The Skinner

Neal Asher won many readers over with Gridlinked, a truly intoxicating slice of cyber-punk science fiction in which the ideas fizz like fireworks, and this follow-up is equally exciting. Three travellers arrive on the planet Spatterjay. Janer is bringing the eyes of the Hornet Hive Mind, although it is not yet clear to him what his mission might be; Erlin is looking for the elderly sea captain who, she believes, can teach her how to live; and Sable Keech is locked into a vendetta which he has no intention of abandoning - even though he himself has been dead for 700 years. The remote world on which they land is almost entirely covered by ocean, with all but a very few human visitors enjoying safety inside the island's Dome. Only the natives risk the appalling dangers outside. In this remarkable environment, Asher brilliantly interweaves the destinies of his very disparate characters, and the result is a piece of phantasmagoric science fiction that few aficionados will want to miss. A particular achievement is the astutely judged balance between the imperatives of the plot and the necessity of creating a fully imagined world, with all its attendant strangeness. Sterling stuff. (Kirkus UK)