GridlinkedNeal Asher has been publishing short fiction and books in the small press in Britain for several years, and made a successful move to paperback in 2001 with Gridlinked. He got a sheaf of favorable notices. “This is a brilliant and audacious work, chock-full of cutting-edge ideas. . . . I look forward to [his next books] enormously and to seeing Asher receive the success he is clearly destined for. Highly recommended,” said SFRevu.com. Now Asher crosses the Atlantic and breaks into hardcover with Gridlinked, a science fiction adventure in the classic, fast-paced, action-packed tradition of Harry Harrison and Poul Anderson, with a dash of cyberpunk and a splash of Ian Fleming added to spice the mix. Cormac is a legendary Earth Central Security agent, the James Bond of a wealthy future where "runcibles" (matter transmitters controlled by AIs) 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 do without just as he’s sent to investigate the unique runcible disaster that's wiped out the entire human colony on planet Samarkand in a thirty-megaton explosion. With the runcible out, Cormac must get there by ship, but he has 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 deep beneath Samarkand's surface there are buried mysteries, fiercely guarded. This is fast-moving, edge-of-the-seat entertainment -- an American debut that's sure to make a splash and launch Neal Asher in a big way. |
Contents
Section 1 | 1 |
Section 2 | 7 |
Section 3 | 27 |
Section 4 | 47 |
Section 5 | 63 |
Section 6 | 74 |
Section 7 | 87 |
Section 8 | 101 |
Section 17 | 228 |
Section 18 | 245 |
Section 19 | 255 |
Section 20 | 265 |
Section 21 | 281 |
Section 22 | 291 |
Section 23 | 302 |
Section 24 | 311 |
Section 9 | 118 |
Section 10 | 130 |
Section 11 | 143 |
Section 12 | 156 |
Section 13 | 175 |
Section 14 | 186 |
Section 15 | 198 |
Section 16 | 212 |
Section 25 | 324 |
Section 26 | 344 |
Section 27 | 360 |
Section 28 | 379 |
Section 29 | 397 |
Section 30 | 410 |
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Common terms and phrases
adamantium Aiden android arcology Arian Pelter Blegg Carn carrier centimetres Cento chainglass Chaline Cheyne closed Colora comunit console Corlackis Cormac glanced Cormac looked Cormac nodded Cormac saw Cormac turned Crane creature door dracomen Dragon drone drop-shaft dropped Earth Central edge eyes face fire flash floor fucking Gant Golem Grendel gridlinked ground hand head hell holster Hubris human Ian Cormac inside Jane Jarvellis kill kilometres kilometres per hour knew laser light Mennecken metal metres Mika moved mycelium planet Polity proton guns pseudopods pulled pulse-gun reached replied runcible Samarkand screen seat seemed Separatist sergeant shaft ship shot shuriken shuttle side skin slid smiled solstan Sparkind sphere Stanton stared stepped stood submind surface Svent Svent and Dusache Sylac thin-gun thing Thorn thought took Veltz Viridian voice waited walked watched weapons wondered