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Polity Universe (chronological) #0
Weaponized
Weaponized is a thrilling far-future adventure by acclaimed science fiction author Neal Asher.
A bright new future for humanity - or a dark and inescapable past.
With the advent of new Al technology, Polity citizens now possess incredible lifespans. Yet they struggle to find meaning in their longevity, seeking danger and novelty in their increasingly mundane lives.
On a mission to find a brighter future for humanity, ex-soldier Ursula fosters a colony on the hostile planet Threpsis. Here, survival isn't a given, and colonists thrive without their Al guidance. But when deadly alien raptors appear, Ursula and her companions find themselves forced to adapt in unprecedented ways. And they will be pushed to the very brink of what it means to be human.
As a desperate battle rages across the planet, Ursula must dig deep into her past if she is to save humanity's future
A bright new future for humanity - or a dark and inescapable past.
With the advent of new Al technology, Polity citizens now possess incredible lifespans. Yet they struggle to find meaning in their longevity, seeking danger and novelty in their increasingly mundane lives.
On a mission to find a brighter future for humanity, ex-soldier Ursula fosters a colony on the hostile planet Threpsis. Here, survival isn't a given, and colonists thrive without their Al guidance. But when deadly alien raptors appear, Ursula and her companions find themselves forced to adapt in unprecedented ways. And they will be pushed to the very brink of what it means to be human.
As a desperate battle rages across the planet, Ursula must dig deep into her past if she is to save humanity's future
542 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2022
251 people are currently reading
1,180 people want to read
About the author
Neal Asher
145Ìýbooks2,966ÌýfollowersI’ve been an engineer, barman, skip lorry driver, coalman, boat window manufacturer, contract grass cutter and builder. Now I write science fiction books, and am slowly getting over the feeling that someone is going to find me out, and can call myself a writer without wincing and ducking my head. As professions go, I prefer this one: I don’t have to clock-in, change my clothes after work, nor scrub sensitive parts of my body with detergent. I think I’ll hang around.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews
July 13, 2022
Rather mixed on Asher's latest; excellence side by side meh, as much as it pains me to write that. Weaponized is yet another Polity book, but set furthest in the past of any thus far, at the very origins of the Prador/Polity war. You kind of knew Asher would go here sometime for this war was always referenced in the past yet never fully explored in any detail. It is not fully explored here either, (leaving lots of room for sequels), but rather just touches on the outbreak of the conflict.
The center of the story is a woman named Ursula, one of the 'first generation' of humans to live in the Polity post-scarcity universe. From Asher's other words, we know the 'silent war' happened sometime in the past when AIs basically took over politics and the economy and instituted a new order. In the time frame of Weaponized, runcible travel (instantaneous 'teleportation') exists and humanity is rapidly expanding in the galaxy, having yet to come across any other intelligence. People now have access to 'nanosuits' to help fight off disease and aging itself, lending people long lifespans (how long? no one knows yet).
Let me focus on the brilliant part of this novel. With people living so long, Asher, in the footsteps of Iain M. Banks, discusses how most become subject to ennui sooner or later. Such ennui often leads people to take on super risky sports (Ursula cave dives/explores for example) until they can overcome such feelings and find something to live for again. While Asher has touched on this before, I think this is the first time he explores it in detail. Another thing developed here is how the actual post-scarcity economy works. Banks in his Culture novels just assumes that every thing is basically free within reason (it would be hard to claim a planet for yourself for example), but Asher assumes there will still be a cash economy and the vestiges of capitalism. Essentially, everyone who lives in the Polity has something like a basic income with allows travel, homes, etc.; luxury compared to our present standards. You can still set out to get rich, but what really is the point? This, and all the augments available begin to force the question of what does it really mean to be human? This 'point of singularity' has been touched on my many scifi authors and Asher adds his own unique spin here.
Our lead Ursula has finally come through her ennui phase and has decided to embark upon a colonization scheme outside of the Polity. Many such attempts have occurred in the past and the success rate is rather low. Nonetheless, she puts together a very experienced team and they head to planet that makes Harrison's look like a picnic. All the colonists have to undergo some rather radical transformations via their nanosuits to simply survive on the planet, which features background radiation enough to fry a normal human in days. The life forms (in part due to the bombardment of radiation from the hot blue star) have all undergone massive mutations as well and it seems everything, even the 'flora' have unique ways to kill off predators and survive. And the predators? The 'raptors' are just about the nastiest aliens concocted-- pure killing machines that can adapt rapidly to almost any situation.
Now the meh aspects. First, Asher consistently moves between 'present', 'near past, and 'past' to flesh out the story. This leads to a fair amount of repetition and sometimes some confusion; why this could not have been a simple linear story is beyond me as I feel it would have flowed much better. Some of the repetition comes from other Asher novels-- we already know the basic outlines of the Polity/Prador war for example, so going over it once again (and the Prator) might be ok if this is your first Asher novel, but I have read dozens of his novels and this bogged down the story. Secondly, the issue of 'novelty' also arises here. Much like his , Asher does not really do much 'new stuff' here outside of developing the 'deathworld' planet the colonists made a go at. We have the Prador, some Jain stuff, etc., but nothing new and exciting.
