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What's New
Review Features
S - Science Fiction
F - Fantasy
H - Horror
Complete Listing
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Adams, Douglas (S)
Asher, Neal (S)
Aylett, Steve (S)
Banks, Iain M (S)
Barclay, James (F)
Barker, Clive (H)
Baxter, Stephen (S)
Brin, David (S)
Bury, Stephen (S)
Card, Orson Scott (S)
Cherryh, CJ (S/F)
Clute, John (S)
Cockayne, Steve (F)
Cook, Glen (F)
Danielewski, Mark (H)
Dick, Philip K (S)
Egan, Greg (S)
Feist, Raymond (F)
Gaiman, Neil (F)
Gibson, William (S)
Goodkind, Terry (F)
Grimwood, Jon C (S)
Hamilton, Peter (S)
Jeter, K.W. (S)
Jordan, Robert (F)
Lethem, Jonathan (S)
McAuley, Paul (S)
MacLeod, Ken (S)
Martin, George RR (F)
McMullen, Sean (S)
Miéville, China (S)
Moran, Daniel K (S)
Morgan, Richard K (S)
Nagata, Linda (S)
Niven, Larry (S)
Noon, Jeff (S)
Robinson, Kim S. (S)
Rucker, Rudy (S)
Simmons, Dan (S)
Smith, Michael Marshall (S)
Stephenson, Neal (S)
Sterling, Bruce (S)
Vinge, Vernor (S)
Westerfeld, Scott (S)
Williams, Sean (S)
Williams, Tad (S/F)
Collections (S/F)
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| The Classics |
Bradbury, Ray (S/H)
Burgess, Anthony (S)
Tolkien, JRR (F) |
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| Neal Asher |
| Author Information |
Reviewed Books |
Other Books |
Notes: Gridlinked is being released
in the US 8/03, it's obviously already out in the UK.
(L) - Published as Neal L. Asher
(S) - Short Story Collection |
Gridlinked
The Skinner
Line of Polity
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Voyage of Sable Keech (Early 06)
Brass Man (04/05)
Cowl
The Engineer (L) (S)
Runcible Tales (S)
Mason's Rats (L) S)
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Our Ranking Gridlinked is the first book
I've read by Neal Asher, but the synopsis at Amazon.com/uk looked promising so
I grabbed it. He's already released a couple of novels (I think this being his
second) and several short story collections in the UK, but none are available
in the US yet. Well, needless to say, I am very pleased that I grabbed this one.
Asher is yet another example of the up and coming sci-fi talent pouring out of
the UK (and the lack of talent coming from the US). Gridlinked is a wonderfully
dark and gritty novel. Atmosphere and style wise it reminded me a lot Gibson's
Neuromancer, where all of the characters were very brooding and dark. I haven't
read a book that has done this type of mood well in a long time and it was refreshing
to see it done here. Right from the beginning where Asher casually obliterates
tens of thousands of people, it was obvious that some people were going down in
this one. The general premise is around an investigation of how these tens of
thousands of people died and more or less ruined an entire planet in the process.
Asher does a terrific job of peeling back some layers of intrigue and continually
adds new layers to the tale through out the book. What really added to the mood/atmosphere
and also wound up being the real strong suit of the book were the characters that
Asher created. Each of them were very well written, and all were slimy in their
own way. Here, much like any truly good brooding book, there are no true good
characters here, just level of badness. The main character, Cormac, is the least
evil of them all, killing without any real emotion behind it but at least doing
it for a good reason. Cormac was also a very nicely written and intriguing character.
He's spent the last 20 years of his life wired directly to an AI through a process
known as gridlinking. This makes him incredibly deadly: basically with the intelligence
and calculating power of an AI at his instantaneous disposal and a wide range
of deadly weaponry and ability to go with it. Along with Cormac, Asher creates
some very interesting villians, the best being the neurotic Mr. Crane (the toys
were a great touch). Also, there are several AI characters that are also very
well done and believable, almost a little Banksish in the way they speak. Asher
comes up with some very good technological ideas (mostly involving weapons) but
unfortunately in some places doesn't go in as deep as I would have liked. The
gridlinking is a great example of this. The concept is terrific and has a ton
of potential for a story. However, one of the main premises is how Cormac handles
life after losing the gridlinking after having it for 20 years. I really felt
Asher didn't focus enough on how this would affect Cormac. He mentions it in places,
but this was an area he really could have delved deep into. Overall though, this
was a very good book and I look forward to seeing what else Asher has up his sleeve.
The writing was well done, a little choppy in places and left you wishing there
was more depth in places but beyond that a great book. If you liked Neauromancer
or are into dark science fiction, give this one a try. |
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Our Ranking This, quite simply, is how
you write an action/adventure sci-fi novel. The Skinner has everything you would
look for: an action packed, unrelenting story line, mysterious, well written and
intriguing characters, some bad ass villains and an incredibly well thought out
setting for everything to explode on. First off, all of the characters were well
written. It's rare when you find a book where every major (and even most of the
side ones as well) character actually brings something to the table, and adds
something to the story. The Skinner is one of those books. Even the characters
that should be cookie cutter, basic personality, etc. like for hire mercs
or even an android wind up having personality and really adding to the story line.
