In outer space you can never feel sure that your adversary is altogether human. I decided that it was high time to revisit these books and go back to the beginning…

While there are a couple of stories outside of this setting – notably his Owner trilogy – Asher will always be best known for the Polity. As time has passed I’ve made my way through all of his releases, the majority of which are set in his vividly realised and completely packed Polity universe. However, I do know that it wasn’t his debut, Gridlinked, the first Agent Cormac novel – this book came a little after discovering Asher’s work. This is fast-moving, edge-of-the-seat entertainment - an American debut that's sure to make a splash and launch Neal Asher in a big way.I’ve been a fan of Neal Asher’s work for many years, though I can’t remember which of his books I first picked up. And deep beneath Samarkand's surface there are buried mysteries, fiercely guarded. 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. 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.

He has to take the cold-turkey cure and shake his addiction to having his brain on the net. Unfortunately Cormac is nearly burnt out, 'gridlinked' to the AI net so long that his humanity has begun to drain away. Now Asher crosses the Atlantic and breaks into hardcover with Gridlinked, 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.Ĭormac 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. I look forward to enormously and to seeing Asher receive the success he is clearly destined for. 'This is a brilliant and audacious work, chock-full of cutting-edge ideas. “Neal Asher has been publishing short fiction and books in the small press in Britain for several years, and made a successful move to paperback in 2001 with Gridlinked.

Gridlinked by Neal Asher