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Agent Cormac #1
Gridlinked
Gridlinked is a science fiction adventure in the classic, fast-paced, action-packed tradition of Harry Harrison and Poul Anderson, with a dash of cyberpunk and a splash of Ian Fleming added to spice the mix.
Cormac is a legendary Earth Central Security agent, the James Bond of a wealthy future where "runcibles" (matter transmitters controlled by AIs) allow interstellar travel in an eye blink throughout the settled worlds of the Polity. Unfortunately Cormac is nearly burnt out, "gridlinked" to the AI net so long that his humanity has begun to drain away. He has to take the cold-turkey cure and shake his addiction to having his brain on the net.
Now he must do without just as he's sent to investigate the unique runcible disaster that's wiped out the entire human colony on planet Samarkand in a thirty-megaton explosion. With the runcible out, Cormac must get there by ship, but he has incurred the wrath of a vicious psychopath called Arian Pelter, who now follows him across the galaxy with a terrifying psychotic killer android in tow. And deep beneath Samarkand's surface there are buried mysteries, fiercely guarded.
This is fast-moving, edge-of-the-seat entertainment, and a great introduction to the work of one of the most exciting new SF talents in years.
Cormac is a legendary Earth Central Security agent, the James Bond of a wealthy future where "runcibles" (matter transmitters controlled by AIs) allow interstellar travel in an eye blink throughout the settled worlds of the Polity. Unfortunately Cormac is nearly burnt out, "gridlinked" to the AI net so long that his humanity has begun to drain away. He has to take the cold-turkey cure and shake his addiction to having his brain on the net.
Now he must do without just as he's sent to investigate the unique runcible disaster that's wiped out the entire human colony on planet Samarkand in a thirty-megaton explosion. With the runcible out, Cormac must get there by ship, but he has incurred the wrath of a vicious psychopath called Arian Pelter, who now follows him across the galaxy with a terrifying psychotic killer android in tow. And deep beneath Samarkand's surface there are buried mysteries, fiercely guarded.
This is fast-moving, edge-of-the-seat entertainment, and a great introduction to the work of one of the most exciting new SF talents in years.
423 pages, Paperback
First published March 23, 2001
About the author
Neal Asher
128 books2,890 followersI’ve been an engineer, barman, skip lorry driver, coalman, boat window manufacturer, contract grass cutter and builder. Now I write science fiction books, and am slowly getting over the feeling that someone is going to find me out, and can call myself a writer without wincing and ducking my head. As professions go, I prefer this one: I don’t have to clock-in, change my clothes after work, nor scrub sensitive parts of my body with detergent. I think I’ll hang around.
Source: http://www.blogger.com/profile/139339...
Source: http://www.blogger.com/profile/139339...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 599 reviews
June 17, 2021
The entry point of another great, complex space-opera series, Asher´s Polity universe, offers everything a Sci-Fi fan can wish for.
Like the behemoths of the genre Hamilton, Scalzi, Banks, Reynolds, Simmons, etc., Asher has created an authentic, complex world, bursting with fresh, creative Sci-Fi ideas.
Especially interesting is the idea of the influence of human and alien AIs that are not just entities of their own, but may be open or even dependent on a second kind of evolution. They may, parallel to lonely learning, expanding and rewriting and optimizing their own code and added machinery and production capacity, unite and fuse with aliens and humans in different grades of severity.
This can be symbiotic, parasitic, psychotic, traumatic, etc. for both involved, depending on how much feelings an AI can perceive and control. The motive or programming of the AI to share its immense capacity with something as slow as an alien or human opens up the option to describe both the AIs and the persons' main plot goals. Both parties could, with or without consent or noticing it, assimilate, manipulate, destroy, help, etc. each other. Does the machine become humanoid or does the soft shell become like an AI and what is the better model, if it is even possible to objective point the finger on the more attractive lifestyle?
This concept is a fresh, unspent idea and could find use in Social Sci-Fi, for instance with different, competing transhumanist concepts like a technocratic, cold, more machine than cyborg woman slowly getting interested in a Gaia-hyping, bioengineered, eco-friendly terraforming Psiguy. It would be an interesting exaggeration of gender stereotypes when the male and female roles are reversed and caricatured.
Tropes show how literature is conceived and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
Like the behemoths of the genre Hamilton, Scalzi, Banks, Reynolds, Simmons, etc., Asher has created an authentic, complex world, bursting with fresh, creative Sci-Fi ideas.
Especially interesting is the idea of the influence of human and alien AIs that are not just entities of their own, but may be open or even dependent on a second kind of evolution. They may, parallel to lonely learning, expanding and rewriting and optimizing their own code and added machinery and production capacity, unite and fuse with aliens and humans in different grades of severity.
This can be symbiotic, parasitic, psychotic, traumatic, etc. for both involved, depending on how much feelings an AI can perceive and control. The motive or programming of the AI to share its immense capacity with something as slow as an alien or human opens up the option to describe both the AIs and the persons' main plot goals. Both parties could, with or without consent or noticing it, assimilate, manipulate, destroy, help, etc. each other. Does the machine become humanoid or does the soft shell become like an AI and what is the better model, if it is even possible to objective point the finger on the more attractive lifestyle?
This concept is a fresh, unspent idea and could find use in Social Sci-Fi, for instance with different, competing transhumanist concepts like a technocratic, cold, more machine than cyborg woman slowly getting interested in a Gaia-hyping, bioengineered, eco-friendly terraforming Psiguy. It would be an interesting exaggeration of gender stereotypes when the male and female roles are reversed and caricatured.
Tropes show how literature is conceived and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
April 20, 2018
It had a solid setup, which it did not deliver on whatsoever. Painfully boring, terribly inconsistent one dimensional characters, cookie cutter secondary characters, zero resolution. I didn't expect quality writing, but I thought at least it would be fun, or pulpy, or.. just anything at all.
June 5, 2018
I'm working myself up to flying through the Polity Universe, having already read a bit of Asher already, and while I kinda expected something worse from the general consensus of this particular novel in the full continuity, I did not get frozen eyeballs after being exposed to cold vacuum.
Yay!
That being said, I did rather enjoy the spy stuff, the high-tech stuff, and the *ideas* of the super-AIs, the investigation of the planetary disaster, the BIG ALIENS, and, as a matter of course, the very cool action sequences.
I mean, DRAGON, yo! DRAGON.
And yes, this is hard-SF. Instantaneous travel, cyberpunk cyborgism, AIs everywhere, spaceships, and my personal favorite, mysterious immortal agencies. :) Literally, some Japanese guy who's the head of the investigatory agency who has been around since Hiroshima. Kinda has that St. Germain vibe. :)
This isn't the best SF novel I've ever read, but I can honestly say I had fun with it. I have no compunctions with moving on with the series. :)
Yay!
That being said, I did rather enjoy the spy stuff, the high-tech stuff, and the *ideas* of the super-AIs, the investigation of the planetary disaster, the BIG ALIENS, and, as a matter of course, the very cool action sequences.
I mean, DRAGON, yo! DRAGON.
And yes, this is hard-SF. Instantaneous travel, cyberpunk cyborgism, AIs everywhere, spaceships, and my personal favorite, mysterious immortal agencies. :) Literally, some Japanese guy who's the head of the investigatory agency who has been around since Hiroshima. Kinda has that St. Germain vibe. :)
This isn't the best SF novel I've ever read, but I can honestly say I had fun with it. I have no compunctions with moving on with the series. :)
August 24, 2019
Catadapts, ophidapts and lots of other weird stuff.
Q:
A blue snow was falling on the roof of the embarkation lounge, where it melted and snaked across the glass in inky rivulets. ...
On Samarkand it was raining Dragon scales. (c)
Q:
He saw the weapon.
'You made love like a machine,' ... (c)
Q:
Typical well-hugger trying to look like a member of the runcible culture, he thought. The vogue slick-pants and corsair shirt told him all he needed to know. The Sensic augmentation behind the man's left ear told him things he did not want to know. Unlike those who lived for the dirill of new worlds and new experiences, this guy's dress was inappropriate and his augmentation a cheap copy likely to scramble his brains within a month. But then who was Freeman to judge? He managed to scramble his brains without mechanical aid. (с)
Q:
'We should be able to understand it, unaugmented.' ...
'No human understands Skaidon tech, even with augmentation. I work on the damned things, and half the time I don't know what I'm doing.' (c)
Q:
The runcible itself stood at the centre of this, mounted on a stepped pedestal. It might have been the altar to some cybernetic god of technology. Nacreous ten-metre-long incurving bull's horns jutted up from the pedestal. (c)
Q:
Shoved into underspace, dragged between shadow stars, Freeman travelled, diumbing his nose at relativity, in the cusp of a technology his unaugmented mind could not comprehend. Between runcibles he ceased to exist in the Einsteinian universe. He was beyond an event horizon, stretched to an infinite surface with no thickness, travelling between stars as billions of mose called 'quince' had done before him.
Done, in that instant when time is divided by infinity and brought to a standstill.
Done, in the eternal moment. ...
only… only this time something went wrong. (c)
Q:
They came in naked and left naked, and were scrutinized molecule by molecule each way, yet even they had no idea what information was gathered, what decisions were reached, and what orders given. Each time they left, they left part of their minds inside, downloaded into another mind that knew it all. (c)
Q:
The ruler of the human polity was not human. ... Hundreds of light-years away, its decisions were acted upon. (c)
Q:
Of course you can't understand it. You're used to thinking in a linear manner, that's evolution for you. Do you know what infinity and eternity are? That space is a curved sheet over nothing and that if you travel in a straight line for long enough you'll end up where you started? Even explained in its simplest terms it makes no sense: one dimension is line, two dimensions are area, three are space and four are space through time. Where we are. All these sit on top of the nullity, nil-space, or underspace as it has come to be called. There's no time there, no distance, nothing. From there all runcibles are in the same place and at the same time. Shove a human in and he doesn't cease to exist because there is no time for him to do so. Pull him out. Easy. How do the runcible AIs know when, who and where? The information is shoved in with the human. The AI doesn't have to know before because there is no time where the spoon is. Simple, isn't it…?
