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antkneeomonster's review against another edition
4.0
3.5
Solid introduction to a new sci-fi universe. Kinda feels like Bank's Culture but with far less social commentary and far more pew-pew, vrooom vrooom. Still, pacy and enjoyable and I'm keen to read more from the author.
Solid introduction to a new sci-fi universe. Kinda feels like Bank's Culture but with far less social commentary and far more pew-pew, vrooom vrooom. Still, pacy and enjoyable and I'm keen to read more from the author.
jercox's review against another edition
4.0
Good start / second book in the ian cormac series (a prequel about his early life was written later / read first).
gavreads's review against another edition
Gridlnked was the first Polity universe novel to be published but it is the 8th book in the series I’ve read, so I am coming to it from the ‘wrong’ angle, but to be honest, I love the way that Neal Asher interlinks his ideas and explores his creation from various angles so I wasn’t surprised to see Dragon’s appearance though it was curious to compare this appearance that in The Technician, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Ian Cormac is an Earth Central Security agent who have been connected to the grid longer than most humans should be, and because of that he agrees to be removed from the grid at the same time he’s given a mission to find out who blew-up a Runcible (a stargate I’d guess you’d could call them), so he has to use old fashioned detective work ,like asking people for information, at the same time as someone who is out to kill him for something he did on his pervious mission.
As with other novels in this series Asher’s passion for biology, physics and science in general shines. It doesn’t get in the way of Cormac’s investigation but it does create a concrete and fascinating world for him to live and breath in.
There are some great set-pieces, clever blending of AI and human interaction and, of course, Mr Crane. He gives each ‘person’ a proper personalities, which rightly extends to the AIs. It does make it easier to read as each character is in some way memorable.
I can’t think of a negative to be honest. All the ideas that come later are well-formed here and we end up with a thoughtful, fun and action-packed science fiction novel, which set up Asher to become one of the most enjoyable SF writers I’ve read. Oh, I have a negative – why did it take me so long to actually read it?
Ian Cormac is an Earth Central Security agent who have been connected to the grid longer than most humans should be, and because of that he agrees to be removed from the grid at the same time he’s given a mission to find out who blew-up a Runcible (a stargate I’d guess you’d could call them), so he has to use old fashioned detective work ,like asking people for information, at the same time as someone who is out to kill him for something he did on his pervious mission.
As with other novels in this series Asher’s passion for biology, physics and science in general shines. It doesn’t get in the way of Cormac’s investigation but it does create a concrete and fascinating world for him to live and breath in.
There are some great set-pieces, clever blending of AI and human interaction and, of course, Mr Crane. He gives each ‘person’ a proper personalities, which rightly extends to the AIs. It does make it easier to read as each character is in some way memorable.
I can’t think of a negative to be honest. All the ideas that come later are well-formed here and we end up with a thoughtful, fun and action-packed science fiction novel, which set up Asher to become one of the most enjoyable SF writers I’ve read. Oh, I have a negative – why did it take me so long to actually read it?
srlemons42's review against another edition
5.0
After being badgered (good-naturedly!) for a while by a friend I finally started reading some Neal Asher books! And I really liked this one! I thought the world and sci-fi stuff was very interesting, and the characters were fun.
spinescens's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
3.5
travelgirlut's review against another edition
2.0
I have mixed feelings about this one. It didn't flow very well. Lots of breaks where you weren't sure right away who the next section was focused on. The tone didn't seem to stay consistent throughout the book either. And the ending, it was so vague I went straight to the internet to find out what happened, which apparently is a common problem since the author has actually posted a more detailed ending online.
But the world the story is set in is interesting. I liked the character building. I liked the technology and science fiction stuff.
So long story short, I'm not sure if I'm going to read more in the series or not. I'll probably give it some time and see if it stays with me or not.
But the world the story is set in is interesting. I liked the character building. I liked the technology and science fiction stuff.
So long story short, I'm not sure if I'm going to read more in the series or not. I'll probably give it some time and see if it stays with me or not.
chrpl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A bit hard to follow and stay engaged as I'm a non native English reader. Make sure to read the alternate ending if you want to understand everything, it's available on the author's website.
andreiz's review against another edition
3.0
Fairly run-of-the-mill SF story with familiar elements of AI, instantaneous space travel, high-tech weaponry and other attributes of the genre. Nevertheless, this was fairly entertaining and it's a breezy read, so perfect for an airplane ride or something like that.
bick_mcswiney's review against another edition
2.0
Gridlinked is clearly the work of a new author with a new editor. There's a lot here, with some great ideas, but the execution can be lacking. The idea of the protagonist being cutoff from his neural interface is an intriguing one, but one that is dropped after a few chapters. There are too many worlds and too many plots to keep any one storyline truly interesting. I'm hoping his later work shows more restraint.