Neal Asher, Shadow of the Scorpion (Night Shade Books, 2008)
Asher's latest fills in some of the long-fuzzy biographical details of perennial Polity series hero, Ian Cormac. Finally we learn something of the formative years of this dedicatedly impersonal agent. In Shadow of the Scorpion, we follow Cormac on his very first military mission, as a lowly grunt, while he simultaneously explores questions that are raised about his recent childhood past.
Like his earlier prequel work, Prador Moon, Asher's latest is short for a Polity novel, only about 250 pages. Long time fans will recall the first Polity novel, Gridlinked, introduced us to Cormac as a somewhat world-weary, disconnected individual who lived only for his job. In the opening scene of that novel, his undercover operation was blown because he was so jacked into the Net, and so completely focused on his work, he was actually mistaken for a Golem android passing for human.
Not to say that Cormac has no personality or emotions -- though he makes efforts to suppress them. On the contrary, his existential struggles in this far-off future world touch on a lot of very human issues, and keep readers coming back. But neither protagonist nor author care much for heavy exposition, so it's a bit of a treat to see a younger, more exposed Cormac, and some of the experiences that shaped him, after four books of tidbits and hints.
Asher tells big stories. Typically Polity novels include an ensemble cast of a half dozen or so, with shifting viewpoints maintaining dramatic tension and fast pacing throughout. In this shorter novel, smaller in scope, the viewpoints shift only between a 23-year-old Cormac, fresh out of his military training, and his eight-year-old self, as current events seem to stir up old memories. This is very much a Cormac novel, and no other significant recurring characters feature in it, nor are any other perspectives much lingered on.
Of course, it's still Asher, so this mission still involves terrorists with anti-matter weapons capable of blowing away large chunks of planet, incredibly durable crab-like aliens capable of shrugging off a hit from heavy artillery, and more alien ecologies and far-future technologies than you can shake a stick at.
There's little praise I can lay on this that won't be recycled from previous Polity novel reviews. It's Asher; it's good. Recommended for anyone who's a fan of the series or of good hard science fiction in general.
You can check out Neal Asher's official fan site for more info on him and his books.
