Neal AsherRezensionen

I am not (yet) well-versed in the Asher universe. I've only read one or two others and Locus reviews of a few more. The Technician makes constant reference to events in other books, especially the Prador War, but still works OK as a standalone. Space opera of the modern sort, which means big numbers tossed around freely -- intelligent (and hostile) entities that are millions of years old, space weapons capable of ripping planets and suns apart, population deaths in the thousands and millions -- and gory death and mutilation every few chapter, a penchant of Asher, Hamilton, and Barnes, and probably others. The story in this one revolves around a proctor of the Theocracy -- a willing if not particular major cog in a vicious religious government -- twenty years after the Polity and other forces toppled the govenment and a creature called the Technician chewed up most of him but didn't kill him, and left something behind. His story is interesting enough to carry the primary arc of the book, along with some revelations about where the Technician came from.

One annoying part is that scene shifts from one set of characters to another are completely unmarked by any whitespace. I don't know if this is an Asher gimmick to keep the reader off-guard or bad editing by the publisher (Night Shade Books), but I found no value in it.

Can't quite label this "recommended" -- it's just space opera with bits of horror -- but there's nothing wrong with it if that's your thing.

Crash, bang, wallop. In space. Big ships and narrow escapes. I need a gridlink to Neil Asher's mind to have any chance of remembering the details of who all the characters and motivations are. But the ride was fun, if confusing and inconclusive. Leading man, Agent Ian Cormac, needs a life. But maybe he's not human after all....

Interesting technologies and concepts, an interesting hero, and some great set-piece battles on both cosmic and human scales - but the complexity of the multiple plot lines and the large cast of minor characters work against Asher's otherwise impressive and entertaining imagination.

Aliens, technology, vast space ships, warfare and politics - this belongs in the guilty pleasure category for me. This is my second Asher novel I think - and while I enjoy the pacy action, multiple plot lines, impossibly cool gadgets and mind-bending extraterrestrial phenomena, it isn't quite up to Iain Banks' genius. In particular, the cast of thousands becomes very difficult to keep track of, and the technologies and concepts are sometimes introduced with little explanation or reminder. And I suppose I'm also starting to want a little more development and depth of character from Asher's hero, Agent Cormac - perhaps that comes in later books in the series. All minor complaints, but they add up to minus one star.

This is a fairly zippy page-turner, with some cool technologies, lots of weaponised action, lethal androids and aliens, and a slightly vaguely outlined social/political system run by artificial intelligence. It falls down a bit on the rather shallow characterisations, a somewhat unsympathetic lead character, and an anticlimatic and unclear ending (perhaps followed up in later books in the series?). In places it could also do with more clarity in explaining some basic background on the technology and society a little more too (for example I would have liked more on the shuriken, and on the history and basic idea of the Polity, and maybe more on the Sparkind too). However, I enjoyed it as it rattled along and it's very easy to read quickly.

I was very careful about this book. Initial reviews I saw where talking about too bloody and gory story and knowing authors rather visual way of story-telling I did not find it too unbelievable. And since I am not much of a fan of explicit eviscerations and blood slashing I was torn between reading this book and skipping.

What a mistake would be if I skipped this novel.

First, book has decent share of blood but it is not anything that was not already seen in Asher's other novels. He manages to show even most upsetting thralling process in a very controlled manner, almost surgical. So book was not that extraordinary gory, as a matter of fact level of gore is same as in other Polity books.

Second, story is sort of an hommage to adventure space stories of old. In a same way as Sean Danker's Admiral we follow our hero as he tries to figure out his way out of deadly Prador warship and then trying to find way to anywhere but Prador space. As we follow everything from his perspective we are shown wonders of the Graveyard area, contested territory between Polity and Prador, place where various mercenary groups do most disgusting things to their kind and where very strange and potent biological weapons roam free.

The way our hero fights to survive, way he uses his knowledge and not once finda himself in quite a predicament, these are all elements of the good adventure story. Our hero, while trying to figure out who he is and how does he know things he knows, will soon recognize in himself sympathy, empathy and humanity, even in situations where it is not clear outright if that is the path he should take. Even Prador are shown here as above the usual cutthroats - Spatterjay infected Prador especially. I truly wander where this storyline will lead in follow up novels.

