Zero Point

The essays in Zero Point ask how we distinguish defeat from disaster, and how we confront despair without collapsing into it - questions never more pertinent than the current moment in the wake of electoral victories for authoritarian populists and unceasing news of violent atrocities. The 'zero-point' of the title is ground level, rock bottom, the place to which one retreats and where one regroups. Taken from Vladimir Lenin's 1922 piece 'On Ascending a High Mountain, in which Lenin considers the complexities of how one 'retreats' while keeping faith in the cause, the central simile of the climber offers a blueprint for resilience, flexibility, and the persistence of hope. This is the revolutionary as living out the Beckettian motto: 'Try again. Fail again. Fail better.' In Žižek's hands, this becomes the formula for confronting the antagonisms of existing world order. With a particular focus on the Middle East -the point at which all our tensions threaten to explode – Žižek argues nothing can be addressed meaningfully without such a confrontation. The consequences of eschewing apolitical acts of solidarity and choosing to attempt to speak truth to power are reckoned with in the second half of Zero Point. In a unique piece assembled chronologically from unpublished writings, Žižek wrestles with the fallout from his controversial speech at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2023 - a speech which saw him interrupted, condemned and accused of anti-Semitism. The reader bears witness as Zizek processes the criticism, evolves his thinking and explores the full ethical, political and personal ramifications of the question: When is the right time to speak?

The essays in Zero Point ask how we distinguish defeat from disaster, and how we confront despair without collapsing into it - questions never more pertinent than the current moment in the wake of electoral victories for authoritarian populists and unceasing news of violent atrocities. The 'zero-point' of the title is ground level, rock bottom, the place to which one retreats and where one regroups. Taken from Vladimir Lenin's 1922 piece 'On Ascending a High Mountain, in which Lenin considers the complexities of how one 'retreats' while keeping faith in the cause, the central simile of the climber offers a blueprint for resilience, flexibility, and the persistence of hope. This is the revolutionary as living out the Beckettian motto: 'Try again. Fail again. Fail better.' In Žižek's hands, this becomes the formula for confronting the antagonisms of existing world order. With a particular focus on the Middle East -the point at which all our tensions threaten to explode – Žižek argues nothing can be addressed meaningfully without such a confrontation. The consequences of eschewing apolitical acts of solidarity and choosing to attempt to speak truth to power are reckoned with in the second half of Zero Point. In a unique piece assembled chronologically from unpublished writings, Žižek wrestles with the fallout from his controversial speech at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2023 - a speech which saw him interrupted, condemned and accused of anti-Semitism. The reader bears witness as Zizek processes the criticism, evolves his thinking and explores the full ethical, political and personal ramifications of the question: When is the right time to speak?

It was a quest for vengeance; now it’s full-blown rebellion. Zero Point is the second book in Neal Asher’s high-octane Owner trilogy. He must flee or face his enemy . . . Earth’s Zero Asset citizens no longer face extermination from orbit. Thanks to Alan Saul, the Committee’s network of control is a smoking ruin. Its robotic enforcers also lie dormant. But power abhors a vacuum, and the Committee’s Serene Galahad seizes command. On Mars, Var Delex is fighting to save the Antares Base. She must also crush the first signs of its own rebellion, while the Argus Space Station speeds towards the red planet. Var knows that whoever trashed Earth is still aboard. And aboard Argus Station, Alan Saul’s mind has expanded into its computer network. There, he learns of the Humanoid Unit Development and its ghastly experiments; the possibility of eternal life; and of a madman who may hold the keys to interstellar flight. But Earth’s agents are close, and the killing will soon begin. 'A thoroughly enjoyable novel' – Walker of Worlds 'A real page turner' – I Will Read Books 'Asher’s ability to write exciting set-piece action scenes featuring cool SF hardware is undimmed . . . Those who enjoy Neal Asher’s fast-paced, technologically rich SF stories will find a lot to like' – Concatenation

It was a quest for vengeance; now it’s full-blown rebellion. Zero Point is the second book in Neal Asher’s high-octane Owner trilogy. He must flee or face his enemy . . . Earth’s Zero Asset citizens no longer face extermination from orbit. Thanks to Alan Saul, the Committee’s network of control is a smoking ruin. Its robotic enforcers also lie dormant. But power abhors a vacuum, and the Committee’s Serene Galahad seizes command. On Mars, Var Delex is fighting to save the Antares Base. She must also crush the first signs of its own rebellion, while the Argus Space Station speeds towards the red planet. Var knows that whoever trashed Earth is still aboard. And aboard Argus Station, Alan Saul’s mind has expanded into its computer network. There, he learns of the Humanoid Unit Development and its ghastly experiments; the possibility of eternal life; and of a madman who may hold the keys to interstellar flight. But Earth’s agents are close, and the killing will soon begin. 'A thoroughly enjoyable novel' – Walker of Worlds 'A real page turner' – I Will Read Books 'Asher’s ability to write exciting set-piece action scenes featuring cool SF hardware is undimmed . . . Those who enjoy Neal Asher’s fast-paced, technologically rich SF stories will find a lot to like' – Concatenation