From How It Is by Gordon (c)
Q:
He had faults, scars, the habit of picking his toenails in bed, a tendency not to suffer fools. All emulation, wasn't it? (c)
Q:
It was a concise observation. He probably knew their number and deviation from standard size. (c)
Q:
A blue snow was falling on the roof of the embarkation lounge, where it melted and snaked across the glass in inky rivulets. ...
On Samarkand it was raining Dragon scales. (c)
Q:
He saw the weapon.
'You made love like a machine,' ... (c)
Q:
Typical well-hugger trying to look like a member of the runcible culture, he thought. The vogue slick-pants and corsair shirt told him all he needed to know. The Sensic augmentation behind the man's left ear told him things he did not want to know. Unlike those who lived for the dirill of new worlds and new experiences, this guy's dress was inappropriate and his augmentation a cheap copy likely to scramble his brains within a month. But then who was Freeman to judge? He managed to scramble his brains without mechanical aid. (с)
Q:
'We should be able to understand it, unaugmented.' ...
'No human understands Skaidon tech, even with augmentation. I work on the damned things, and half the time I don't know what I'm doing.' (c)
Q:
The runcible itself stood at the centre of this, mounted on a stepped pedestal. It might have been the altar to some cybernetic god of technology. Nacreous ten-metre-long incurving bull's horns jutted up from the pedestal. (c)
Q:
Shoved into underspace, dragged between shadow stars, Freeman travelled, diumbing his nose at relativity, in the cusp of a technology his unaugmented mind could not comprehend. Between runcibles he ceased to exist in the Einsteinian universe. He was beyond an event horizon, stretched to an infinite surface with no thickness, travelling between stars as billions of mose called 'quince' had done before him.
Done, in that instant when time is divided by infinity and brought to a standstill.
Done, in the eternal moment. ...
only… only this time something went wrong. (c)
Q:
They came in naked and left naked, and were scrutinized molecule by molecule each way, yet even they had no idea what information was gathered, what decisions were reached, and what orders given. Each time they left, they left part of their minds inside, downloaded into another mind that knew it all. (c)
Q:
The ruler of the human polity was not human. ... Hundreds of light-years away, its decisions were acted upon. (c)
Q:
Of course you can't understand it. You're used to thinking in a linear manner, that's evolution for you. Do you know what infinity and eternity are? That space is a curved sheet over nothing and that if you travel in a straight line for long enough you'll end up where you started? Even explained in its simplest terms it makes no sense: one dimension is line, two dimensions are area, three are space and four are space through time. Where we are. All these sit on top of the nullity, nil-space, or underspace as it has come to be called. There's no time there, no distance, nothing. From there all runcibles are in the same place and at the same time. Shove a human in and he doesn't cease to exist because there is no time for him to do so. Pull him out. Easy. How do the runcible AIs know when, who and where? The information is shoved in with the human. The AI doesn't have to know before because there is no time where the spoon is. Simple, isn't it…?
From How It Is by Gordon (c)
Q:
He had faults, scars, the habit of picking his toenails in bed, a tendency not to suffer fools. All emulation, wasn't it? (c)
Q:
It was a concise observation. He probably knew their number and deviation from standard size. (c)
March 19, 2012
Taking a break from fantasy/romance/mystery, i picked this book up because my brother recommended it. And it was TOTALLY worth it! If you read a lot of my reviews you know I adore Iain Banks' work, and this book felt like a cousin of his work. Basically we're dealing with a deep future society depended on vast machines, and an overarching mystery of a sabateur, a James-Bond-like main character, and a side-plot of a psychopath's ruthless need for revenge at any cost. I dunno how to describe it much more, but if you like violent and gritty sci-fi, you will like this a lot.
I did feel like the emotional potential of having this character pulled away from the machine-dependent world he'd lived in for so long was not mined as much as it could have been. And the whole Dragon thing (WTF IS THAT THING) was obscure in that classic sci-fi way to the point where I was slightly irritated, but I can't deny the interestingness of the world, the twistedness of the characters, and the adventure that drew me in.
This is the start of a long series, and I definitely know I'll be coming back to it when I want my hard sci-fi kick in the pants. Recommended!
I did feel like the emotional potential of having this character pulled away from the machine-dependent world he'd lived in for so long was not mined as much as it could have been. And the whole Dragon thing (WTF IS THAT THING) was obscure in that classic sci-fi way to the point where I was slightly irritated, but I can't deny the interestingness of the world, the twistedness of the characters, and the adventure that drew me in.
This is the start of a long series, and I definitely know I'll be coming back to it when I want my hard sci-fi kick in the pants. Recommended!
November 23, 2016
Oh dear. For pure reading experience this probably deserves a one star, or even negative stars.
The world building is great, absolutely fascinating and if some of the concepts are not entirely new, well they are certainly freshly presented. The book would probably be improved by knocking 200 pages off it because I have no idea why it takes up 522 when it hurts to read more than a page or two at a time. The characters unfortunately are about as engaging as cold black coffee. Instant coffee.
Inscrutable ancient Japanese oracular/mastermind prototype is, indeed, Inscrutable!
Psychotic, one dimensional "bad-guy-who-obsessively-wants-to-kill-our-hero" is, indeed, psychotic.
Dehumanised leading man, recently disconnected from the grid is, indeed, dehumanised.
Random powerful alien thrown in to be irritating, is, indeed, irritating.
These, among other things resulted in the fact that despite the brilliant world building, this book was so unenjoyable to read that it took me ages. Ian Cormac, our leading man, is not a bad character just very, very difficult for the reader to bond with. All the characters are fairly difficult to bond with, or even, at times remember. I rather suspect that Ian was meant to be like Case in Nuromancer; where the dissociation is the defining factor of the character, but here it really was not great reading. By page 410/522 the only reason I was still reading was because I was determined to finish the thing, kind of like watching a train wreck through to the end. Also, I believe the books improve, and I like the world building enough that at some stage I may try more by this author. Maybe. Several people of my acquaintance had long since given up on the effort of reading, finding it too un-enjoyable.
The finale was so understated as to be almost redundant and while not actively bad it seemed to be entirely for the purpose of setting Ian Cormac, inscrutable sage and irritating alien up for further adventures. Further adventures it will take me a long time to be game to try and read.
The world building is great, absolutely fascinating and if some of the concepts are not entirely new, well they are certainly freshly presented. The book would probably be improved by knocking 200 pages off it because I have no idea why it takes up 522 when it hurts to read more than a page or two at a time. The characters unfortunately are about as engaging as cold black coffee. Instant coffee.
Inscrutable ancient Japanese oracular/mastermind prototype is, indeed, Inscrutable!
Psychotic, one dimensional "bad-guy-who-obsessively-wants-to-kill-our-hero" is, indeed, psychotic.
Dehumanised leading man, recently disconnected from the grid is, indeed, dehumanised.
Random powerful alien thrown in to be irritating, is, indeed, irritating.
These, among other things resulted in the fact that despite the brilliant world building, this book was so unenjoyable to read that it took me ages. Ian Cormac, our leading man, is not a bad character just very, very difficult for the reader to bond with. All the characters are fairly difficult to bond with, or even, at times remember. I rather suspect that Ian was meant to be like Case in Nuromancer; where the dissociation is the defining factor of the character, but here it really was not great reading. By page 410/522 the only reason I was still reading was because I was determined to finish the thing, kind of like watching a train wreck through to the end. Also, I believe the books improve, and I like the world building enough that at some stage I may try more by this author. Maybe. Several people of my acquaintance had long since given up on the effort of reading, finding it too un-enjoyable.
The finale was so understated as to be almost redundant and while not actively bad it seemed to be entirely for the purpose of setting Ian Cormac, inscrutable sage and irritating alien up for further adventures. Further adventures it will take me a long time to be game to try and read.
May 4, 2020
Everybody knows that we are living in a meritocracy and that those in charge are not human. Everybody knows that AIs are running the show. Who would trust a human planetary governor? Who would trust humans with controlling the vast spread of human migration and trade? Certainly not other humans. As that sublime AI, which is referred to as ‘Earth Central,’ once put it, ‘Humans: fast machines that serve the purpose of slow genes.’ Most right-thinking people would agree that we are not to be trusted with our own destiny and are glad things are the way they are. Our history should be a salutary lesson held at the forefronts of our minds when we consider these matters. Nowadays you do not see such bloody resolution to events as was seen in the past. I mean, you don’t see the machines killing each other, do you?
Gridlinked is a highly entertaining and decently thought-provoking science fiction novel that follows Earth Central Security agent Ian Cormac on a mission to uncover why a runcible was destroyed on a distant planet. Runcibles are teleportation devices that connect planets spanning light-years across the galaxy and are controlled by the AI programs that aid and govern humanity. Cormac has been gridlinked for nearly thirty years, which is ten years longer than is typically allowed. Gridlinking is like having internet and AI access within your mind. But living thirty years with the link is like living thirty years as an addict: you can lose yourself. Cormac must disengage and take on this new mission with a clean head and a lack of access. He has to be human.
I loved this. I needed the escape. Gridlinked is not perfect, but it presents a universe that seems plausible, for good and for bad. Cormac is a man that has to make difficult choices without regret. We have fascinating technology and AI. And though the worldbuilding is not as fleshed out as it could be, I enjoyed ever minute. I am excited to see more of this universe and its dangers. I don’t want to explain too much of the book because I think part of the fun of the experience in reading this is slowly seeing all the technology and aspects of the world unfold. The universe is much more than it appears on the surface. Hard science fiction meets cyberpunk meets adventure thriller.
I do have a complaint. You can tell this is Neal Asher's first book. Certain parts of the book do not read clearly, but the biggest issue is the editing. I don’t know if it is just my edition of the book (first mass market edition 2004) or what, but damn, Asher needs a new editor. Several times I was taken out of the book by the weird mistakes I found. I have never in my life seen “her’s” or “your’s” used in a published novel. I actually second-guessed myself and did the Google to make sure I wasn’t crazy. I’m not crazy. There are also weird comma mistakes, like a, comma in a place where, it shouldn’t be for, any logical reason. I really hope these mistakes are only in my edition.
