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Gridlinked by Neal Asher
01/04/2004 . Source: Tomas L. Martin 
pub: TOR. 426 page hardback. Price: $25.95 (US), $35.95 (CAN). ISBN: 0-765-30735-9. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.tor.com
British Science Fiction is doing well at the moment, with many new authors like Alastair Reynolds, Richard Morgan and China Mieville breaking through and revitalising the UK SF novel arena.
Now the books are slowing making their way across the Atlantic, where hopefully they can make similar impressions on American readers. It happens that in the month I review Neal Asher's third novel, 'Cowl', his debut book, 'Gridlinked' arrives on my desk in its first US printing.
A useful illustration of the amount of time it takes for a British success to make the transition to America, to be sure. It also allows me to compare how far Neal Asher has come since 'Gridlinked'.
In actual fact, I enjoyed this debut novel more than Asher's latest time-travelling adventure. 'Gridlinked' is a more typical cyberpunk novel, in the vein of Iain M. Banks. Its use of AI and half-biological/half-mechanical creatures coupled with a gritty, combat-laden plot make it a worthy addition to the genre.
Ian Cormac is a secret agent for the AI that runs Earth and has become essential to the guiding forces in the galaxy. His is a very James Bond figure and many believe him to be a myth. Cormac has been cybernetically connected to the AI net for ten years more than the maximum limit due to his indispensability but now is ordered to disconnect due to fears he is losing his humanity.
Cut off from his 'gridlink' and chased by a psychotic separatist leader intent on revenge for the murder of his sister, Cormac travels to Samarkand, where a sabotaged runcible - Asher's trans-light device - has killed the entire population. He and his mercenary crew must find out what happened there and deal with the separatist's own force of trained killers when they follow.
Asher writes extremely readable Science Fiction, with a lot of the tricks thrillers use to keep the reader involved. It works, as the characters spiral together for a satisfying final conflict. The frequent skirmishes between the two elite soldier groups is always tense, especially when the psychotic leader and his equally insane android sidekick are involved.
The bad guys in this one are both memorable and identifiable, just as enjoyable to follow as Cormac's side of the story. 'Gridlinked' is not as ambitious or breathtaking as Asher's latest novel but it works better by trying to do less. 'Cowl' was often hard work to figure it all out, whereas in this book it's all clear and you can just sit back and enjoy the experience.
Asher has a flair for Science Fiction and is well worth checking out.
Tomas L. Martin
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