One man transcends death for vengeance. One woman transforms herself for power. And no one will emerge unscathed... Thorvald Spear wakes in hospital, having been brought back from the dead. He died in a human vs alien war that ended a century ago. Spear had been trapped on a planet, surrounded by alien Prador forces, when he spotted a rescue ship. Yet he and his entire squad were killed by the ship's Artificial Intelligence, Penny Royal, which turned rogue.
Now, reliving these traumatic final moments, Spear finds the drive to keep on living. That drive is vengeance. The AI still roams free and Spear vows to destroy it, planning to exploit another of its victims in his quest. But crime-lord Isobel Satomi has been modified by Penny Royal, turning her into something far from human. And as she evolves into the ultimate predator, will she turn Spear from hunter to hunted?
About the Author
Neal Asher was born in Billericay, Essex, and divides his time between here and Crete. His previous full-length novels are Gridlinked, The Skinner, The Line of Polity, Cowl, Brass Man, The Voyage of the Sable Keech, Polity Agent, Hilldiggers, Prador Moon, Line War, Shadow of the Scorpion, Orbus and The Technician. His Owner series novels are The Departure, Zero Point and Jupiter War.
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 * 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 *
