The Engineer ReConditioned by Neal Asher

Gridlinked ( 2001), his first full-length novel, plunges exuberantly into this baroque Human Polity Space Opera arena action heroes, an Android up to no good, a Time Abyss Alien named Dragon, dozens of interacting emperia sprayed prolifically across the galaxy, and a continuous sense that the universe is fecund (see Biology), characterize this title and, mutatis mutandis, characterize Asher's mature work in general. There were several assemblies of shorter material, the most substantial of these being The Engineer (coll of linked stories 1999), in which various human explorers experience intimately a universe exceedingly prolific of life in every shape this universe serves as the background for the Human Polity sequence set in a galaxy-wide imperium governed by AIs, which includes many further novels as well as The Engineer and Runcible Tales: Tales of the Far, Far Distant Future, So Convincingly Told, The Reader Will Wonder Why It Isn't Happening Now (coll 1999 chap) – a 'runcible' being an interstellar Matter Transmission device which Asher uses throughout to make his farflung universe easily storyable – includes a similar set of stories. Caught between the byzantine wiles of the Dragon and the lethal fury of Pelter, Cormac needs to skip very nimbly indeed to rescue the Samarkand project and protect his own life.Gridlinked is the first sci-fi thriller in Neal Asher's compelling Agent Cormac series.(1961- ) UK author who began publishing work of genre interest with 'Another England' for Back Brain Recluse #14 in Autumn 1989, and who published stories with some frequency in the 1990s, though without gaining much attention during this period, he published several individual volumes, most of them short, including Mindgames: Fool's Mate ( 1992) and The Parasite ( 1996 chap).

Despite the sub-zero temperature of Samarkand, Cormac discovers signs of life: they are two 'dracomen', alien beasts contrived by an extra-galactic entity calling itself 'Dragon', which is a huge creature consisting of four conjoined spheres of flesh each a kilometre in diameter. But Cormac has incurred the wrath of a vicious psychopath called Pelter, who is prepared to follow him across the galaxy with a terrifying android in tow. Agent Cormac must reach it by ship to begin an investigation.

The runcible buffers on Samarkand have been mysteriously sabotaged, killing many thousands and destroying a terraforming project. Widescreen, action-packed science-fiction drama by a notable talent.In outer space you can never feel sure that your adversary is altogether human.

The Engineer ReConditioned by Neal Asher