This is one of the best character written action stories I've read, up there with
Snow Crash and maybe even Consider Phlebas. The villains were evil, powerful but
yet believable. (I hate those characters that are just so powerful that their
demise is completely ridiculous. ie, the Shrike from Hyperion). The Skinner itself
was a sick character and the history behind the main band of villains was well
done. The good guys, as in any good, gritty action novel weren't necessarily angels
but were terrific, engaging and each had their own angles and mysteries making
each of them distinct. Keech was flat out brilliant. Tossed in there was a cast
of AI's that almost stole the book at one point they were so well written. Maybe
just because Banks has done them so well with his Culture books, but I couldn't
help thinking of the Culture throughout the book, in my mind a compliment since
they were written that well. Just to be fair and not utterly gush over
this book, the only character that was a little annoying was Erlin, but her part
was fairly small and did nothing to hurt the story at all. Perhaps the best character
of all though was Spatterjay, the incredibly viscous planet most of the story
takes place on. Asher creates a world that is basically an uncaring enemy to everyone
throughout the book, always looming to wreak havoc. It was amusing to see the
best laid plans of villains and heroes alike go down in flames due to the "innocent"
planet itself. Asher does a great job describing the ecology and how a planet
this devastating would flourish (if you could call it that) as it has. Along with
the planet, the setting itself was very well done. It takes place in the same
universe as Gridlinked (the Polity, etc.) but really has nothing to do with it.
Asher mixes in some outside politics and history to really add some further flavoring
to an already solid story. Overall, an outstanding action/adventure book. The
pace was perfect, basically feeding you a terrific balance of action while developing
a real plot. Asher built to an explosive ending, to the point where I found myself
cringing half expecting a Gibson-like let down (Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive,
etc.) but thankfully Asher kept going at full speed and wrapped it up wonderfully.
If you want fast paced, sci-fi action, this is the book for you. Unfortunately,
for us Americans, this isn't out in the US yet and I haven't seen it on ebay at
all. Best bet is amazon.com/uk or a trip to the UK. I personally can't wait for
the Line of Polity coming out March '03 and for a sequel to this which I read
was coming. |
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| Our RankingThe Line of Polity is another
action, sci-fi novel set in the same world as The Skinner and Gridlinked. In fact,
it is sort of a sequel to Gridlinked, featuring many of the same characters and
based slightly on the events that occurred in the first novel. Asher had a tough
nut to crack trying to follow-up the incredible Skinner, but while he didn't top
the Skinner has still put together another excellent novel. With this, he has
to be the premier action sci-fi writer out there as far as I'm concerned. The
Line of Polity is set years after Gridlinked, where another pod from Dragon has
appeared and, like the other Dragon is acting peculiar to say the least. Cormac
meanwhile is after a rogue genetic scientist, Skellor, who is working for the
Separatists. He has the habit of making some nasty living creations and has also
stumbled upon a very deadly technology that the Polity needs destroyed. Cormac
finds himself and the crew of his ship trying to juggle both issues at the same
time. The plot in this one isn't as quick moving as The Skinner or Gridlinked.
After a quick beginning, it actually takes a while to build as Asher moves all
of the pieces into place. Now, it isn't boring while this is happening at all.
Asher explores some pretty wild technology and ideas, especially around Skellor.
However, at times though, it did seem to drag a bit, especially some of the stuff
around the planet Masada where everything eventually comes together. Now, once
things are finally in place, this book takes off like a rocket. The last 200-300
pages of this is one non-stop action scene that just doesn't let up. Asher tosses
everything into the mix, full on space battles, ground wars, nasty eco-systems
(similar to the Skinner) that wreak havoc with all the characters and some amazing
battle scenes among the various characters. Character wise, Asher does a nice
job delving deeper into a lot of the characters from Gridlinked. Nearly all of
the survivors from Gridlinked are here in various roles. Cormac probably evolves
the most, no longer addicted to the grid, he is much more human now which makes
him immensely more interesting. The new villains, like Skellor and the rules of
Masada are also very well done. Asher manages to create many different camps of
characters and until the end, you are left guessing which way most of them will
jump, especially Dragon. Overall, as I said, this is another exciting action book
by Asher. I still prefer the Skinner, but that one will always be tough to top.
One of the things I found interesting, is that Asher, shifts his writing style
into a more gritty, but slightly vague approach, like he did in Gridlinked. In
particular, the scenes around Dragon, are more surreal. If you've read any of
Asher's stuff, grab this one. If not, start with Gridlinked. While this is a stand
alone novel, to really understand Cormac, you need to read Gridlinked. |
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