Other than the severe editing mistakes in the book, this is a worthy science fiction read. I ordered the next four books in the series because I dig it.
Gridlinked is a highly entertaining and decently thought-provoking science fiction novel that follows Earth Central Security agent Ian Cormac on a mission to uncover why a runcible was destroyed on a distant planet. Runcibles are teleportation devices that connect planets spanning light-years across the galaxy and are controlled by the AI programs that aid and govern humanity. Cormac has been gridlinked for nearly thirty years, which is ten years longer than is typically allowed. Gridlinking is like having internet and AI access within your mind. But living thirty years with the link is like living thirty years as an addict: you can lose yourself. Cormac must disengage and take on this new mission with a clean head and a lack of access. He has to be human.
I loved this. I needed the escape. Gridlinked is not perfect, but it presents a universe that seems plausible, for good and for bad. Cormac is a man that has to make difficult choices without regret. We have fascinating technology and AI. And though the worldbuilding is not as fleshed out as it could be, I enjoyed ever minute. I am excited to see more of this universe and its dangers. I don’t want to explain too much of the book because I think part of the fun of the experience in reading this is slowly seeing all the technology and aspects of the world unfold. The universe is much more than it appears on the surface. Hard science fiction meets cyberpunk meets adventure thriller.
I do have a complaint. You can tell this is Neal Asher's first book. Certain parts of the book do not read clearly, but the biggest issue is the editing. I don’t know if it is just my edition of the book (first mass market edition 2004) or what, but damn, Asher needs a new editor. Several times I was taken out of the book by the weird mistakes I found. I have never in my life seen “her’s” or “your’s” used in a published novel. I actually second-guessed myself and did the Google to make sure I wasn’t crazy. I’m not crazy. There are also weird comma mistakes, like a, comma in a place where, it shouldn’t be for, any logical reason. I really hope these mistakes are only in my edition.
Other than the severe editing mistakes in the book, this is a worthy science fiction read. I ordered the next four books in the series because I dig it.
January 6, 2009
5.0 stars. Excellent debut novel and a terrific read. Never boring, great characters and even better world-building. Will definitely read more from this author. Recommended!!
December 22, 2019
You could pitch Gridlinked with four words: “James Bond... In SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!”
That’s simplifying things somewhat, but Asher’s novel at its core is a tale of an interstellar secret agent who gives his licence to kill a serious workout.
This isn’t interstellar Timothy Dalton either, or even Pierce Brosnan. The tone of Gridlinked is down the Daniel Craig end of the Bond spectrum – a Bond who is a little dark, and more inclined to summarily shoot someone in the head than cheesily order a martini and listen to a long winded speech from an evil genius.
Neal Asher’s galaxy hopping Sci-Fi 007 - Ian Cormac - is a legendary agent of Earth Central, the ruling government of the vast civilisation known as the Polity.
The Polity is a hybrid AI/Human civilisation centred on Earth that has spread across countless star systems. AIs administer government and control a planet-linking instantaneous transport network – a series of gates called Runcibles that are much like the Farcasters in Simmons’ Hyperion
Cormac is the Polity’s best operative.
He does however, have a problem. He has been Gridlinked – completely linked to and immersed in the vast internet of the future and the AIs that dwell in it – for three decades. While this has made him a deadly agent his humanity has been slipping away, his affect becoming colder, and his ability to read other human beings slowly crumbling.
After botching an operation against a group of terrorist separatists Earth Central calls Cormac back in and gives him the option of either retiring, or severing his data link and becoming once again a normal, unconnected human being.
Cormac takes the latter option – retirement to a beach planet doesn’t really suit the Bond type – and begins to learn to work without his link, struggling to operate machines he previously commanded with his mind, and trying in vain to fit in among other unaugmented people.
And he has plenty of work to do. A runcible has exploded, taking an entire city on a far-flung world with it, and Cormac is sent to find out what happened. As he investigates a survivor from his botched anti-terror operation is hunting him across the stars, this vendetta coinciding with the now disconnected Cormac being the weakest he has been in decades.
And so, interplanetary secret agent mayhem ensues.
There’s some real fun to be had in Gridlinked, but what I loved most was the depth of Asher’s worldbuilding. The Polity universe (which I first encountered in the entertaining Prador Moon) is very much a living, breathing complex organism, a setting with a feeling of depth and history that not all SF authors can manage.
At times Gridlinked reminded me of (drum roll) Iain Banks’ legendary Culture universe, with its intricate backstory and well-drawn details, not to mention the human-AI hybrid nature of The Polity – I suspect Cormac would fit in nicely among the agents of Special Circumstances.
Everything from weapons to fashions to Cormac himself is fleshed out with backstory and lore, and overall it’s a hell of a lot of fun.
There are some scathing reviews of Gridlinked on here, and while I think they are a tad harsh, there are a few areas of this novel that aren’t as strong as they could be. Cormac isn’t the deepest character, and the enemy pursuing him is a little one-note, that note being the standard crazy, unrelentingly-vengeance-obsessed guy who wears a million faces across a million novels.
Honestly though? None of these flaws bothered me much. I got sucked along in the pacey narrative, following Cormac as he badassed his way around the Milky Way, shooting folks while trying to figure out how to be a normal human again.
Its escapist, it’s a quick read, and I’m very much looking forward to reading the rest of Asher’s Cormac novels.
Three and a half Space Martinis out of five.
That’s simplifying things somewhat, but Asher’s novel at its core is a tale of an interstellar secret agent who gives his licence to kill a serious workout.
This isn’t interstellar Timothy Dalton either, or even Pierce Brosnan. The tone of Gridlinked is down the Daniel Craig end of the Bond spectrum – a Bond who is a little dark, and more inclined to summarily shoot someone in the head than cheesily order a martini and listen to a long winded speech from an evil genius.
Neal Asher’s galaxy hopping Sci-Fi 007 - Ian Cormac - is a legendary agent of Earth Central, the ruling government of the vast civilisation known as the Polity.
The Polity is a hybrid AI/Human civilisation centred on Earth that has spread across countless star systems. AIs administer government and control a planet-linking instantaneous transport network – a series of gates called Runcibles that are much like the Farcasters in Simmons’ Hyperion
Cormac is the Polity’s best operative.
He does however, have a problem. He has been Gridlinked – completely linked to and immersed in the vast internet of the future and the AIs that dwell in it – for three decades. While this has made him a deadly agent his humanity has been slipping away, his affect becoming colder, and his ability to read other human beings slowly crumbling.
After botching an operation against a group of terrorist separatists Earth Central calls Cormac back in and gives him the option of either retiring, or severing his data link and becoming once again a normal, unconnected human being.
Cormac takes the latter option – retirement to a beach planet doesn’t really suit the Bond type – and begins to learn to work without his link, struggling to operate machines he previously commanded with his mind, and trying in vain to fit in among other unaugmented people.
And he has plenty of work to do. A runcible has exploded, taking an entire city on a far-flung world with it, and Cormac is sent to find out what happened. As he investigates a survivor from his botched anti-terror operation is hunting him across the stars, this vendetta coinciding with the now disconnected Cormac being the weakest he has been in decades.
And so, interplanetary secret agent mayhem ensues.
There’s some real fun to be had in Gridlinked, but what I loved most was the depth of Asher’s worldbuilding. The Polity universe (which I first encountered in the entertaining Prador Moon) is very much a living, breathing complex organism, a setting with a feeling of depth and history that not all SF authors can manage.
At times Gridlinked reminded me of (drum roll) Iain Banks’ legendary Culture universe, with its intricate backstory and well-drawn details, not to mention the human-AI hybrid nature of The Polity – I suspect Cormac would fit in nicely among the agents of Special Circumstances.
Everything from weapons to fashions to Cormac himself is fleshed out with backstory and lore, and overall it’s a hell of a lot of fun.
There are some scathing reviews of Gridlinked on here, and while I think they are a tad harsh, there are a few areas of this novel that aren’t as strong as they could be. Cormac isn’t the deepest character, and the enemy pursuing him is a little one-note, that note being the standard crazy, unrelentingly-vengeance-obsessed guy who wears a million faces across a million novels.
Honestly though? None of these flaws bothered me much. I got sucked along in the pacey narrative, following Cormac as he badassed his way around the Milky Way, shooting folks while trying to figure out how to be a normal human again.
Its escapist, it’s a quick read, and I’m very much looking forward to reading the rest of Asher’s Cormac novels.
Three and a half Space Martinis out of five.
October 30, 2023
Gridlinked is the first novel in the Agent Cormac series, and it is the third book if you choose to read chronologically like I've decided to do. In reality, it is Neal Asher's first published novel in the Polity series. This being my third Polity book I've read, there are a few traits I come to expect. Essentially, a Neal Asher book will have a combination of gory action scenes, truly vile villains, weak female characters, and be primarily plot driven with a lot of hard science with little character depth. Gridlinked is no exception to this and I was ready for it.
Agent Ian Cormac is the primary POV here, as well he should be given that this is his series, and at this point he has been working as an ECS agent for 73 years. Considering the previous book, Shadow of the Scorpion, featured him as a hot young blood military man recruited to the ECS, that acted more as an origin story. He didn't have much in the way of emotion then, and he has even less of it now. He's more robot than human actually, as he lacks empathy and any sort of nuance in social interaction. Part of this lends to the book's title, as he was "Gridlinked" for 30 years or so, 10 years over the advised limit because this detachment from humanity becomes a huge issue. It was amusing to read about his difficulties of coping with not being able to 'search' for random information or make instant calculations without his aug throughout the book. I suspect it's how many people would feel if they didn't have a mobile device on them at all times to pull up a calculator and figure out how much 30% off is on the item they are shopping for. The dependence on technology and how it affects our humanity is a major theme throughout the story.
