Gridlinked
Thousands have been killed on Samarkand and a terraforming project has been destroyed. Cormac must reach it by ship to begin an investigation. But he has incurred the wrath of an evil psychopath called Peter, who follows him across the galaxy.
Stats for nerds
9recommend
11mentions
11people
2010–2024years
82% recommend18% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- These are books I re-read every few years, I would say more often than every decade though:
Iain M. Banks S.F. novels:
Excession, Consider Phlebas, The Algebraist, Use of Weapons, Look to Windward, Surface Detail, Matter. I don't re-read Inversions or Feersum Endjinn as I find them harder to get into (and they aren't Culture novels anyway).
Neal Asher: Cowl, Gridlinked and Brass Man
Michel Swanwick: Vacuum Flowers
Bruce Sterling: Involution ocean
George R.R. Martin: Tuf Voyaging, Nightflyers
Samuel Delaney: Nova. Nightflyers and Nova are back to back in a single volume as Del SF Binary Star #5.
William Gibson: Neuromancer
Robert Reed: Sister Alice
I'm currently re-reading (for the first time) Micaiah Johnson - The Space Between Worlds. She has an upcoming book this year: Those Beyond the Wall, which seems to be a prequel.
- Neal Asher writes (mostly) about The Polity:
Which is similar in concept to Ian M Banks The Culture series. (which I also love).
Asher tends to be darker and more violent. I dont think he is for everyone.
I would start with GridLinked. His books are not a progressive timeline. Some take place in earlier times, some farther into the future of the Polity. I dont think it is intended så read them based on the timeline though.
(Cut and paste) The Polity is a far-future society run by artificial intelligences. In the early years of space travel, as we spread out into the solar system, the political make-up of humanity is a mixture of national and world (or moon) governments, and large corporations. However, these separate political entities – polities – employ AI for gain. During this time Iverus Skaidon, a scientist, directly links his mind to the AI Craystein Computer and invents underspace travel, just before his mind blows like a fuse. The invention of this faster-than-light travel results in a diaspora from the Solar System.
- I discovered Neal Asher in a bookstore years ago by way of fascination with a book cover (The Brass Man). I have read nearly everything he has published since and have experienced few disappointments.
I'd recommend starting with Gridlinked (vol. 1 of the Agent Cormac series)
- It's a little different, but I've also really enjoyed Neal Asher (start with Gridlinked) and Iain M Banks (Matter)
- From Neal Asher's Wikipedia page [0], you may consider starting with "Gridlinked" (2001). I've read 3/5 of the Agent Cormac series set in the Polity setting, starting with that book, and thoroughly enjoyed it. (Now I need to go read all the rest, apparently...)
The AI-ruling-humanity idea took a bit to warm up to. They do seem to be presented as benevolent overlords.
- The entire Gridlinked series by Neal Asher is set in a universe where AIs run government and are generally interacting with humans in a space opera / secret agent series of books, quite good IMO