Also this one is rather localized story, everything takes place around Stratogaster space station in Graveyard area and follows handful of characters. And while some might find this as a too small of an area for Polity novel I have to say that author uses this to create more detailed story of survival in alien environment and constant fight against the vultures and true monsters of all species (and no, I do not mean hooders).

Very intresting book, with different story structure than usual Asher's work. More localized, more... Intimate you might say with all actors being more connected and fighting for and against greater odds than expected - it is obvious fates of the stellar empires are in question. Cannot wait for the follow up books.

Highly recommended.

This book feels like it is meant as a part of the greater saga. At first I though it was about continuing Jack Four storyline but it is not, this one's story takes place around the same time as Prador Moon which means hundred of years before Jack Four.

That being said I wont go into details except to say that main protagonist here is long-living Polity citizen Ursula who decides to start the enterprise by establishing new colony on a distant world. Her plan is to settle only humans without AI involvement and let colonists develop on their own.

As can be expected it does not go according to the plan.

Author touches lot of interesting topics - almost immortality for Polity citizens, way humans handle what can only be named as middle-age crisis (you, know after first 200 years) - that makes them do crazy stuff out of boredom, discussion abut evolution and adaptation, pros and cons of mechanical and bio-mechanical development and for the first time very intricate ways Polity AIs manipulate and mercilessly use the human race. Also, I think for the first time, we are not given blaze and glory story but more story of logistics and weapon development for the known danger expected to culminate in very near future.

In general, while all elements are in and we have a level of gore as expected from the author story seems a little bit ..... out of context? I mean for the first time I did not find any character that I could link with. All the characters are there to play a role (including Ursula) but at the end there is huge question mark - what was the point? I hope this book is starting point for future story development.

If not .... I dont say it's a bad book. it is not, it is rather good thriller. Only thing is .... well style is rather repetitive (i.e. constant insistence on Ursula's anger and irritation with others - this gets repeated and repeated and repeated (not helped by constant jumps between present and past)..... lets say if this was initially serialized and then collected into book I would understand but I see no need for constant repetition like this in original book release) and after a while it starts to affect the story pace. This and rather open ending make the book not so good if you look at it as standalone story. Jack Four for example is much better in this regard, more to the point and has closure.

I am looking forward to see how this story progresses.

All in all interesting story, with all the trademarks of Polity universe and author's imagination and I wholeheartedly recommend it, especially if you are Polity universe fan.

It is just that I have a feeling something is missing, and so one star goes down.

We've done it! We've pushed earth beyond the brink. There are too many people and many have to die. Those deemed as useful live in a ectopia with all the benefits that advanced technology can offer while those who are seen as less essential are left behind.

The worldbuilding was really cool and the impacts of overpopulation on how life works are all too believable, but overall it was just okay. Some things felt like they were too convenient and I didn't care all that much about most of the characters. I know this is the start of a series though and the ending was interesting so I might give it another chance and pick up the next book.½

This was actually a 2.5 star for me. The book was barely passable for me. I will probably give the series two more books because I have heard a lot of great things about the 3rd book. My main problem might not be other people's. I just could not get into the whole concept of a horrible man-eating alien that was smart enough to fly space ships but little else. The type of book I would have eaten up in high school but not so much now.

if you thought the first 2 books were good, this one is outstandingly fantastic. I thought that the book would plateau but it kept getting better and better. Without giving the end of the story it is one that you would not expect.

Hilarious

If you've ever known a "good ol' boy" (not the same as a redneck), or had much to do with government, you'll want to check this one out! Three hilarious stories

Neal Asher usually writes far-future space operas on an epic scale that would make E. E. “Doc” Smith blush. But, as he notes in a publisher’s blog, Jupiter War is set closer to home, necessitating more plausible extrapolations from current technology than he usually provides. To that end, we have brain implants, gene banks, clever insectile robots, strongish AI, and some really fast sub-light spacecraft. There is much political chicanery and plenty of battles with futuristic weapons and armor. Why don’t I love the book? Well, I loathe all the characters. I root for them to die, and indeed, most of them do. Despite all the action, the book was a slow read, not especially long, just slow.

