Gridlinked
(Agent Cormac #1)
by Neal Asher
science fiction
copyright 2001
read in November 2018
rated 6/10: read to pass the time
I recently read a very recent book by this author -- and was disappointed. Heavy hard science fiction with no human interest. Possibly there were too many characters from previous books, books which I have not read ? Anyway, as a one-off book, it was disappointing.
Disappointing because I know I have thoroughly enjoyed previous books by Asher.
I grabbed Gridlinked in an attempt to renew my appreciation of Asher's writing. With only partial success.
There is a lot of hard science... Fascinating... for a while. Then boring. Magic by another name. Patches of ultra-violence... that's just me, I'm currently not in the mood for extreme violence.
There is, however, a decent dose of human interest. A hero with some problems, some personal growth. A villain with a reason for his villainy. A range of secondary characters with a range of personalities.
Unfortunately, too many characters for me to follow. Especially since I lost interest, put the book down, then finished it in very short bursts. Had trouble distinguishing the various characters. Still, there were enough interesting characters to, well, to make the book interesting. Sort of.
Somewhere after 400 pages -- the story finally escaped from an engineer's report to an actual novel. A book where something -- other than magical construction -- finally happens. Okay, the first 400 pages did include a lot of story. Yet there is a noticeable increase in the action of a "plot" after those first 400 pages of somewhat tedious build-up.
Asher thinks big, this novel is more than just a boys' big book of adventure. My interest in what is happening fades, because the story is slow -- and often lost in the detail of the scientific invention.
This book is readable. It's entertaining though occasionally violent. Great as hard science fiction. Quite average as a readable novel.
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
... Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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"Relax. Only dread one day at a time." … Ginger Meggs
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