Fortunately, this allows for Agent Cormac to have little personality or emotion. He's cunning, brilliant, and saavy in tracking down Separatist agents, but can't talk with the lady next to him without it being awkward. He's basically a more intelligent teenager. His lack of empathy drives one of the primary villains to pursue him in a all-in revenge scheme. Arian Pelter has a number of POV scenes and he's the only other character that can surpass Cormac in the lack of empathy department. He has none. Pelter's psychotic and violent tendencies were tough to read with many of his scenes being extremely brutal and sadistic. I often felt quite uncomfortable reading them and any others with his loyal sidekick John Stanton, since he sees Pelter's horrible actions as well. Stanton was easily the most likeable character, even if he's not the greatest guy. I mean, he teamed up with a psychopath for years so he has poor decision-making tendencies. Stanton seems to be about the only character that feels anything, though it takes some time to get there.
So while the bad guys are chasing down Cormac to exact revenge, the mythical ECS super-agent is out to save the universe. He investigates a planet shaking explosion and discovers a larger game at work. Enter the even more mythical Dragon, who isn't really a dragon, or even looks like a dragon, but is every bit as fearsome as a dragon. The mystery surrounding this creature is certainly intriguing but there really wasn't the type of explanation or payoff I was hoping for by the end. Of course, this is book one in a five part series so maybe there's more of that to come. That's not to say Gridlinked doesn't have a conclusion, because it does, but it's not as satisfying or concrete as I would like.
Of course, I realize that the first three books I've read from Neal Asher are from earlier in his career and considered some of the weaker entries. That being said, I'm not discouraged from continuing and the hope of his writing style getting better is exciting. He has built an immense and intricate universe that seems well thought out. Considering, to date, he has 19 books in the Polity universe, there's so much more to discover and I know all of this is setting up for a thrilling ride. So far, I recommend the Polity books to any science fiction fans who like their scifi hard and their material more on the darker side.
I'll say this about Neal Asher's books, he has some of the best cover art in science fiction. The Technician's cover reminds me of Starship Troopers and I was ready for some bugger action. Unfortunately, there wasn't as much action in the novel until the very end as most of the book was a slow build to the final conflict. This is different pacing from his Agent Cormac series that featured a lot of action and intense scenes. Here, there is a lot more philosophizing about religion, faith, and radicalization of such things.
The Technician roughly takes place 20 years after the events of the last Agent Cormac book, Line War. There is some time skipping in the first few chapters as it follows one of the main characters, Proctor Tombs, at different periods after Line War. Eventually, the story settles at 20 years after. What seemed originally as just another inconsequential planet in that series has become the center of everything in the Polity. A number of terrifying native creatures still wreak havoc, including the beastie in the cover art. It honestly sounds downright horrifying to live on this planet. I suppose much like Australia, everything is out to get you on this world, or particularly, eat you.
Proctor Tombs is the focal point and one of the main characters. His journey from madness after being half-eaten by a Hooder was interesting. Neal Asher has a lot to say about the harmful nature of religion and blind faith, much of which comes across as quite cynical, and it's all explored through Tomb's journey to restoration. I much prefer the discussion about religion and the nature of faith when its done from a more inquisitive angle where the conclusions are left to the reader to decide how they feel. Steven Erikson is the master of this sort of thing with all of his philosophical discussions in the Malazan series and I prefer that to being force fed all of the reasons against with no one to balance the pros. Well, Tombs is supposed to be that but he is half mad and delusional through much of the book, a commentary in and of itself to that very topic. I did appreciate his arc over all and you couldn't help but feel sympathetic to everything he has endured and, to be fair, the religion he was a part of was evil and oppressive.
Commander Lief Grant's point of view only seemed to serve as an outside observation of all Tombs endured as he essentially is ordered to keep him alive from the rebels-turned-terrorists that are out to eliminate everyone associated with the previous regime. I do feel that Asher struggles to give characters a warm and more human personality. The standalone books in the Polity Universe are better in their plot and action than character development. It took a five book series (Agent Cormac) to have some of his human characters feel less like robotic AI and more, well, human. He struggles with this again when it comes to Lief Grant, Chanter, and others. Speaking of Chanter, I could've done without all of the amphidapt's (human modified to be half frog essentially) point of view sections as he was largely unlikeable and his arc was quite uninteresting. His only purpose was to give slight glimpses into who or what The Technician is. Much more intriguing was a reappearance from our favorite war drone, Amistad, who featured prominently in a previous book. His interactions with the black AI, Penny Royal, were most intriguing. You can't help but feel some events at the end between the two will have significant ramifications for later books.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the book centered around one of the three known alien races, the Atheter. They had only been hinted at in this Polity Universe, to this point, and they've been a curiosity of mine since a major revelation about them was found in the Agent Cormac series. To help give more background, there are a few seemingly random point of view sections with AI creations and other characters. With Neal Asher, you will get a lot of unique point of view sections for seemingly random being that initially don't seem to fit. Rest assured, by the end, Asher brings it all home as everything comes together. It took a long while for the main plot conflict to be fully revealed and it promised an epic conclusion.
While the end did have its moments of being action-packed, it all felt a little underwhelming as the final events played out. Also, the action scenes can be disorienting since Asher uses a lot of in-world terminology and science with little explanation. I suppose it's not all necessary to get the picture in your head, just have your imagination ready to work its magic. Still, the conclusion was fast and furious as major reveals played out and, in trademark Asher fashion, everything feels hopeless until it kinda sorta works itself out. No character is safe from death and the death count toll rolls high. All in all, this is standard Neal Asher fare to this point and I imagine it serves as a good bridge to the next chronological series in the Polity Universe, the Transformation trilogy. The Technician is worth the read if you are invested in this universe and enjoy Asher's work to this point.
Polity Universe
Prador Moon - 7.5/10
Shadow of the Scorpion - 7.0/10
The Technician - 8.0/10
Agent Cormac
Gridlinked - 7.5/10
The Line of Polity - 8.0/10
Brass Man - 8.5/10
Polity Agent - 9.0/10
Line War - 10/10
Agent Ian Cormac is the primary POV here, as well he should be given that this is his series, and at this point he has been working as an ECS agent for 73 years. Considering the previous book, Shadow of the Scorpion, featured him as a hot young blood military man recruited to the ECS, that acted more as an origin story. He didn't have much in the way of emotion then, and he has even less of it now. He's more robot than human actually, as he lacks empathy and any sort of nuance in social interaction. Part of this lends to the book's title, as he was "Gridlinked" for 30 years or so, 10 years over the advised limit because this detachment from humanity becomes a huge issue. It was amusing to read about his difficulties of coping with not being able to 'search' for random information or make instant calculations without his aug throughout the book. I suspect it's how many people would feel if they didn't have a mobile device on them at all times to pull up a calculator and figure out how much 30% off is on the item they are shopping for. The dependence on technology and how it affects our humanity is a major theme throughout the story.
Fortunately, this allows for Agent Cormac to have little personality or emotion. He's cunning, brilliant, and saavy in tracking down Separatist agents, but can't talk with the lady next to him without it being awkward. He's basically a more intelligent teenager. His lack of empathy drives one of the primary villains to pursue him in a all-in revenge scheme. Arian Pelter has a number of POV scenes and he's the only other character that can surpass Cormac in the lack of empathy department. He has none. Pelter's psychotic and violent tendencies were tough to read with many of his scenes being extremely brutal and sadistic. I often felt quite uncomfortable reading them and any others with his loyal sidekick John Stanton, since he sees Pelter's horrible actions as well. Stanton was easily the most likeable character, even if he's not the greatest guy. I mean, he teamed up with a psychopath for years so he has poor decision-making tendencies. Stanton seems to be about the only character that feels anything, though it takes some time to get there.
So while the bad guys are chasing down Cormac to exact revenge, the mythical ECS super-agent is out to save the universe. He investigates a planet shaking explosion and discovers a larger game at work. Enter the even more mythical Dragon, who isn't really a dragon, or even looks like a dragon, but is every bit as fearsome as a dragon. The mystery surrounding this creature is certainly intriguing but there really wasn't the type of explanation or payoff I was hoping for by the end. Of course, this is book one in a five part series so maybe there's more of that to come. That's not to say Gridlinked doesn't have a conclusion, because it does, but it's not as satisfying or concrete as I would like.
Of course, I realize that the first three books I've read from Neal Asher are from earlier in his career and considered some of the weaker entries. That being said, I'm not discouraged from continuing and the hope of his writing style getting better is exciting. He has built an immense and intricate universe that seems well thought out. Considering, to date, he has 19 books in the Polity universe, there's so much more to discover and I know all of this is setting up for a thrilling ride. So far, I recommend the Polity books to any science fiction fans who like their scifi hard and their material more on the darker side.
I'll say this about Neal Asher's books, he has some of the best cover art in science fiction. The Technician's cover reminds me of Starship Troopers and I was ready for some bugger action. Unfortunately, there wasn't as much action in the novel until the very end as most of the book was a slow build to the final conflict. This is different pacing from his Agent Cormac series that featured a lot of action and intense scenes. Here, there is a lot more philosophizing about religion, faith, and radicalization of such things.
The Technician roughly takes place 20 years after the events of the last Agent Cormac book, Line War. There is some time skipping in the first few chapters as it follows one of the main characters, Proctor Tombs, at different periods after Line War. Eventually, the story settles at 20 years after. What seemed originally as just another inconsequential planet in that series has become the center of everything in the Polity. A number of terrifying native creatures still wreak havoc, including the beastie in the cover art. It honestly sounds downright horrifying to live on this planet. I suppose much like Australia, everything is out to get you on this world, or particularly, eat you.
Proctor Tombs is the focal point and one of the main characters. His journey from madness after being half-eaten by a Hooder was interesting. Neal Asher has a lot to say about the harmful nature of religion and blind faith, much of which comes across as quite cynical, and it's all explored through Tomb's journey to restoration. I much prefer the discussion about religion and the nature of faith when its done from a more inquisitive angle where the conclusions are left to the reader to decide how they feel. Steven Erikson is the master of this sort of thing with all of his philosophical discussions in the Malazan series and I prefer that to being force fed all of the reasons against with no one to balance the pros. Well, Tombs is supposed to be that but he is half mad and delusional through much of the book, a commentary in and of itself to that very topic. I did appreciate his arc over all and you couldn't help but feel sympathetic to everything he has endured and, to be fair, the religion he was a part of was evil and oppressive.
