rereading but first I think I need to catch up with the canon.
One thing I haven’t really mentioned is there is an underlying anger with religion (or so it seems to me) as the echelons of the Theocracy literally live above the people that prepress in the name of God and are deluded that their belief their faith will one day make the Polity crumble.
Asher cover a lot. Highly recommended for SF fans who like explosions, technology, biology, and knowing that the author is a fun.
Here is the internal chronological order:
Prador Moon
The Shadow of the Scorpion
Gridlinked
The Line of Polity
Brass Man
Polity Agent
Line War
The Technician
The Skinner
The Voyage of the Sable Keech
Orbus
Hilldiggers
Plus a collection of Polity-focused short stories
The Gabble and Other Stories
And here is the order I’ve read them in so far:
The Gabble and Other Stories
Prador Moon
The Shadow of the Scorpion
The Skinner (audiobook)
The Voyage of the Sable Keech (audiobook)
Hilldiggers
Orbus (audiobook)
The Technician
Gridlinked
The Line of Polity
The reason that I mention my reading history is that I’ve already seen the aftermath of some of the events in The Line of Polity from reading The Technician but probably not realised their significance. The same can probably said of Agent Cormac as The Shadow of the Scorpion explores the Cormac as he’s manipulated (or should I say shaped) into Agent Cormac.
I’m not unhappy with my reading order though as The Skinner, The Voyage of Sable Keech and Orbus make up their own trilogy and Hilldiggers and The Technician are stand-alones. And The Gabble is a great introduction and if you like short stories they really hooked me into flavour of the Polity.
What it has done is make me want to re-read The Technician again, in fact I want to re-read all Neal’s Polity books. There is something about the continual exploration/evolution/enjoyment of Asher’s Polity that makes it fascinating to read – though also makes me read his books slowly (when I’m not listening to the audiobooks) so I can digest everything.
The plots themselves, like The Line of Polity, are pacy, and the details that are absorbing. And in this one we have Agent Cormac again called on to deal with the alien known as Dragon (though not the same aspect as found in Gridlinked) at the same time as the planet Masada is going through a slow rebellion in the hope that the Polity will intervene.
Neal weaves three main threads, which really start off as the two mentioned above, before Cormac underestimates the skills and knowledge of a biophysicist called Skellor who brings a whole new danger with him.
What I like about Asher’s stories is that he has a passion for biology and uses that to inject new variations of life on to the worlds he presents. This time we have deadly creatures, who have said mostly away from the human inhabitants of Masada until chaos unfolds drawing their attention.
He also shows a love of technology and layers different levels of advancements with the Theoracy having low worn out tech, there is an outline station, Miranda, that is old by Polity standards but above Theocracy, and then we have Dragon whose is able to construct creatures with advanced DNA and then we have what Skellor initiates.
The level of thought and details always makes Asher, for me, slow reading as the plot wants to zip but I want to enjoy the ideas and the settings. It’s quite a skill I think to give you a pacy plot that you want to slow down so you can take everything in.
The current paperback is 660 pages and towards the end you come to realise that it’s not going to be a neat ending. And that the next one, Brass Man, has to pick up certain bits left behind, as does The Line of Polity in some respects.
The danger of intertextual conversions is that the author cannibalises their own ideas so much they end up as skin and bones, but from experience of the Splatterjay trilogy Asher digs deeper, which is why I said earlier that I really want to get round to rereading but first I think I need to catch up with the canon.
One thing I haven’t really mentioned is there is an underlying anger with religion (or so it seems to me) as the echelons of the Theocracy literally live above the people that prepress in the name of God and are deluded that their belief their faith will one day make the Polity crumble.
Asher cover a lot. Highly recommended for SF fans who like explosions, technology, biology, and knowing that the author is a fun.
chrpl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
joosty's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
imitira's review
5.0
A large chunk of this book plays out amidst a rolling war, and the frequently violent backdrop does get a little old. But it's so *creatively* violent - particularly the alien megafauna - that it's forgiveable, and the book as a whole inhales really quite well.
ajam's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tuftymctavish's review against another edition
3.0
This is a weighty tome! In some respects it reminds me of the few Warhammer40k novels that I've read (and didn't particularly enjoy). Perhaps that's due to one of the foes in the book, the Theocracy.
There are a lot of characters, and some I never quite figured out who they were or their exact relationship to each other. Sometimes they flit in here and there and are never fully formed in my mind. This applies mainly to the bad guys, as they tend to get less 'page time' than the good guys.
One aspect I found odd were the italicised interludes that open each chapter. They read like a Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale and after a while I started skipping these short segments entirely. Extra volume that muddled things further.
There are a lot of characters, and some I never quite figured out who they were or their exact relationship to each other. Sometimes they flit in here and there and are never fully formed in my mind. This applies mainly to the bad guys, as they tend to get less 'page time' than the good guys.