Asher's Rise of the Jain trilogy, which kicks off with , was amazing, and I thought some of the best work he had accomplished to date. This? It just seems like Asher has run out of ideas and is picking over the Polity universe to meet a book contract or something. I felt the same with Jack Four. Instead of new situations and novel ideas, Asher is playing more with literary style and techniques while rehashing old ideas. I love Asher's work and it pains me to write this, but so it goes. 3 melancholy stars, as this definitely put me in that kind of mood.
The center of the story is a woman named Ursula, one of the 'first generation' of humans to live in the Polity post-scarcity universe. From Asher's other words, we know the 'silent war' happened sometime in the past when AIs basically took over politics and the economy and instituted a new order. In the time frame of Weaponized, runcible travel (instantaneous 'teleportation') exists and humanity is rapidly expanding in the galaxy, having yet to come across any other intelligence. People now have access to 'nanosuits' to help fight off disease and aging itself, lending people long lifespans (how long? no one knows yet).
Let me focus on the brilliant part of this novel. With people living so long, Asher, in the footsteps of Iain M. Banks, discusses how most become subject to ennui sooner or later. Such ennui often leads people to take on super risky sports (Ursula cave dives/explores for example) until they can overcome such feelings and find something to live for again. While Asher has touched on this before, I think this is the first time he explores it in detail. Another thing developed here is how the actual post-scarcity economy works. Banks in his Culture novels just assumes that every thing is basically free within reason (it would be hard to claim a planet for yourself for example), but Asher assumes there will still be a cash economy and the vestiges of capitalism. Essentially, everyone who lives in the Polity has something like a basic income with allows travel, homes, etc.; luxury compared to our present standards. You can still set out to get rich, but what really is the point? This, and all the augments available begin to force the question of what does it really mean to be human? This 'point of singularity' has been touched on my many scifi authors and Asher adds his own unique spin here.
Our lead Ursula has finally come through her ennui phase and has decided to embark upon a colonization scheme outside of the Polity. Many such attempts have occurred in the past and the success rate is rather low. Nonetheless, she puts together a very experienced team and they head to planet that makes Harrison's look like a picnic. All the colonists have to undergo some rather radical transformations via their nanosuits to simply survive on the planet, which features background radiation enough to fry a normal human in days. The life forms (in part due to the bombardment of radiation from the hot blue star) have all undergone massive mutations as well and it seems everything, even the 'flora' have unique ways to kill off predators and survive. And the predators? The 'raptors' are just about the nastiest aliens concocted-- pure killing machines that can adapt rapidly to almost any situation.
Now the meh aspects. First, Asher consistently moves between 'present', 'near past, and 'past' to flesh out the story. This leads to a fair amount of repetition and sometimes some confusion; why this could not have been a simple linear story is beyond me as I feel it would have flowed much better. Some of the repetition comes from other Asher novels-- we already know the basic outlines of the Polity/Prador war for example, so going over it once again (and the Prator) might be ok if this is your first Asher novel, but I have read dozens of his novels and this bogged down the story. Secondly, the issue of 'novelty' also arises here. Much like his , Asher does not really do much 'new stuff' here outside of developing the 'deathworld' planet the colonists made a go at. We have the Prador, some Jain stuff, etc., but nothing new and exciting.
Asher's Rise of the Jain trilogy, which kicks off with , was amazing, and I thought some of the best work he had accomplished to date. This? It just seems like Asher has run out of ideas and is picking over the Polity universe to meet a book contract or something. I felt the same with Jack Four. Instead of new situations and novel ideas, Asher is playing more with literary style and techniques while rehashing old ideas. I love Asher's work and it pains me to write this, but so it goes. 3 melancholy stars, as this definitely put me in that kind of mood.
August 10, 2022
What the frickin heck is this stinking pile of science?!
AWFUL. IT IS GOD AWFUL.
I will try and make this a coherent review but please prepare yourselves now for some ranting.
PROS
- Fascinating creatures
- Intriguing episodes
- Nursum and The Fig
CONS
- Timeline jumps
- Overcomplicated language
- Overcomplicated science
- Long, tedious descriptions of basically everything
- Very little characterisation to cling to
- Obvious 'twist' from the beginning
- Way too longwinded
- JUST LET IT GO, DUDE
Basically, this is an interesting idea COMPLETELY BURIED in tedium and confusion.
The timeline is divided between Present, Near Past and Past, and there is zero continuity when these portions jump around. For example, you might read a Past chapter that seems to be set like 10 years ago, but then the next Past chapter is set more like 50 years previous. It is EXCRUIATINGLY MADDENING to jump around like this, and it makes it nigh impossible to understand what's actually happening. This was hands down my biggest issue with this book.
Added to that, sometimes things that are occurring in the Past and the Near Past are actually very similar. Characters, locations and events all kind of blur together in a frustrating mess. There were some really interesting moments - such as the episodes relating to Nursum and the Fig - but they lost any real context because you halfway through the episode before realising something interesting was actually happening.
