Gridlinked (Ian Cormac, Book 1)

Best book I've read in quite a while. I want to read more Neal Asher books. A tad overwhelming at first, but it quickly pulls you in. I couldn't put it down.

The current crop of British sf writers have restored my faith in SciFi. Hamilton, Asher, Morgan, Banks, et all produce superior stories, tech, and characters. The American debut of Gridlinked doesn't disappoint as Asher really delivers the goods with this story of revenge, xenoc explorations, a hi-tech universe and enough action to really get your heart pumping. What a refreshing change after so much of the mindless drivel that passes for Science Fiction these days, especially the Star Wars series, Star Trek , Honor Harrington and all the rest that passes itself off as scifi. Am I just ranting or do other's feel this way?

Every line of this debut novel crackles with energy and ideas. The backdrop is a society enhanced by connectivity (the Grid of the title) and cross-galaxy travel made possible by runcible technology; the plot has all the kinetic force of a runaway bullet train. I'm reminded of Bruce Sterling's Schismatrix, but I think Grindlinked tops that one for pure joy of reading. Buy it.

I loved this book! Gridlinked was a super read set in a high-tech 25th century universe where interstellar travel is done instantly through runcibles-matter transmitters control by A.I.Ian Cormac-our hero who can best be described 25th century James Bond who is burned out from years of being linked to his AI in missions. Cormac lastest mission he must find the cause of destruction of runcibles which resulted in death of thousands of people. Cormac's got two problems in this case: one is mysterious and possible deadly alien construct called the Dragon who has something to do with the runcible tragedy and the other is brutal psychopathic interstellar terrorist by the name of Arian Pelter who is after Cormac for killing his sister in his last mission! Pelter is aided by terrifying and nearly unstoppable android called Mr. Crane!Gridlinked is awesome space opera that combines hard science with james bondian action sequences between humans, cyborgs and assasins!Asher's world-building skills are wonderful! his Heroes and villians are three-dimensional.I look forward to Asher's next book!

At first, it may seem that the pace is maybe a little too quick, and that Asher has so much story that he has to squeeze it in. But that's probably just me - it does take me a little while to get to grips with a new book, even if it does feature a universe with which I'm quite familiar. Angelina Pelter may be swiftly dispatched by the fast moving Ian Cormac at the very beginning of this novel, but Cormac's master does allow us to catch up by ordering the removal of his gridlink. Cormac is warned that staying gridlinked for so long may well have dehumanised him. Horace Blegg, Cormac's legendary boss, decides to interrupt Cormac's current mission involving the Separatists on Cheyne III to dispatch him to Samarkand, which has unfortunately been devastated by the destruction of a runcible gate. Thus Asher cleverly gets us to identify with Cormac, since the secret agent seeks to regain his own identity. There's a quote in the novel which says that Neal Asher is just as good as John Meaney. However, where Asher supersedes John Meaney is in the strength of his characterisation (to such an extent that Cormac's strong line on crime and punishment could be jeopardized). Neal Asher's science is also good. The Runcible mode of transport seems much in line with the recent discovery of black holes at the centre of galaxies (and Asher has been writing about Runcible technology for quite a while). Where Neal Asher has always seemed strongest is in his creation of biological entities - mycelium and pseudopods are real science. However, Gridlinked has also finally revealed that Asher does have quite a whimsical tone. It's a delight to finally discover that the Polity's mode of transport was named after the runcible spoon in Edward Lear's nonsense rhyme 'The Owl and the Pussycat'. Some readers may think that the Polity is a bit like Iain M. Banks' Culture. However, Neal Asher is a bit of an expert in the martial arts, so he's far more knowledgeable about flying shuriken than other writers in this field. Besides, Banks didn't invent AI, as Asher reminds us by nicknaming Earth Central 'Hal'. There's a bit of Arthur C. Clarke in other ways - Dragon is a mysterious godlike being. But Asher also seems to have gone to the very depths of Science Fiction, by utilizing Prometheus in a way that Mary Shelley would have approved of (Dragon turns up in Frankenstein Monster mode, with exceedingly uncharitable thoughts towards its creator). The fantastic Golem android Mr Crane also gets to do his Bela Lugosi impersonation. Asher might have also been reading some literary studies on science fiction - note the term he uses when Dragon produces the first Dracoman on Aster Colora. Although Dragon doesn't have teeth like Spielberg's Jaws, he still has a considerable bite with the help of his pseudopods. The mention of a creature called 'Dragon' jars at first. But Asher has given his leviathan a character which can be greatly appreciated. Certainly, this seems