One aspect I found odd were the italicised interludes that open each chapter. They read like a Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale and after a while I started skipping these short segments entirely. Extra volume that muddled things further.
thekarpuk's review against another edition
4.0
In summary, this book sounds really similar to Gridlinked, the first Ian Cormac book. I noticed the blurb for the book after I'd already purchased it, and I had this fear that every book would end up being the same deal, with Cormac having to foil Dragon's newest wacky scheme, while an extremist group tries to hunt him down, and it all ending with Dragon howling, "I'll get you next time, Cormac! Next tiiiiiiime!"
Fortunately, it changes up the formula in some decent ways, and manages to improve on the first book by having an ending that actually makes sense (seriously, the Wiki page for Gridlinked provides a link to Asher's explanation of the ending).
The main thing that's silly in this books, and its silly in many macho guy books regardless of age or demographic, is how people respond to the protagonist. It's much more subdued here, but there are still bits to remind you that Cormac is a bad-ass known throughout the universe. It's one of the less distracting cases, since there are some where people go out of their way to remind you that the protagonist is awesome.
The other small issue comes from a somewhat shapeless stretch in the middle that's mostly composed of characters traveling to join up, and war scenes that feel a little overextended and self-indulgent. Fortunately, this arguing-in-the-woods portion isn't very long, and we get back to progress over movement soon enough for me to not get irritated.
For being essentially sci-fi James Bond, these books are a lot of fun.
Fortunately, it changes up the formula in some decent ways, and manages to improve on the first book by having an ending that actually makes sense (seriously, the Wiki page for Gridlinked provides a link to Asher's explanation of the ending).
The main thing that's silly in this books, and its silly in many macho guy books regardless of age or demographic, is how people respond to the protagonist. It's much more subdued here, but there are still bits to remind you that Cormac is a bad-ass known throughout the universe. It's one of the less distracting cases, since there are some where people go out of their way to remind you that the protagonist is awesome.
The other small issue comes from a somewhat shapeless stretch in the middle that's mostly composed of characters traveling to join up, and war scenes that feel a little overextended and self-indulgent. Fortunately, this arguing-in-the-woods portion isn't very long, and we get back to progress over movement soon enough for me to not get irritated.
For being essentially sci-fi James Bond, these books are a lot of fun.
danlemke's review against another edition
3.0
This book might have been 3 1/2 star quality, but I deducted half a star for the plot essentially being the same as Asher's first novel featuring Agent Cormac (Gridlinked).
Basic premise is Agent Cormac is sent to investigate the destruction of a station (same type of investigation which propelled his action in the first book) and is followed/hunted by a vengeful antagonist whose presence is completely unrelated to the central plot (again, just like the first book).
Now, with that established, what this book excels at (and where the series seems to be headed) is creating fantasy-y sci-fi. Asher creates narratives that are as broad in scope and as in depth as Peter Hamilton; however, in my opinion he's not nearly as gifted as a writer.
The book is filled with story lines, following several characters in different locales. Sometimes it feels as if Asher gets a little too grandiose in his story -- less may in fact be more here. The overall premise is great, but often gets lost in the narrative, and despite so many pages devoted to character behaviors, one never really gets to know any of them... even Cormac. And even worse, Asher's ear for dialogue just doesn't seem to be refined. There is some clunky character speech within the pages of this book, although nothing so egregious as anything in the Star Wars prequels.
Overall, the book is entertaining, but at a considerable length. Big sci-fi seems to be in shortage these days, and this certainly fills some of the gaps. Still, with so much obviously within Asher's universe, it's a shame he basically revisits the same story on this second Agent Cormac outing.
Basic premise is Agent Cormac is sent to investigate the destruction of a station (same type of investigation which propelled his action in the first book) and is followed/hunted by a vengeful antagonist whose presence is completely unrelated to the central plot (again, just like the first book).
Now, with that established, what this book excels at (and where the series seems to be headed) is creating fantasy-y sci-fi. Asher creates narratives that are as broad in scope and as in depth as Peter Hamilton; however, in my opinion he's not nearly as gifted as a writer.
The book is filled with story lines, following several characters in different locales. Sometimes it feels as if Asher gets a little too grandiose in his story -- less may in fact be more here. The overall premise is great, but often gets lost in the narrative, and despite so many pages devoted to character behaviors, one never really gets to know any of them... even Cormac. And even worse, Asher's ear for dialogue just doesn't seem to be refined. There is some clunky character speech within the pages of this book, although nothing so egregious as anything in the Star Wars prequels.
Overall, the book is entertaining, but at a considerable length. Big sci-fi seems to be in shortage these days, and this certainly fills some of the gaps. Still, with so much obviously within Asher's universe, it's a shame he basically revisits the same story on this second Agent Cormac outing.