The Line of Polity: The Second Agent Cormac Novel

Continuing the quest for the completion of the Polity oeuvre, this is Cormac, book 2. It is a fat mother, too, being closer to 700 pages than 600 in this version. Not sure this works in its favour - and I also think Asher, and this particular series have improved since then so it may be the comparisons to Line War or later short stories in quality that make it seem inferior. The 'Line' is that region of space that is on the border of the area of space that has worlds that are members of the Polity. The particular planet of focus here among other is one where your fascist Theocracy types rules. For the Polity to intervene politicall the AIs need an 80% vote requesting help officially. Hard to do when you are an underground, and those in control can kill you with space weapons. On top of this, Cormac still has the rogue Skellor and his increasing entanglement with Jain technology to deal with, also Dragon, the Dracomen, and more, but at least has the assistance of some Sparkind friends and Mika. Asher does good monsters - and some of the scariest things on this planet aren't religious cr@zies with guns or death rays - they include Hooders (giant indestructible segmented super tough snake worm things), Heroynes (nasty flyers) and Gabbleducks (weird arse monsters). All of which can eat people quite happily, even if the Golem variety might be chewier. So lots going on, but a little flat at times as it changes between Cormac, the local situation on the ground, and Skellor. Call it a 3.25. I'll round this one up though for monster mayhem. 3.5 out of 5

+1 for rivetting plotline - unbeknownst - I started reading the series backwards from Brass Man but still enjoy it +1 for fast pace - no-nonsense teeth and claw action +1 for delightful 'Brit' black sense of humour +1 Asher does the AI/human thing better than Reynolds, Banks or Hamilton -1 to Publisher for not MAKING CLEAR on cover this is #2 in series Bottom line: gimme more, MORE

After reading the superb 'gridlinked' and the 'Skinner', it was hard to believe that Asher could top himself. The 'line of polity' and it's sequel, 'the Brass Man' are simply astounding. How can a writer write a two part story over a 1000 pages long (combined books),without ever becoming tedious or boring is nothing short of miraculous. His Polity universe, governed by A.I.'s, the polity agents, the incredible alien lifeforms is sort of a science fiction readers' fondest hope come true. To the publishers in the United States: why do I have to keep buying such outstanding works from the UK instead of being able to purchase them here in the U.S.? I have paid more for Asher's books then any other SF books I have purchased. The only reason I spent the money was because asher's books are so achingly good. Please publish these books in the U.S. If you haven't read all of Asher's books, when you see a new one released anywhere BUY IT. They are that good. To Neal Asher - keep the books flowing, my friend, if you write it, I will buy it.

I just finished this the third neal asher book i have read this month. WOW i stumbled on to pradar moon and liked it so much i tracked down any other books of his i could find. the polity universe is fantastic and the charactors and situations are well writen. a future with ai's calling the shot and not all humans willing to just live with the situation thrown in with humaniod ai's, aliens and downloaded human personalites running around in one of the most enteresting universe's i found in a long time.

Whereas The Skinner jumped ahead several centuries from the time of Gridlinked, Line of Polity returns us to the events immediately following Asher's first full novel, and to his enigmatic protagonist Ian Cormac.Asher's ingenuity continues to flourish. Line of Polity is a worthy successor to his previous works, and yet for me it lacked something of the power of the preceding novels. Perhaps the ending was just too neat (or too telegraphed?), but I feel my dissatisfaction ran deeper. This may have had something to do with the presence of Ian Cormac. In Gridlinked, he was introduced as an ineffable, almost inhuman operator. His motivations and underlying humanity were gradually revealed as the novel unfolded, and yet much of the man was still left as mystery. One would expect Line of Polity to continue these revelations, yet Cormac's character is left almost undeveloped. He swings through the novel in a rather Bond-like fashion, possessing all the answers, but with no internal conflict to give some depth to the narrative.Asher has often been comapared favourably (and, I think, fairly) with Iain Banks. There is more than just a thematic similarity; the two authors share a sterling command of the english language and a love of the deviant and bizarre. But one of Banks' strengths is the fearlessness with which he kills off main characters, and the moral ambiguity of his framework, where good does not always triumph. Asher's reluctance to do the same, his affinity with letting the good live and the evil die (often horribly), now leave him in danger of becoming predictable.Asher is a skillful wordsmith with an unbounded imagination and a genius for intriguing characters and complex plotting. He has it in him to produce works of great liturature, but to do this he will need to break out of his comfort zone and explore new territory.