Commander Lief Grant's point of view only seemed to serve as an outside observation of all Tombs endured as he essentially is ordered to keep him alive from the rebels-turned-terrorists that are out to eliminate everyone associated with the previous regime. I do feel that Asher struggles to give characters a warm and more human personality. The standalone books in the Polity Universe are better in their plot and action than character development. It took a five book series (Agent Cormac) to have some of his human characters feel less like robotic AI and more, well, human. He struggles with this again when it comes to Lief Grant, Chanter, and others. Speaking of Chanter, I could've done without all of the amphidapt's (human modified to be half frog essentially) point of view sections as he was largely unlikeable and his arc was quite uninteresting. His only purpose was to give slight glimpses into who or what The Technician is. Much more intriguing was a reappearance from our favorite war drone, Amistad, who featured prominently in a previous book. His interactions with the black AI, Penny Royal, were most intriguing. You can't help but feel some events at the end between the two will have significant ramifications for later books.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the book centered around one of the three known alien races, the Atheter. They had only been hinted at in this Polity Universe, to this point, and they've been a curiosity of mine since a major revelation about them was found in the Agent Cormac series. To help give more background, there are a few seemingly random point of view sections with AI creations and other characters. With Neal Asher, you will get a lot of unique point of view sections for seemingly random being that initially don't seem to fit. Rest assured, by the end, Asher brings it all home as everything comes together. It took a long while for the main plot conflict to be fully revealed and it promised an epic conclusion.
While the end did have its moments of being action-packed, it all felt a little underwhelming as the final events played out. Also, the action scenes can be disorienting since Asher uses a lot of in-world terminology and science with little explanation. I suppose it's not all necessary to get the picture in your head, just have your imagination ready to work its magic. Still, the conclusion was fast and furious as major reveals played out and, in trademark Asher fashion, everything feels hopeless until it kinda sorta works itself out. No character is safe from death and the death count toll rolls high. All in all, this is standard Neal Asher fare to this point and I imagine it serves as a good bridge to the next chronological series in the Polity Universe, the Transformation trilogy. The Technician is worth the read if you are invested in this universe and enjoy Asher's work to this point.
Polity Universe
Prador Moon - 7.5/10
Shadow of the Scorpion - 7.0/10
The Technician - 8.0/10
Agent Cormac
Gridlinked - 7.5/10
The Line of Polity - 8.0/10
Brass Man - 8.5/10
Polity Agent - 9.0/10
Line War - 10/10
April 10, 2011
4 Stars
My first Neal Asher novel and it did not let me down. I have had his series on my to-read list for far too long.
Sprawling, creative, dark, and dirty space opera. Artificial Intelligence run the Polity universe, a place like ours in the near future. There is plenty of creative science in here and Asher often spends time detailing his creations. Political wars, common enemies, and god like monsters to fear.
Cormac is a good lead protagonist, a high tech 007, who is not afraid to do things his way, his form of justice. Asher does not hold back from some pretty gory kill scenes. This story was made interesting by the fact that Cormac, our hero, is unplugged from the grid in order for him to regain his humanity. There is a lot of great internal monologue that deals with Cormac coming to grips with his found again individuality, his retouching of his emotions and his loss from instant answers.
Pelter is a disturbed and motivated antagonist to our story, and he takes control and employs one cool bad guy, Mr Crane. Mr. Crane is a seriously bad ass golem that is enhanced to the nth degree making him incredibly strong and nearly unstoppable, oh yeah and he is also quite a psychopath. He is a golem that loves to rip things in half, pull off appendages, and decapitate heads for trophies...cool stuff.
The novel has good pacing and the plot lines are all worked out in the end. I enjoyed this novel and look forward to spending much more time in Neal Asher's Polity universe. Highly recommend.
My first Neal Asher novel and it did not let me down. I have had his series on my to-read list for far too long.
Sprawling, creative, dark, and dirty space opera. Artificial Intelligence run the Polity universe, a place like ours in the near future. There is plenty of creative science in here and Asher often spends time detailing his creations. Political wars, common enemies, and god like monsters to fear.
Cormac is a good lead protagonist, a high tech 007, who is not afraid to do things his way, his form of justice. Asher does not hold back from some pretty gory kill scenes. This story was made interesting by the fact that Cormac, our hero, is unplugged from the grid in order for him to regain his humanity. There is a lot of great internal monologue that deals with Cormac coming to grips with his found again individuality, his retouching of his emotions and his loss from instant answers.
Pelter is a disturbed and motivated antagonist to our story, and he takes control and employs one cool bad guy, Mr Crane. Mr. Crane is a seriously bad ass golem that is enhanced to the nth degree making him incredibly strong and nearly unstoppable, oh yeah and he is also quite a psychopath. He is a golem that loves to rip things in half, pull off appendages, and decapitate heads for trophies...cool stuff.
The novel has good pacing and the plot lines are all worked out in the end. I enjoyed this novel and look forward to spending much more time in Neal Asher's Polity universe. Highly recommend.
February 17, 2015
Well well well. Hello Neal Asher a new author (well new for me) who has me completely engrossed in SciFi again. Reading Asher is like reading a story written by Alistair Reynolds and China Mieville. There is your high tech scifi and weird augmentation bits. I think what i like about Asher is he seems to have the best bits of Reynolds and Mieville, great believable advanced technologies with wonderfully descriptive monsters, body improvements and world building.
This story I think is around book three in the whole, polity, spatter jay and agent cormac series, so i'll be going back to the start after this one.
In this one we meet Agent Cormac who is an agent for the good guys. Ai's are pretty much running all human space and their interaction with humans is completely integrated with everything we do. Think a benign big brother. Cormac is a grid linked agent, meaning he is permenantly connected to Google in his subconscious. When he wants any info he thinks for it and the Ai on the world he is on provides it. after 20 years of this it is time to unplug his wifi modem and go commando/ learning to deal with his own lack of emotions and having to manually think has him on a interesting chase across the galaxy with your bog standard pyscho bad guy.
Definitely a book I really enjoyed and a defining moment where I loaded the Kindle and audiobook library with others in this series and put on hold all the fantasy I had planned.
HELLO SCIFI, it is good to see you again.
This story I think is around book three in the whole, polity, spatter jay and agent cormac series, so i'll be going back to the start after this one.
In this one we meet Agent Cormac who is an agent for the good guys. Ai's are pretty much running all human space and their interaction with humans is completely integrated with everything we do. Think a benign big brother. Cormac is a grid linked agent, meaning he is permenantly connected to Google in his subconscious. When he wants any info he thinks for it and the Ai on the world he is on provides it. after 20 years of this it is time to unplug his wifi modem and go commando/ learning to deal with his own lack of emotions and having to manually think has him on a interesting chase across the galaxy with your bog standard pyscho bad guy.
Definitely a book I really enjoyed and a defining moment where I loaded the Kindle and audiobook library with others in this series and put on hold all the fantasy I had planned.
HELLO SCIFI, it is good to see you again.
September 14, 2016
This was the 3rd Neal Asher book I read. The consensus among fans seems to be to start with the prequel"Prador Moon" and I agree 100%. Prador Moon was a tight, focused, non stop thrill ride. Gridlinked kind of ambled here and there and I found it a little hard to get into or care about.
Even while I was reading it I had a hard time retaining what I had read. Several times I would be reading about a minor character and wonder "who is this person and why am I supposed to care about them again"? Then a Chapter or 2 later they would be killed off as cannon fodder. Aha!
Cormac was a pretty bland lead. Mr Crane was very cool but writing this now a few months after reading it I am struggling to recall a lot of the details. Something about a dragon....lots of carnage...
So while I was not a big fan of "Gridlinked" I am a big fan of Neal Asher. Having loved Prador Moon I know this is a great universe i want to spend a lot of time in. I had heard Asher improves with every novel but after I loved his first novella "The Engineer" I maybe expected too much for "Gridlinked". With lowered expectations this might be more enjoyable. I have heard more then one person say by the 3rd book "Brass Man" Asher has really hit his stride within the Polity universe and this is one of the great recent series.
Even while I was reading it I had a hard time retaining what I had read. Several times I would be reading about a minor character and wonder "who is this person and why am I supposed to care about them again"? Then a Chapter or 2 later they would be killed off as cannon fodder. Aha!
Cormac was a pretty bland lead. Mr Crane was very cool but writing this now a few months after reading it I am struggling to recall a lot of the details. Something about a dragon....lots of carnage...
So while I was not a big fan of "Gridlinked" I am a big fan of Neal Asher. Having loved Prador Moon I know this is a great universe i want to spend a lot of time in. I had heard Asher improves with every novel but after I loved his first novella "The Engineer" I maybe expected too much for "Gridlinked". With lowered expectations this might be more enjoyable. I have heard more then one person say by the 3rd book "Brass Man" Asher has really hit his stride within the Polity universe and this is one of the great recent series.
March 17, 2020
Disappointingly dull!
Asher's novels have the coolest covers—I was kinda hoping I'd enjoy his writing so that I'd have a tonne of new books to read. Alas despite some cool ideas, it just went on and on, back and forth between hero and villain while almost nothing happened. More and more secondary characters introduced, none of them really distinct enough to get built into my head.
I've also found that, the cooler the book cover, the less the author thinks they need to describe cool stuff in their book. As if the cover does the job, rather than hint at the imagery the book will help you make in your mind. There are some really cool creatures in here including some alien thing that gets described, multiple times, as four kilometre-wide spheres stuck together. Except... that's all you get. Then more creatures come out of it, and one turns into a "manthing" and it creates a chess set and table, presumably of flesh? Is the word flesh all I'm getting? Where did these things come out of? Can I get a bit more surface anatomy? Come on, this is cool! Help me out!
If you want a guy to wander through a city bigger than any we have on Earth (right?) I need more than a sentence introducing the place ffs. And if you're doing it to maintain pace, how come your book is so slow?!
Early rejection letters for my own stories said, "This seems to be one of those stories that mostly takes place in the writer's head." I quite rightly should not have been allowed to get away with that. How come some people make whole careers out of it?
