From the Philip K. Dick Award nominee author of Cowl, an adrenaline-powered new SF adventure: Brass Man. Neal Asher returns to his trademark Polity future setting, in a sequel to Gridlinked, which SFRevu.com called "brilliant and audacious work, chock-full of cutting-edge ideas." Ian Cormac, a legendary Earth Central Security agent, the James Bond of a wealthy future, is hunting an interstellar dragon, little knowing that, far away, his competition has resurrected an horrific killing machine named "Mr. Crane" to assist in a similar hunt, ecompassing whole star systems. Mr. Crane, the insane indestructible artificial man now in a new metal body, seeks to escape a bloody past he can neither forget nor truly remember. And he is on a collision course with Ian Cormac.
On the primitive world of Cull, Earth Central Security agent Ian Cormac is hunting an interstellar dragon, not realizing that far away a competitor has resurrected a brass killing machine called "Mr Crane" to assist in a similar hunt encompassing entire star systems. Original. 17,500 first printing.Neal Asher lives in Chelmsord, Essex, UK.
In a distant future in which humans have colonized the galaxy, Earth Central Security Agent Ian Cormac hunts an interstellar dragon on the primitive world of Cull. Far away, a rival has reawakened a psychotic artificial man known as Mr. Crane, housed him in a new metal body, and sent him after the same target, placing him on a collision course with Cormac. Set in the same world as Gridlinked , Asher's latest novel features fast-paced action, spy vs. spy intrigue, and the guilty pleasure of watching two exceptional and opposed individuals move inexorably toward an inevitable showdown. A good addition to most sf collections, this novel will have particular appeal to fans of science-oriented, far-future sf.
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A satisfyingly baroque plot and strong action sequences make up for a lack of character development and moral complexity in this gory space opera from British SF author Asher. Human beings have considerable freedom in Polity Space, a mostly civilized place, but enormously powerful AIs make all the important decisions. Three monstrous creatures threaten the Polity: Dragon, a gigantic being of unknown origin; Skellor, an evil, once human scientist transformed by the nanotechnology of the extinct Jain race; and Mr. Crane, the monstrous killing machine who does Skellor's bidding. Aided by several AIs, supercompetent Earth Central Security agent Ian Cormac must deal with all these dangers before civilization is plunged into chaos. Unbeknownst to him, however, several powerful AIs are plotting to gain Jain technology, even if it means the destruction of the human race. This violent, fast-moving novel is lots of fun, but makes no concessions to readers unfamiliar with Gridlinked and Line of Polity , the earlier books in the series. (Jan.)
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