Nobody does complex, far-future space opera better than the Brits. Neal Asher’s Polity series, which now has 20 volumes, is a case in point. The Technician is a stand-alone novel set on the ominously named planet Masada twenty years after the fall of the Theocracy. Masada is rife with leftover superweapons, genetically enhanced predator beasties, and diehard partisans. Jeremiah Tombs is one of the last Theocracy warriors. He barely survived an attack by a Hooder known as the Technician that ripped off most of his face. The Hooder is a beastie with an artistic bent. Polity agents work to save Tombs because they want to understand the Hooder. The Tidy Squad, a band of anti-theocracy vets, wants him dead, and the black AI Penny Royal has an agenda all its own. One style note: Asher renders machines as organic and animals as machine-like as possible. It is a trick that keeps the reader deep in the uncanny valley.

It was short but okay.

NEal Asher continues to write perfectly average books, and I'm still enjoying them.

the quality of the writing has really improved since the first book.

Pretty average Sci-fi and the dialogue was a bit clunky, but I still enjoyed the hell out of it.

Nothing really bad, nothing really good. Nothing really original either. A month from now, I won't remember any of these.

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[Disclaimer: I got this book via LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program]
Neal Asher loves to write very long short stories (sorry for the pun). Thay are not my cup of tea, mainly because I find that he indulges too much in lenghty explanations which quickly became boring. Moreover sometimes I found it difficult to follow the plot: maybe it's the fault of the electronic version I read, but there are many changes of the narrating voice without any advice. A quick look at the stories:

◆ Xenovore: The middle section is interesting, but the introduction is way too long (and difficult to follow) and the end is quite forced. 2/5
◆ An Alien on Crete: Well built. I daresay that Asher likes superhuman, or in that case people beyond human. 4/5
◆ The Translator: It reminds me too much of the previous one to be interesting. 3/5
◆ Skin: It's scary, therefore I don't like it. But I must admit it goes on well. 4/5
◆ Eels: A classic space opera. I got lost in several points, however, and that's no good. 2/5
◆ The Host: An alien biology is depicted in an interesting way. 4/5
◆ Antique Battlefields: The best of the lot. A good explanation of how the Quiet War started; moreover, the ending is a bit unexpected at least for me. 5/5
◆ Moral Biology: another attempt at describing alien biology, but too lenghty and with at least a subplot which went nowhere. 3/5
◆ Longevity Averaging: Not very remarkable. All what's around the longevity treatment is lame. 3/5

I’ve read a number of Neal Asher’s books including the first Lockdown Tales. Asher is a unique sci-fi writer. He’s strangely imaginative in his writing of short stories that take place in an advanced AI-controlled universe known as the polity. Most short story writers struggle to hold their reader’s attention at the beginning of a story when developing their story’s background and characters. Asher ties his books and stories to a common universe so he only needs to work on character development and the story’s action. So, his stories are not laborious and flow from start to finish.

I enjoyed each of the stories in Lockdown Tales 2, some more than others, but found all of them worth the read. Hopefully, Neal Asher has another book in him. I haven’t tired of the polity universe and am looking forward to reading another of his inventive novels.

Received as Early Reviewer.
Another set of short stories mostly set in Asher's Polity universe. I thought the first story, Xenovore, was the most interesting one to me while I really didn't care for the interactions between the main character and his love interest in Eels and I felt the story would have been stronger without most of it. A half-dozen editing errors in the book took a little of the shine off it, but overall enjoyed the tales.

Got this as part of the Early Reviewer scheme, so happy to review it here.

Having read many of Neal Asher's novels this collection of short stories was both familiar and novel. It starts with a crash, Xenovore drops us on an unfamiliar, bleak and hostile world where the struggle for survival is all-consuming. Unsurpisingly, for an Asher story, there are several surprises on what turns out to be an epic journey

Another highlight is a trio of interlinked stories about a translator who is, himself, translated. Moral Biology also considers some tricky philosophical issues about the, almost, unavoidable impact of our existance on those around us.

Eels was another change of tone, into an almost chivalric world with a batle of good against evil, although Asher never lets us forget the larger world in which this small war is being fought.

The collection ends with a couple of stories about aging, and two very different ways of dealing with it.

All in all, an excellent collection that almost makes the second lockdown worth while.

advanced reading copy received for review.

Great set of short stories mostly related to the Polity story universe. All of them were well worth reading, showing Asher's typical imaginative style and content.

Another set of short stories mostly set in Asher's Polity universe. I thought the first story, Xenovore, was the most interesting one to me while I really didn't care for the interactions between the main character and his love interest in Eels and I felt the story would have been stronger without most of it. A half-dozen editing errors in the book took a little of the shine off it, but overall enjoyed the tales.