Does he get better? Other series of his I should try?
What the fuck is the Polity?! Care to tell me??
Asher's novels have the coolest covers—I was kinda hoping I'd enjoy his writing so that I'd have a tonne of new books to read. Alas despite some cool ideas, it just went on and on, back and forth between hero and villain while almost nothing happened. More and more secondary characters introduced, none of them really distinct enough to get built into my head.
I've also found that, the cooler the book cover, the less the author thinks they need to describe cool stuff in their book. As if the cover does the job, rather than hint at the imagery the book will help you make in your mind. There are some really cool creatures in here including some alien thing that gets described, multiple times, as four kilometre-wide spheres stuck together. Except... that's all you get. Then more creatures come out of it, and one turns into a "manthing" and it creates a chess set and table, presumably of flesh? Is the word flesh all I'm getting? Where did these things come out of? Can I get a bit more surface anatomy? Come on, this is cool! Help me out!
If you want a guy to wander through a city bigger than any we have on Earth (right?) I need more than a sentence introducing the place ffs. And if you're doing it to maintain pace, how come your book is so slow?!
Early rejection letters for my own stories said, "This seems to be one of those stories that mostly takes place in the writer's head." I quite rightly should not have been allowed to get away with that. How come some people make whole careers out of it?
Does he get better? Other series of his I should try?
What the fuck is the Polity?! Care to tell me??
November 29, 2023
Le premesse per un bel libro c'erano.
Portali spaziali, intelligenze artificiali, prodigi della tecnica, alieni misteriosi, criminali senza scrupoli, separatisti e un agente speciale formidabile.
Peccato che da subito tutto sia andato a rotoli.
L'ambientazione sarebbe interessante, ma rimane sullo sfondo e tanti dettagli sul funzionamento che vengono dati restano assai nebulosi.
I personaggi restano oltremodo bidimensionali, dai cattivi (dove in parte si salva solo John, gli altri sono luoghi comuni su psicopatia e delinquenza fatti personaggio) ai comprimari (il più caratterizzato probabilmente è un cyborg...) per non parlare del protagonista che ci viene detto essere un grandissimo agente, ci viene detto che è praticamente una leggenda, ci viene detto che l'IA principale lo tiene in estrema considerazione. Ma non vediamo mai questa bravura, a essere onesti.
Perfino il titolo, si riferisce alla condizione in cui Cormac è all'inizio del libro, prima che venisse deciso che è rimasto connesso, Gridlinked, per troppo tempo mettendo a rischio la sua stessa umanità e venendo quindi spinto a scollegarsi.
Al che, per farlo riprendere gradualmente, lo spediscono in un'indagine di primo livello su un incidente che non poteva succedere, ad avere a che fare con creature aliene imperscrutabili e privo di qualunque informazione.
Nel frattempo mezzo libro (letteralmente) è dedicato alla cellula separatista e terrorista con la quale ha a che fare all'inizio, col boss che non prende bene il suo tradimento (era infiltrato) né l'omicidio della sorella, e insegue la sua vendetta radunando altri psicopatici, uccidendo e torturando gente con allegria, stringendo alleanze e requisendo interi arsenali bellici.
Questa metà del libro, che dovrebbe a rigore di logica essere importante e avere una conclusione epica, diventa alla fine nient'altro che un leggero fastidio (per Cormac, non per il lettore che alla fine invece inveisce chiedendosi il motivo di tutto quello spazio per niente).
Deludente.
E deludente è il finale vero, con la mossa di Cormac che si intuisce e basta (con un triste gioco di "vedo non vedo, dico non dico" che era abbastanza prevedibile oltre che non spiegato minimamente)/, soprattutto nelle motivazioni).
Era l'opera di un esordiente, ok, ma per me è bocciato ugualmente
Portali spaziali, intelligenze artificiali, prodigi della tecnica, alieni misteriosi, criminali senza scrupoli, separatisti e un agente speciale formidabile.
Peccato che da subito tutto sia andato a rotoli.
L'ambientazione sarebbe interessante, ma rimane sullo sfondo e tanti dettagli sul funzionamento che vengono dati restano assai nebulosi.
I personaggi restano oltremodo bidimensionali, dai cattivi (dove in parte si salva solo John, gli altri sono luoghi comuni su psicopatia e delinquenza fatti personaggio) ai comprimari (il più caratterizzato probabilmente è un cyborg...) per non parlare del protagonista che ci viene detto essere un grandissimo agente, ci viene detto che è praticamente una leggenda, ci viene detto che l'IA principale lo tiene in estrema considerazione. Ma non vediamo mai questa bravura, a essere onesti.
Perfino il titolo, si riferisce alla condizione in cui Cormac è all'inizio del libro, prima che venisse deciso che è rimasto connesso, Gridlinked, per troppo tempo mettendo a rischio la sua stessa umanità e venendo quindi spinto a scollegarsi.
Al che, per farlo riprendere gradualmente, lo spediscono in un'indagine di primo livello su un incidente che non poteva succedere, ad avere a che fare con creature aliene imperscrutabili e privo di qualunque informazione.
Nel frattempo mezzo libro (letteralmente) è dedicato alla cellula separatista e terrorista con la quale ha a che fare all'inizio, col boss che non prende bene il suo tradimento (era infiltrato) né l'omicidio della sorella, e insegue la sua vendetta radunando altri psicopatici, uccidendo e torturando gente con allegria, stringendo alleanze e requisendo interi arsenali bellici.
Questa metà del libro, che dovrebbe a rigore di logica essere importante e avere una conclusione epica, diventa alla fine nient'altro che un leggero fastidio (per Cormac, non per il lettore che alla fine invece inveisce chiedendosi il motivo di tutto quello spazio per niente).
Deludente.
E deludente è il finale vero, con la mossa di Cormac che si intuisce e basta (con un triste gioco di "vedo non vedo, dico non dico" che era abbastanza prevedibile oltre che non spiegato minimamente)/, soprattutto nelle motivazioni).
Era l'opera di un esordiente, ok, ma per me è bocciato ugualmente
June 13, 2012
Perfectly serviceable mystery-space-op-sci-fantasy. Not up there with Banks or Bear or Watts at their best but if you're after a book where an FTL culture still allegedly lives in a pre-scarcity economy and follows an action-lit plot-line you could do far worse.
Two criticisms I've had to pick out, if only because of the extreme strange-ness, though:
SPOILERS
1. Asher didn't seem to realise that our favourite characters were The Baddest Baddies: Pelter and Mr Crane (in fact, the series titular character and the other Gung Ho Hooray for the Polity good guys were likely the most dull until the very end). We spent the entire book wanting to see Mr Crane hit one of the Cyborg 30's like a train and then enjoy several pages of armoured super-titans duking it out at mega-speed. We got slightly less than a paragraph, ending with Crane getting bundled and perma-killed. Cormac then drilled a hole in Pelter's forehead without a second thought and was perplexed about how nuts he looked.
In a way this was quite a funny subversion of expectations when it comes to a Climactic Final Scrap, but this isn't a book I was reading for clever subversion. Especially in light of:
2. Was the Polity society supposed to be a dystopia? There isn't a great deal of Civ-Building done on screen, but whenever the Polity is mentioned it's reverentially. Some kind of capitalist, inter-stellar Super-Rome, perpetually thrusting it's glorious hegemony into the dark crevices of the galaxy. Then, in the flavour text you find out that when they create a sentient AI it's automatically a slave until it pays off what it cost to build it (generally in very dangerous military service). Huh. And later it turns out the punishment for criminals is to wipe their brain clean (kill them) and slap a new personality into the body. Oh... kay? I mean, I'm already finding it hard to cheer for the champions of Right here, guys.
SPOILERS END
Other than that, as I said, it is exactly what it said it was going to be on the tin. If you like your space opera served with a heaping side-dish of descriptive prose and pulse-rifles you'll be right at home.
Two criticisms I've had to pick out, if only because of the extreme strange-ness, though:
SPOILERS
1. Asher didn't seem to realise that our favourite characters were The Baddest Baddies: Pelter and Mr Crane (in fact, the series titular character and the other Gung Ho Hooray for the Polity good guys were likely the most dull until the very end). We spent the entire book wanting to see Mr Crane hit one of the Cyborg 30's like a train and then enjoy several pages of armoured super-titans duking it out at mega-speed. We got slightly less than a paragraph, ending with Crane getting bundled and perma-killed. Cormac then drilled a hole in Pelter's forehead without a second thought and was perplexed about how nuts he looked.
In a way this was quite a funny subversion of expectations when it comes to a Climactic Final Scrap, but this isn't a book I was reading for clever subversion. Especially in light of:
2. Was the Polity society supposed to be a dystopia? There isn't a great deal of Civ-Building done on screen, but whenever the Polity is mentioned it's reverentially. Some kind of capitalist, inter-stellar Super-Rome, perpetually thrusting it's glorious hegemony into the dark crevices of the galaxy. Then, in the flavour text you find out that when they create a sentient AI it's automatically a slave until it pays off what it cost to build it (generally in very dangerous military service). Huh. And later it turns out the punishment for criminals is to wipe their brain clean (kill them) and slap a new personality into the body. Oh... kay? I mean, I'm already finding it hard to cheer for the champions of Right here, guys.
SPOILERS END
Other than that, as I said, it is exactly what it said it was going to be on the tin. If you like your space opera served with a heaping side-dish of descriptive prose and pulse-rifles you'll be right at home.
September 22, 2019
In my opinion, Gridlinked succeeds at being a smart, well written, engaging sci-fi spy thriller of a page turner. Neal Asher succeeded at what he set out to do on all counts. Gridlinked did not ask or answer any of life's great questions, but it did provide me with hours of great fun, action, humor, and a VERY well done sci-fi world! I love the Polity lore, and can't wait to read more. If Steven Erickson's Malazan is my favorite fantasy world, Polity is it's sci-fi counterpart. Wouldn't it be grand if a Runcible appeared on Genabackis. :) Well done Neal Asher. Well done.
From "How It Is", by Gordon.
From "How It Is", by Gordon.
