Shadow of the Scorpion: A Novel of the Polity
by Neal Asher
List Price:
Our Price: $6.29
You Save: $8.66 (58%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Neal AsherEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-11-04
ISBN: 1597801399
Number of pages: 242
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Book Reviews of Shadow of the Scorpion: A Novel of the Polity
Book Review: A decent SF novel
Summary: 4 Stars
Although I'd heard a lot about Neal Asher in the past, I hadn't picked up any of his books until encountering the author himself at a signing in my home town. I picked up Gridlinked, his first novel and also the first in his Agent Cormac series, but hadn't gotten round to reading it before I was sent an ARC of his latest novel, Shadow of the Scorpion. Since Shadow of the Scorpion is a prequel to the other Cormac books, it seemed like a decent place to start.
The setting is many centuries hence, and Earth and its colonies are controlled by the Polity, an AI-controlled political entity. Humanity's attempts to rule itself have not worked out so well, so now control of human affairs has been (partially) ceded to the AIs, with humanity and AI constructs such as drones, androids and 'golems' (robots cloaked in human flesh who are almost impossible to tell from the real thing) working alongside one another in peace.
The Polity is put on the back foot when it encounters a hostile race known as the Prador, and is soon fighting a desperate war for its very survival. The novel follows two separate timelines. In the former, we follow the family crises afflicting ten-year-old Ian Cormac, whose father is fighting on the front lines and whose brother is serving in the medical corps. In the latter, we pick up Cormac's story ten years later as a fresh recruit helping mop up various worlds following the Polity's (costly) victory. The novel flips between the two regularly and the relationship between events in Cormac's childhood and during the events that first attract the notice of the Polity's ECS (Earth Central Security) agency.
The Shadow of the Scorpion is a very solid SF novel with a strong action storyline, but which at heart is more concerned with what drives and motivates Ian Cormac and what he does. Cormac is an interesting character whose family life is very-well defined (and a refreshing change from some other recent SF heroes/antiheroes like Takeshi Kovacs, who are usually loners at heart). There's also a mystery element, as the young Cormac keeps coming across a scorpion-like war drone which seems to be following him around for an unknown reason. As the novel draws to a close, these narrative strands are tied together nicely (but not in too contrived a manner).
Asher's grasp of character is strong, but he also has the needed SF credentials with some great ideas for weapons, spaceships and a good handle on AI characters as well: the Polity could perhaps be called a more primitive version of Banks' Culture in this regard, although that would be doing a disservice to Asher's capacity for invention.
There is a slightly 'bitty' start with the flashbacks to Cormac's childhood not providing a smooth introduction to the story, but once you leap over that hurdle the story progresses much more satisfyingly. As a prequel, it possibly works better if you're already familiar with the Polity universe and its concepts, although I didn't find it too hard to get on board (I had to look up what a 'runcible' was, though).
The Shadow of the Scorpion (****) is available now in the UK from Tor UK and in the USA from Night Shade Books.
Summary of Shadow of the Scorpion: A Novel of the Polity
Raised to adulthood during the end of the war between the human Polity and a vicious alien race, the Prador, Ian Cormac is haunted by childhood memories of a sinister scorpion-shaped war drone and the burden of losses he doesn't remember. Cormac signs up with Earth Central Security and is sent out to help restore and maintain order on worlds devastated by the war. There he discovers that though the Prador remain as murderous as ever, they are not anywhere near as treacherous or dangerous as some of his fellow humans, some closer to him than he would like. Amidst the ruins left by wartime genocides, Cormac will discover in himself a cold capacity for violence and learn some horrible truths about his own past while trying to stay alive on his course of vengeance.Literature & Fiction Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Literature & Fiction Books
Little Womenby Louisa May Alcott
Scribner; Published: 1986-06-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
The Killing Groundby JACK HIGGINS
HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LTD; Published: 2007; Hardcover; Book
Saving Fish from Drowningby Amy Tan
4th Estate; Published: 2005; Paperback; Book
Life Expectancyby Dean Koontz
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2005-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Constant Princessby Philippa Gregory
Touchstone/Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005; Hardcover; Book
Wolf of the Plains (Conqueror, Book 1)by Conn Iggulden
Harper; Published: 2007; Paperback; Book
Saharaby Clive Cussler
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2005-03-21; Paperback; Book
Perelandra (Cosmic Trilogy)by C. S. Lewis
Voyager; Published: 2005-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.64
Price in other shops:
The Lord Of The Rings: Part 2 The Two Towersby J. R. R. Tolkien
Harper Collins Publishers; Published: 2001; Paperback; Book
Red Marsby Kim Stanley Robinson
Trafalgar Square; Published: 2001-06; Paperback; Book
Similar Books and other products
Brass Man (Ian Cormac, Book 3)by Neal Asher
Tor Books; Published: 2007-01-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.93
Price in other shops:
Hilldiggers (Novel of the Polity)by Neal Asher
Pan Macmillan; Published: 2008-04-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.50
Price in other shops:
Line War (Ian Cormac, Book 5)by Neal Asher
Pan Macmillan; Published: 2009-12-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.61
Price in other shops:
The Voyage of the Sable Keech (Spatterjay, Book 2)by Neal Asher
Trans-Atlantic Publications, Inc.; Published: 2006-07-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.98
Price in other shops:
Prador Moon: A Novel of the Polityby Neal Asher
Nightshade Book; Published: 2008-12-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.10
Price in other shops:
Line of Polity: The Second Agent Cormac Novel (Agent Cormac 2)by Neal Asher
Pan Macmillan; Published: 2009-12-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.36
Price in other shops:
Gridlinked (Ian Cormac, Book 1)by Neal Asher
Tor Science Fiction; Published: 2004-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
The Skinner (Spatterjay, Book 1)by Neal Asher
Tor Science Fiction; Published: 2005-05-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.60
Price in other shops:
Polity Agent (Ian Cormac, Book 4)by Neal Asher
Trans-Atlantic Publications, Inc.; Published: 2007-10-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.72
Price in other shops:
The Technician. Neal Asherby Neal L. Asher
Tor Books; Published: 2011-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.42
Price in other shops: