One man will transcend death to seek vengeance. One woman will transform herself to gain power. And no one will emerge unscathed...
Thorvald Spear wakes in hospital, where he finds he's been brought back from the dead. What's more, he died in a human vs. alien war which ended a whole century ago. But when he relives his traumatic final moments, he finds the spark to keep on living. That spark is vengeance. Trapped and desperate on a world surrounded by alien Prador forces, Spear had seen a rescue ship arriving. But instead of providing backup, Penny Royal, the AI within the destroyer turned rogue. It annihilated friendly forces in a frenzy of destruction, and, years later, it's still free. Spear vows to track it across worlds and do whatever it takes to bring it down.
Isobel Satomi ran a successful crime syndicate. But after competitors attacked, she needed more power. Yet she got more than she bargained for when she negotiated with Penny Royal. She paid it to turn her part-AI herself, but the upgrades hid a horrifying secret. The Dark AI had triggered a transformation in Isobel that would turn her into a monster, rapidly evolving into something far from human.
Spear hires Isobel to take him to the Penny Royal AI's last known whereabouts. But he cheats her in the process and he becomes a target for her vengeance. And as she is evolves further into a monstrous predator, rage soon wins over reason. Will Spear finish his hunt, before he becomes the hunted?
This is the first volume in a no-holds-barred adventure set in Asher's popular Polity universe.
Industry Reviews
Skillfully combines graphic action and sensitive characterization and is Asher's most accomplished novel to date * Guardian on Polity novel The Shadow of the Scorpion * Delivering plenty of full-tilt adventure and widescreen action, this is top-notch stuff from an author well and truly at the top of his game * SFX on the Polity novel Shadow of the Scorpion * Big weapons, big monsters, and human disasters on an increasingly cosmic scale . . . A great novel * Interzone on the Polity novel Polity Agent * Asher rocks with XXX adrenaline while delivering a vivid future * David Brin * What Asher delivers here is state-of-the-art SF on so many levels ... a compelling, smart read * Locus * One of his best works so far ... Asher is a modern master of Sci-Fi * Starburst magazine * Beautifully paced ... does just as well as at slam-bang action scenes as at painting frightening pictures ... This is space opera at a high peak of craftsmanship * Publishers Weekly, starred review * Blends large portions of horror and mystery into an SF tale of revenge and redemption ... a complex and satisfying work * Library Journal, starred review * An exciting, intricate, and unabashedly futuristic story rife with twists and turns ... Asher returns to his popular far-future series, Polity Universe, with another fast-paced space opera filled with his trademark technological marvels and elaborate world building * Booklist * Hardboiled, fast-paced space opera epic ... Asher's books are similar to the world of Iain M. Banks' Culture universe, but the Polity is arguably a much darker and more vicious environment - and all the better for it * TheRegister.co.uk * Dark Intelligence is an imaginative, epic space opera that manages to present a dark future universe full of vibrant spaceships, people, creatures and intelligence. Highly enjoyable and highly addictive * SFBook.com * As you all should know, Neal Asher is one of Britain's leading science fiction authors, best known for his Polity universe series. Dark Intelligence has everything science fiction needs, and much, much more * TheBookPlank.co.uk * Perpetually on the knife's edge, and this constant tension works wonders for creating a page-turning atmosphere. It's a damningly gripping and infecting book * Upcoming4.me * A superb novel and Asher has an amazing talent for world-building, for writing larger-than-life characters, for weaving gripping plots and for imagining exotic alien races and wonderful technologies. Huge ships! Big weapons! Space battles! Ground battles! Treason! Revenge! This is New Space Opera at its best * Sense of Wonder * Asher rocks with XXX adrenaline while delivering a vivid future * David Brin * Beautifully paced ... does just as well as at slam-bang action scenes as at painting frightening pictures ... This is space opera at a high peak of craftsmanship * Publishers Weekly, starred review * What Asher delivers here is state-of-the-art SF on so many levels ... a compelling, smart read * Locus * One of his best works so far ... Asher is a modern master of Sci-Fi * Starburst magazine * Blends large portions of horror and mystery into an SF tale of revenge and redemption ... a complex and satisfying work * Library Journal, starred review * Hardboiled, fast-paced space opera epic ... Asher's books are similar to the world of Iain M. Banks' Culture universe, but the Polity is arguably a much darker and more vicious environment - and all the better for it * TheRegister.co.uk * An exciting, intricate, and unabashedly futuristic story rife with twists and turns ... Asher returns to his popular far-future series, Polity Universe, with another fast-paced space opera filled with his trademark technological marvels and elaborate world building * Booklist * As you all should know, Neal Asher is one of Britain's leading science fiction authors, best known for his Polity universe series. Dark Intelligence has everything science fiction needs, and much, much more * TheBookPlank.co.uk * Perpetually on the knife's edge, and this constant tension works wonders for creating a page-turning atmosphere. It's a damningly gripping and infecting book * Upcoming4.me * A superb novel and Asher has an amazing talent for world-building, for writing larger-than-life characters, for weaving gripping plots and for imagining exotic alien races and wonderful technologies. Huge ships! Big weapons! Space battles! Ground battles! Treason! Revenge! This is New Space Opera at its best * Sense of Wonder * Dark Intelligence is an imaginative, epic space opera that manages to present a dark future universe full of vibrant spaceships, people, creatures and intelligence. Highly enjoyable and highly addictive * SFBook.com * Delivering plenty of full-tilt adventure and widescreen action, this is top-notch stuff from an author well and truly at the top of his game * SFX on the Polity novel Shadow of the Scorpion * Skillfully combines graphic action and sensitive characterization and is Asher's most accomplished novel to date * Guardian on Polity novel The Shadow of the Scorpion * Big weapons, big monsters, and human disasters on an increasingly cosmic scale . . . A great novel * Interzone on the Polity novel Polity Agent *