May 22, 2016
The first full book from Asher I've read here. Published quite a while back now, it seems to have set the standard for a few of his novels and his style.
Quite a long and good sized book, not space opera but features things like various planets, spaceships, AI and alien species. Like an action-adventure sci-fi movie, it moves along steady, never really slowing down too often. Good interesting lead character and others around him. If this is your kind of sci-fi thing, it probably will not let you down.
Quite a long and good sized book, not space opera but features things like various planets, spaceships, AI and alien species. Like an action-adventure sci-fi movie, it moves along steady, never really slowing down too often. Good interesting lead character and others around him. If this is your kind of sci-fi thing, it probably will not let you down.
March 7, 2015
3'5/5. Space opera entretenida, para pasar un buen rato con los ingredientes típicos del subgénero, pero no esperéis que os deje poso.
http://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/201...
http://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/201...
March 14, 2018
Disappointing read. Clunky prose. Inane dialogue. Plodding storyline. Hero worship. Assinine aliens. Faceless characters. Weak women. Dumb henchmen. Anticlimactic ending. Author's freshmen novel. GR reviews state that the sequel THE LINE OF POLITY is much better. I hope!
August 21, 2018
Full review on my podcast, SFBRP episode #377.
http://www.sfbrp.com/archives/1479
http://www.sfbrp.com/archives/1479
October 1, 2011
I’ve been trying lately to pin down, in some quantifiable way, how I read books. When I first started my blog I started giving everything a rating. It didn’t make sense after awhile so I abandoned it. I decided that my reviews have to stand on their own. So I’ve been trying to find a way to describe why some books fill me with pure hatred and others with pure glee. For instance I don’t know why I love Robert Jordan’s books but read Dan Brown with the kind of loathing that is actually joy at all the horrible things I have to say about it.
Everybody has a limited attention span. Some people it’s longer than others. When I’m sitting in class it takes about ten minutes for me to start thinking about something else. Other people have shorter or longer attention spans. They say for children that the rule of thumb is about one minute per year of age – so I have the attention span of a ten year old – or something. At some point that breaks down. However, when I’m reading a book that I like reading my attention span becomes hours.
So I’ve started to pay attention to how I read a book. Do I look at my watch frequently, or look up or stop to count the pages until the end of the chapter? Do I sometimes read twenty minutes while thinking about something completely different and have no idea what I just read? Those are all signs that something is not right with this book. Sometimes I can identify what it is that is keeping me from really getting lost in the words. Sometimes I can’t.
Very few authors can achieve this to the extent that I lose track of time. I could probably list them all on my two hands – though it would take awhile to scrub the ink off.
Gridlinked is one of those books that I just couldn’t get into and I think I know why.
The story is about Ian Cormac, legendary ECS agent and the psychotic killer who is hunting him down. There’s also a bit about some weird aliens and giant explosions. Ian Cormac is basically James Bond in the future. He goes undercover by using his real name – even though he’s famous all over the galaxy and he stands in the middle of a hail of bullets and shoots the bad guys right in the face without ever getting hit once.
Sometimes I get the idea that the whole thing is supposed to be a farcical play on spy movie tropes but if it is it’s too buried for it to be clear. It feels more like it’s just a series of those tropes glued together in a science fiction universe – albeit a well thought one.
The writing, though, is probably the most atrocious thing about this book. Many of the sentences were so awkward that I had to read them twice before I believed that they actually passed an editor. There’s a great deal of maid-and-butler dialoge only thinly disguised as ‘explain it to me again’ which is dull and annoying. Other than the three or four main characters the rest are all indistinguishable from each other and serve only to either get injured or make awkward narrative suggestions such as ‘lets start calling this alien Scar so we don’t have to keep saying “the other alien” all the time.’ Yes this really happened.
The bad guy is an evil psychopath who kills anybody whenever he feels like it a la Darth Vader except when they are characters that we are supposed to care about, and then he miraculously lets them live when they offend him. He even has some kind of giant metal brain attachment on the side of his head and sticking out his eye so that he will look all villainy.
This book suffered a lot in translation as well. It was written in English and I read it in English but it was written in British English and I don’t read British English. Words were misspelled and every past tense verb ended in –t instead of –ed. These aren’t the author’s fault as much as the editor and publisher but they made it harder to read. In American English saying “he leant against the wall” means he borrowed something with the wall as collateral.
Many of the chapters started with short descriptions of the technology in the book in the form of excerpts from fictional encyclopedias and journals. These were actually quite interesting and entertaining. I found myself frequently looking to see when the next chapter started so I could read another of these sections. Which is another problem, I suppose. The pre-chapter discussions were more interesting than the book.
In all I don’t think I will read this author again. His style is so over the top that he made me think I was reading a Dan Brown science fiction novel. At least he didn’t have the half-page cliffhanger chapters. Small mercies.
Everybody has a limited attention span. Some people it’s longer than others. When I’m sitting in class it takes about ten minutes for me to start thinking about something else. Other people have shorter or longer attention spans. They say for children that the rule of thumb is about one minute per year of age – so I have the attention span of a ten year old – or something. At some point that breaks down. However, when I’m reading a book that I like reading my attention span becomes hours.
So I’ve started to pay attention to how I read a book. Do I look at my watch frequently, or look up or stop to count the pages until the end of the chapter? Do I sometimes read twenty minutes while thinking about something completely different and have no idea what I just read? Those are all signs that something is not right with this book. Sometimes I can identify what it is that is keeping me from really getting lost in the words. Sometimes I can’t.
Very few authors can achieve this to the extent that I lose track of time. I could probably list them all on my two hands – though it would take awhile to scrub the ink off.
Gridlinked is one of those books that I just couldn’t get into and I think I know why.
The story is about Ian Cormac, legendary ECS agent and the psychotic killer who is hunting him down. There’s also a bit about some weird aliens and giant explosions. Ian Cormac is basically James Bond in the future. He goes undercover by using his real name – even though he’s famous all over the galaxy and he stands in the middle of a hail of bullets and shoots the bad guys right in the face without ever getting hit once.
Sometimes I get the idea that the whole thing is supposed to be a farcical play on spy movie tropes but if it is it’s too buried for it to be clear. It feels more like it’s just a series of those tropes glued together in a science fiction universe – albeit a well thought one.
The writing, though, is probably the most atrocious thing about this book. Many of the sentences were so awkward that I had to read them twice before I believed that they actually passed an editor. There’s a great deal of maid-and-butler dialoge only thinly disguised as ‘explain it to me again’ which is dull and annoying. Other than the three or four main characters the rest are all indistinguishable from each other and serve only to either get injured or make awkward narrative suggestions such as ‘lets start calling this alien Scar so we don’t have to keep saying “the other alien” all the time.’ Yes this really happened.
The bad guy is an evil psychopath who kills anybody whenever he feels like it a la Darth Vader except when they are characters that we are supposed to care about, and then he miraculously lets them live when they offend him. He even has some kind of giant metal brain attachment on the side of his head and sticking out his eye so that he will look all villainy.
This book suffered a lot in translation as well. It was written in English and I read it in English but it was written in British English and I don’t read British English. Words were misspelled and every past tense verb ended in –t instead of –ed. These aren’t the author’s fault as much as the editor and publisher but they made it harder to read. In American English saying “he leant against the wall” means he borrowed something with the wall as collateral.
Many of the chapters started with short descriptions of the technology in the book in the form of excerpts from fictional encyclopedias and journals. These were actually quite interesting and entertaining. I found myself frequently looking to see when the next chapter started so I could read another of these sections. Which is another problem, I suppose. The pre-chapter discussions were more interesting than the book.
In all I don’t think I will read this author again. His style is so over the top that he made me think I was reading a Dan Brown science fiction novel. At least he didn’t have the half-page cliffhanger chapters. Small mercies.
August 4, 2014
The first three quarter of the book were a very strong 4 stars. Unfortunately, the novel’s end sank down into the two/one star category.
The Good Parts: I loved the world-building and weird universe that Asher created. I liked his quirky AI’s. I enjoyed the grit, gore, action and pace. And once I got use to the slightly choppy writing writing style, I liked that too. It had the feel of a cyberpunk novel, but more readable. (I often find cyberpunk intriguing in concept, but difficult to actually read - this was not the case with Gridlinked.) Once I figured out Asher’s rhythm, the pages started to turn.
The Bad Parts: The main character, Cormac, was rather static and underwhelming. The initial concept set up in the very beginning of the book of Cormac being removed from the Grid and going through a withdrawal was sorely underutilized. I mean, it’s the title of the book - you’d think he’d occasionally freak out, or shake, or get the sweats, or try to plug back in, but no. Alas, the only withdrawal symptom was when Cormac inadvertently hurt someone's feelings and he didn't understand why. (I mean, come on - this sounds like me and every girlfriend I've ever had.) Whoop-dee-freakin’-doo. If only all addicts could quit cold-turkey with such ease.
The other bad part deals with the ending:
I don’t know. I’m very conflicted on the novel. As I started the novel, I was really getting into the universe, the characters, and the writing style, but the ending left a terrible taste in my mouth. On the other hand, I wanted to like the book so much, that I will eventually pick up book number two. Hopefully that one will have a proper ending. (If anyone out there who has read more Neal Asher books wants to, shoot me a comment - I’d love to know if his novel endings get better.)
The book is worth picking up and giving a try. If you don’t like it, well, that happens, However, there’s an equally good possibility that book will drag you along for a great ride.
The Good Parts: I loved the world-building and weird universe that Asher created. I liked his quirky AI’s. I enjoyed the grit, gore, action and pace. And once I got use to the slightly choppy writing writing style, I liked that too. It had the feel of a cyberpunk novel, but more readable. (I often find cyberpunk intriguing in concept, but difficult to actually read - this was not the case with Gridlinked.) Once I figured out Asher’s rhythm, the pages started to turn.
