The Engineer Reconditioned (Cosmos)
by Neal L. Asher
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Book Summary Information
Author: Neal L. AsherEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09
ISBN: 0843961619
Number of pages: 319
Publisher: Cosmos Books
Book Reviews of The Engineer Reconditioned (Cosmos)
Book Review: Someone at Cosmos screwed up
Summary: 3 Stars
This review is for the recently released MMPB, not the HC the previous reviews cover. I bring this up because the HC may or may not have the technical problems noted below.
If you look at the table of contents, you will be under the impression that the book consists of a 122 page novella, then an 86 page novella, and 3 other stories. None of this is true. It actually consists of 9 stories, seven of which have titles preceded by a 1-page Author's Introduction. Two of them have neither title nor intro but are fused onto the preceding stories without any way for the reader to know that he is starting a new story except that there is a huge disconnect between it and that which preceded it. For the record, the last 18 pages of The Engineer is actually a story called Snairls (it is referred to in the intro to Spatterjay) and the last 19 pages of Spatterjay is actually a story called The Thrake (which I found out only because I read a review of the earlier British version elsewhere on this website). Now that I've forewarned you, there is no need for you to be as annoyed as I was about this, so let's get to the important stuff. How are the stories?
The Engineer: By far the best story in the collection. It's probably no coincidence that it is the only story that the author has reworked from its original form (hence the "Reconditioned" in the book's title). The rest of the stories all (to some extent) show that the author was still learning his craft when they were written. (J.Chang, how could you give a book a 4-star rating when 8/9ths of the stories "fell flat"? I'd give this book 2 stars if this story hadn't been as good as it was.) The Engineer recounts the Polity's first contact with the legendary Jain and is classic Asher---bizarre aliens, war golems, space dreadnoughts, and enough blood and guts to satisfy any fan.
Snairls: Without a doubt the most grotesque story I've read in a long time. Life inside (yes, INSIDE) a gigantic floating snail. Sex amidst the slime. Yuck!
Spatterjay: A prequel to The Skinner with many characters from that novel showing up here. The viewpoint character is Erlin, a normal human (as opposed to Spatterjay's blue mutants). Strangely, the author either forgot about her or didn't know what to do with her near the end when he pulls an alien rabbit (called a Fage) out of a hat in order to finish the story. Rookie writing.
The Thrake: Apparently the only reason for this story to exist is in order to heap disdain upon creationists. Actually, I don't have a problem with heaping disdain on creationists (they deserve it) but I wish it hadn't been done in such a heavy-handed manner.
Proctors/ The Owner/ Tiger Tiger: Three stories from "The Owner" universe. The Owner is a 10,000 year-old human with god-like powers and not so oddly happens to own the planet the stories take place on. Individually, the stories aren't bad but taken together like this they suffer from sameness. In each a member of a somewhat primitive society goes on a mission that violates one of The Owner's rules and a member of the group (in one case a "ghost") turns out to be an avatar of The Owner.
The Tor-Beast's Prison: If I've understood this story (and I'm not sure that I have) the tor-beast is a ravenous monster than has been imprisoned in a time traveling sphere. Somehow it is able to control a human who does his bidding (nasty things of course) and sticks to the outside of the sphere when it time travels (!). Apparently, this story and the novel Cowl were both derived from the same novella. I once considered buying Cowl. Not anymore.
The Gurnard: Carnivorous sheep and a parasite with a complex life cycle that somehow is able to integrate human colonists into said life cycle and control their actions. Sounds pretty silly. It is.
Summary of The Engineer Reconditioned (Cosmos)
Mysterious aliens, ruthless terrorists, androids with attitude, genetic manipulation, punch-ups with lasers and giant spaceships! What more do you want?Literature & Fiction Books
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