Neal Asher

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

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

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

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