The Bad Parts: The main character, Cormac, was rather static and underwhelming. The initial concept set up in the very beginning of the book of Cormac being removed from the Grid and going through a withdrawal was sorely underutilized. I mean, it’s the title of the book - you’d think he’d occasionally freak out, or shake, or get the sweats, or try to plug back in, but no. Alas, the only withdrawal symptom was when Cormac inadvertently hurt someone's feelings and he didn't understand why. (I mean, come on - this sounds like me and every girlfriend I've ever had.) Whoop-dee-freakin’-doo. If only all addicts could quit cold-turkey with such ease.
The other bad part deals with the ending:
I don’t know. I’m very conflicted on the novel. As I started the novel, I was really getting into the universe, the characters, and the writing style, but the ending left a terrible taste in my mouth. On the other hand, I wanted to like the book so much, that I will eventually pick up book number two. Hopefully that one will have a proper ending. (If anyone out there who has read more Neal Asher books wants to, shoot me a comment - I’d love to know if his novel endings get better.)
The book is worth picking up and giving a try. If you don’t like it, well, that happens, However, there’s an equally good possibility that book will drag you along for a great ride.
November 20, 2012
I was expecting to read a cross between the grittiness of Neuromancer and the epic storyline of Dune. I can only assume that's what Neal Asher was going for by writing us a cyberpunk plot full of cheap death and shady characters set in a pan-galactic universe where faster-than-light travel is a trivial matter. Unfortunately, the story is terribly rushed. Where Neuromancer and Dune are full of details that add life to those stories Gridlinked glosses over anything that isn't gore or action. Both main characters are flat and never grow, their interactions with those around them are repetitive and dull. The entire novel is a collection of scifi cliches held together by simple, uninteresting writing. I'll admit I didn't finish this one, but after the first few hundred pages I've had enough.
January 4, 2012
About 85% done according to Kindle: a brawny, masculine book about an insensitive super agent. The story is more about action than sense or motivations. Characters are introduced and killed without compassion. A cold book that reminds me of action movies such as Mission Impossible or Captain America, where the entertainment is in the blasting, furious activity, tantalizing the eyes but light on the humanity and eminently forgettable.
I realize that Asher wrote many books in the same universe and maybe they would have more heart than this. But am somewhat disappointed since I started this having the notion that the book would be comparable to Haldeman's Forever War, but instead its a chase story filled with sf gadgetry. Perhaps others would find this mind-blowing and fun, but sorry to say, I am not so thrilled.
Addendum: Just finished the book. On hindsight, Asher has style and this helped move the book along. Maybe I'll try another of his books later.
I realize that Asher wrote many books in the same universe and maybe they would have more heart than this. But am somewhat disappointed since I started this having the notion that the book would be comparable to Haldeman's Forever War, but instead its a chase story filled with sf gadgetry. Perhaps others would find this mind-blowing and fun, but sorry to say, I am not so thrilled.
Addendum: Just finished the book. On hindsight, Asher has style and this helped move the book along. Maybe I'll try another of his books later.
February 9, 2010
I found this pretty disappointing. The world didn't make much sense to me, which I think is a pretty bad failure for SF. Why are these people squabbling over petty change when they have energy surpluses large enough to quickly terraform ice planets? Why do the AIs let humans make the important choices? If linking human and AI minds leads to such amazing advances, why has it only been done once? If the main character's antique weapon is so powerful, why doesn't everyone use things like that?
Overlooking the SF shortcomings, the book was pretty flat. The characterizations weren't interesting. The plot seemed contrived.
Overlooking the SF shortcomings, the book was pretty flat. The characterizations weren't interesting. The plot seemed contrived.
May 1, 2019
I was extremely bored throughout this. I read 86 pages and just had enough. Too many books to read not enough time.
I felt like the characters were non existent nothing made sense and the writing felt really like a debut novel.
I knew going in it wasnt meant to be aaanmazing read. I was expecting a 007 space opera style novel. Didnt get that at all.
I felt like the characters were non existent nothing made sense and the writing felt really like a debut novel.
I knew going in it wasnt meant to be aaanmazing read. I was expecting a 007 space opera style novel. Didnt get that at all.
February 26, 2011
This book is a fantastic melange between intelligent plot, great action, interesting characters and some very profound questions.
October 6, 2021
I‘ve read this novel in German. It’s title makes more sense to me than the original one, it translates back to „The Dragon of Samarkand“, addressing both the central planet Samarkand in this novel, and the mysterious alien protagonist, the „Dragon“.
Dragons are usually around in Fantasy books, right? This one is the SF version of it, a kilometer large entity, capable of spitting large amounts of energy, having fits, and talking in riddles.
The counter part is Earth Central Security Agent Ian Cormac, who many readers have called a „James Bond in Space“. Looking back at the time it was published, that characterisation is correct: breathless action, explosions, fancy weapons, exotic places, and always humanity to be saved. Even the mad villain is there. Only trope missing is the Bond girl.
Cormac is deployed to investigate a huge explosion of an interstellar transmitter called the Runcible, ripping planet Samarkand out of the interstellar network and killing ten thousand people, and have his team install a backup transmitter.
Hurdles in his missions are first of all his voluntary disconnection from his brain link to the overall AI network – thus the original title „Gridlinked“. Cormac has been connected too long and lost parts of his humanity already. Now he wants to get clean, but that comes at the price of having to think for himself and physically ask around for help.
A second problem for fast resolution of his mission is his antagonist Arian Pelter, a violent separatist, who wants to take revenge because Cormac killed his sister.
Back in 2001, this fast-paced action thriller was praised for its cutting-edge technology. It has AI everywhere, not only as planet-governing entities but also in tiny weapons, and embodied in fighting golems. The previously clear distinction between living and machines is dissolved with biotech, the singularity is hinted at. And boys, that amount of weapons will surely satisfy every nerd discussion.
But action alone doesn’t rescue this novel. In those twenty years, it has become old in several aspects. One of them is the story‘s core, technology: The way AIs are understood, work oftentimes disconnected, need to be self-aware. All that hasn’t seen our development of the last twenty years, the breakthrough of AI after long years of negligence. AI networks in the cloud, and the Singularity have been discussed often times since then, and found innovative and far fresher novelisations. Compared to other samples of the time like Altered Carbon, this part of the novel feels ancient already. Move on, nothing to be seen here!
The novel alternates every twenty pages between Cormac‘s and his opponent Peter‘s POVs. What might drive forward the plot and keep up the pace, is broken every.single.time by a one or two side long exposition explaining yet another technology. I have to bring up Wikipedia, because that has seen life in the same year the novel was published. Those expositions were kind of narrated in an annoying voice which probably should entertain but let me start skimming.
Remember that Bond comparison? Even that old hero has seen a – lo, and behold – background story with character development and (gasp!) emotions. Cormac is far more traditional in that regard, and this also doesn’t stand the test of time. Homeopathic doses of emotions or character development on his side. Not that his sidekicks would have a character to speak of, they are all replaceable or die away anyway.
The plot is interesting but isn’t resolved at all in this volume. One would probably have to wade through the mindless muck of five books to see the end of it. As you might have guessed, I won’t do that at all and call it quits. The world has seen better, more intelligent Space Operas than this one.
There‘s a lot of quality in this book, just not the one that keeps me interested. I won’t give up on Asher, yet, and might try a newer book from him. A standalone, preferably, maybe the „Technician“?
2.5 stars rounded up
Dragons are usually around in Fantasy books, right? This one is the SF version of it, a kilometer large entity, capable of spitting large amounts of energy, having fits, and talking in riddles.
The counter part is Earth Central Security Agent Ian Cormac, who many readers have called a „James Bond in Space“. Looking back at the time it was published, that characterisation is correct: breathless action, explosions, fancy weapons, exotic places, and always humanity to be saved. Even the mad villain is there. Only trope missing is the Bond girl.
Cormac is deployed to investigate a huge explosion of an interstellar transmitter called the Runcible, ripping planet Samarkand out of the interstellar network and killing ten thousand people, and have his team install a backup transmitter.
Hurdles in his missions are first of all his voluntary disconnection from his brain link to the overall AI network – thus the original title „Gridlinked“. Cormac has been connected too long and lost parts of his humanity already. Now he wants to get clean, but that comes at the price of having to think for himself and physically ask around for help.
A second problem for fast resolution of his mission is his antagonist Arian Pelter, a violent separatist, who wants to take revenge because Cormac killed his sister.
Back in 2001, this fast-paced action thriller was praised for its cutting-edge technology. It has AI everywhere, not only as planet-governing entities but also in tiny weapons, and embodied in fighting golems. The previously clear distinction between living and machines is dissolved with biotech, the singularity is hinted at. And boys, that amount of weapons will surely satisfy every nerd discussion.
But action alone doesn’t rescue this novel. In those twenty years, it has become old in several aspects. One of them is the story‘s core, technology: The way AIs are understood, work oftentimes disconnected, need to be self-aware. All that hasn’t seen our development of the last twenty years, the breakthrough of AI after long years of negligence. AI networks in the cloud, and the Singularity have been discussed often times since then, and found innovative and far fresher novelisations. Compared to other samples of the time like Altered Carbon, this part of the novel feels ancient already. Move on, nothing to be seen here!
The novel alternates every twenty pages between Cormac‘s and his opponent Peter‘s POVs. What might drive forward the plot and keep up the pace, is broken every.single.time by a one or two side long exposition explaining yet another technology. I have to bring up Wikipedia, because that has seen life in the same year the novel was published. Those expositions were kind of narrated in an annoying voice which probably should entertain but let me start skimming.
Remember that Bond comparison? Even that old hero has seen a – lo, and behold – background story with character development and (gasp!) emotions. Cormac is far more traditional in that regard, and this also doesn’t stand the test of time. Homeopathic doses of emotions or character development on his side. Not that his sidekicks would have a character to speak of, they are all replaceable or die away anyway.
The plot is interesting but isn’t resolved at all in this volume. One would probably have to wade through the mindless muck of five books to see the end of it. As you might have guessed, I won’t do that at all and call it quits. The world has seen better, more intelligent Space Operas than this one.
There‘s a lot of quality in this book, just not the one that keeps me interested. I won’t give up on Asher, yet, and might try a newer book from him. A standalone, preferably, maybe the „Technician“?
2.5 stars rounded up
March 1, 2021
3.5 stars
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