Gridlinked

The hunter becomes the hunted in Gridlinked, the first sci-fi thriller in Neal Asher's compelling Agent Cormac series. When a portal to other planets explodes on Samarkand, thousands are killed and a terraforming project is obliterated. Earth Central Security suspects sabotage – and assigns a legendary investigator. But Agent Ian Cormac has his own problems. Years spent mentally linked to the Polity’s AI network have eroded his humanity, and this gridlink has to be severed or he’ll die. Without it, he has only his wits (and Shuriken, a throwing star with a mind of its own) to rely on. Cormac’s disastrous last mission also haunts him – as a psychopath and a murderous android track him across the galaxy, seeking revenge. Meanwhile, the ice-bound planet of Samarkand hides deadly secrets beneath its surface . . . secrets Cormac is about to disturb. Gridlinked is followed by The Line of Polity , the second title in the Agent Cormac series. *** Praise for the series: 'Asher is a modern master of Sci-Fi' – Starburst 'Imaginative, energetic and insane' – SFX 'A complex, multilayered story' – The Guardian

The hunter becomes the hunted in Gridlinked, the first sci-fi thriller in Neal Asher's compelling Agent Cormac series. When a portal to other planets explodes on Samarkand, thousands are killed and a terraforming project is obliterated. Earth Central Security suspects sabotage – and assigns a legendary investigator. But Agent Ian Cormac has his own problems. Years spent mentally linked to the Polity’s AI network have eroded his humanity, and this gridlink has to be severed or he’ll die. Without it, he has only his wits (and Shuriken, a throwing star with a mind of its own) to rely on. Cormac’s disastrous last mission also haunts him – as a psychopath and a murderous android track him across the galaxy, seeking revenge. Meanwhile, the ice-bound planet of Samarkand hides deadly secrets beneath its surface . . . secrets Cormac is about to disturb. Gridlinked is followed by The Line of Polity , the second title in the Agent Cormac series. *** Praise for the series: 'Asher is a modern master of Sci-Fi' – Starburst 'Imaginative, energetic and insane' – SFX 'A complex, multilayered story' – The Guardian

Here is the first-ever Polity novel, which kicks off the fast-paced science fiction adventures of far-future James Bond-esque Agent Ian Cormac--from Neal Asher, author of more than 20 books and nominee for both the Philip K. Dick and the British Fantasy Society awards.. Ian Cormac is a legendary Earth Central Security agent, the James Bond of a wealthy future where runcibles allow interstellar travel in an eye blink throughout the settled worlds of the Polity. Unfortunately, Cormac is nearly burnt out, gridlinked to the AI net so long that his humanity has begun to drain away. He has to take the cold-turkey cure and shake his addiction to having his brain on the net. Now, he must learn to do without, just as he's sent to investigate a unique runcible disaster that's wiped out the entire human colony on planet Samarkand in a thirty-megaton explosion. Unfortunately, Cormac has also incurred the wrath of a vicious psychopath called Arian Pelter, who now follows him across the galaxy with a terrifying psychotic killer android in tow. And all the while, deep beneath Samarkand's surface lurk buried mysteries, fiercely guarded. . . . Night Shade Books is proud to reissue Neal Asher's Agent Cormac series, a fast-moving, edge-of-your-seat science fiction adventure from one of today's most exciting SF talents.

Here is the first-ever Polity novel, which kicks off the fast-paced science fiction adventures of far-future James Bond-esque Agent Ian Cormac--from Neal Asher, author of more than 20 books and nominee for both the Philip K. Dick and the British Fantasy Society awards.. Ian Cormac is a legendary Earth Central Security agent, the James Bond of a wealthy future where runcibles allow interstellar travel in an eye blink throughout the settled worlds of the Polity. Unfortunately, Cormac is nearly burnt out, gridlinked to the AI net so long that his humanity has begun to drain away. He has to take the cold-turkey cure and shake his addiction to having his brain on the net. Now, he must learn to do without, just as he's sent to investigate a unique runcible disaster that's wiped out the entire human colony on planet Samarkand in a thirty-megaton explosion. Unfortunately, Cormac has also incurred the wrath of a vicious psychopath called Arian Pelter, who now follows him across the galaxy with a terrifying psychotic killer android in tow. And all the while, deep beneath Samarkand's surface lurk buried mysteries, fiercely guarded. . . . Night Shade Books is proud to reissue Neal Asher's Agent Cormac series, a fast-moving, edge-of-your-seat science fiction adventure from one of today's most exciting SF talents.