Shadow of the Scorpion
Neal Asher
07 March 2019
9781509868483304 pages
Synopsis
Seamlessly blending space opera, hard science fiction and cyberpunk, Neal Asher's Shadow of the Scorpion is a gripping prequel to the compelling Agent Cormac series.
Following the devastation of the human-prador war, Ian Cormac is employed by the Earth Central Security. Yet he is haunted by childhood memories of a sinister scorpion-shaped war drone and the burden of losses he doesn’t remember.
Tasked with restoring order on worlds ravaged by alien warfare, his cold capacity for violence soon makes him one of Earth's top agents. But chilling discoveries propel Cormac onto a path of revenge and revenge, where he'll have to use all his hard-won skills just to stay alive.
The Shadow of the Scorpion skillfully combines graphic action and sensitive characterisation and is Asher's most accomplished novel to dateGuardian
A powerhouse cocktail of lurid violence, evocative world-building and typically grotesque monsters, but it’s amazing how much emotion he’s also layered into what could have been a simplistic SF potboiler. Asking difficult questions while still delivering plenty of full-tilt adventure and widescreen action, this is top-notch stuff from an author well and truly at the top of his gameSFX
Ian Cormac is, it seems, here to stay in the collective consciousness of sci-fi literature… Thoroughly enjoyable stuffSciFiNow
