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A review by cybergoths
The Soldier by Neal Asher
5.0
A return to Neal Asher and the universe of the Polity. The book opens with a nicely balanced situation on the borders of both the Polity and the Prador Kingdom. The Haiman Orlandine has been commissioned by both governments to control the defence of a stellar accretion disc which is heavily seeded with Jain technology. She has a side project where she is considering throwing a small black hole at the disc to destroy the technology there once and for all.
Jain tech has been a recurring menace throughout the Polity books; initially, it will usually appear benign, granting the user access to technology better than that seen in known space. All the while, it is learning about the user, and eventually, it will sequester and subsume them. It is believed that the technology consumed the Jain civilisation and that outbreaks destroyed several other civilisations. It is the kind of technology that will cause governments to destroy worlds with planet-busters to prevent its spread, and trade in artefacts is heavily controlled lest something escape. The disk is also a link to Jain AIs, sitting somewhere in U-Space, believed to have escaped the collapse of their culture.
Orlandine is aided by the Dragon, an enigmatic and massive bio-mech probe deployed by one of the lost civilisations. Dragon has also been a recurring theme in the series, and presently seems focused on trying to understand what is going on in the accretion disk.
Adding to the mix are survivors from the renegade AI Erebus' rebellion and attack on the Polity, and Earth Central Agents acting to investigate.
After all this setup, Asher lights the touchpaper and the story takes us to a place where some Jain tech is released, causing carnage and initiating an event that could change the future of the Polity and the Prador. It's fast-paced, energetic and fun, twisting and turning as it moves along relentlessly towards the reemergence of the Jain after millions of years of dormancy.
Jain tech has been a recurring menace throughout the Polity books; initially, it will usually appear benign, granting the user access to technology better than that seen in known space. All the while, it is learning about the user, and eventually, it will sequester and subsume them. It is believed that the technology consumed the Jain civilisation and that outbreaks destroyed several other civilisations. It is the kind of technology that will cause governments to destroy worlds with planet-busters to prevent its spread, and trade in artefacts is heavily controlled lest something escape. The disk is also a link to Jain AIs, sitting somewhere in U-Space, believed to have escaped the collapse of their culture.
Orlandine is aided by the Dragon, an enigmatic and massive bio-mech probe deployed by one of the lost civilisations. Dragon has also been a recurring theme in the series, and presently seems focused on trying to understand what is going on in the accretion disk.
Adding to the mix are survivors from the renegade AI Erebus' rebellion and attack on the Polity, and Earth Central Agents acting to investigate.
After all this setup, Asher lights the touchpaper and the story takes us to a place where some Jain tech is released, causing carnage and initiating an event that could change the future of the Polity and the Prador. It's fast-paced, energetic and fun, twisting and turning as it moves along relentlessly towards the reemergence of the Jain after millions of years of dormancy.