There's also a lot of speculation about adaptation to the point that it just becomes ridiculously repetitive. Ursula and her colonists are 'adapting', but she's determined to remain human. There are some interesting considerations on the definition of humanity, but they get lost in the monotony of repetition - we can get the point quite easily without the author hammering it in like this. This is what I'm referring to with my con of 'LET IT GO', because the same point is just overworked to the point that it's hard to care after a while.
I also want to talk about the complete disconnect between the blurb and the actual story I read. Half the stuff in the blurb doesn't actually happen til the end of the book, and it seems to promote a story much more exciting than what I read. I also need to say this very important gripe: Ursula is supposed to be super intelligent, yet she can't see what is obvious to the reader almost immediately. It's beyond ridiculous.
There are ideas and creations here that could easily have made for a brilliant story, but it was padded out with an excessive word count, and the intentional lack of continuity was overwhelmingly more confusing than clever. I came pretty close to throwing it on the DNF shelf, and the only reason I didn't is because the publisher sent me a copy and I felt obliged to review it in its entirety, since it had some redeeming moments. Alas, those moments only bump it up a single star.
Perhaps hardcore science nuts will appreciate this one more than me, but it was far too frustrating a read for me.
With thanks to Macmillan for a copy
AWFUL. IT IS GOD AWFUL.
I will try and make this a coherent review but please prepare yourselves now for some ranting.
PROS
- Fascinating creatures
- Intriguing episodes
- Nursum and The Fig
CONS
- Timeline jumps
- Overcomplicated language
- Overcomplicated science
- Long, tedious descriptions of basically everything
- Very little characterisation to cling to
- Obvious 'twist' from the beginning
- Way too longwinded
- JUST LET IT GO, DUDE
Basically, this is an interesting idea COMPLETELY BURIED in tedium and confusion.
The timeline is divided between Present, Near Past and Past, and there is zero continuity when these portions jump around. For example, you might read a Past chapter that seems to be set like 10 years ago, but then the next Past chapter is set more like 50 years previous. It is EXCRUIATINGLY MADDENING to jump around like this, and it makes it nigh impossible to understand what's actually happening. This was hands down my biggest issue with this book.
Added to that, sometimes things that are occurring in the Past and the Near Past are actually very similar. Characters, locations and events all kind of blur together in a frustrating mess. There were some really interesting moments - such as the episodes relating to Nursum and the Fig - but they lost any real context because you halfway through the episode before realising something interesting was actually happening.
There's also a lot of speculation about adaptation to the point that it just becomes ridiculously repetitive. Ursula and her colonists are 'adapting', but she's determined to remain human. There are some interesting considerations on the definition of humanity, but they get lost in the monotony of repetition - we can get the point quite easily without the author hammering it in like this. This is what I'm referring to with my con of 'LET IT GO', because the same point is just overworked to the point that it's hard to care after a while.
I also want to talk about the complete disconnect between the blurb and the actual story I read. Half the stuff in the blurb doesn't actually happen til the end of the book, and it seems to promote a story much more exciting than what I read. I also need to say this very important gripe: Ursula is supposed to be super intelligent, yet she can't see what is obvious to the reader almost immediately. It's beyond ridiculous.
There are ideas and creations here that could easily have made for a brilliant story, but it was padded out with an excessive word count, and the intentional lack of continuity was overwhelmingly more confusing than clever. I came pretty close to throwing it on the DNF shelf, and the only reason I didn't is because the publisher sent me a copy and I felt obliged to review it in its entirety, since it had some redeeming moments. Alas, those moments only bump it up a single star.
Perhaps hardcore science nuts will appreciate this one more than me, but it was far too frustrating a read for me.
With thanks to Macmillan for a copy
June 24, 2022
I buy and read Neal Asher’s books the day they are released. He’s the best at writing science fiction and his books are a priority. Then begins the year long wait for his next offering. During this time I ask myself if the next book is gonna be as good as the others, when will he write something that I just can’t get into, etc.
He has yet to disappoint.
This is one of the best things he has written and if you’ve read a lot of his stuff it is the next logical direction his books were going. The story, the action, the straight up coolness of this story is unparalleled. I loved every word on every page and was sad when it ended bc now there’s another year long wait.
Highly recommended.
He has yet to disappoint.
This is one of the best things he has written and if you’ve read a lot of his stuff it is the next logical direction his books were going. The story, the action, the straight up coolness of this story is unparalleled. I loved every word on every page and was sad when it ended bc now there’s another year long wait.
Highly recommended.
July 5, 2022
Well, again the same problem. A book full of things shooting the shit out of each other until some of them start building - building bigger weapons, applying larger amounts of energy, building tougher bodies... and while they're doing this, I'm bored out of my mind. Because there's no mystery, no goal I can align with, just shooting. A lot of shooting. The main character again was a jerk and I wanted her to just fucking die already.
And there were the backflashes. Those were even less exciting and more boring, because when they were shooting a lot in the past, even the uncertainty about who's gonna live and who's gonna die was taken away.
And one more thing: the fucking Jain again. Just stop with the Jain, no one gives a fuck about the Jain. Yes they're bad, they want to take everything over and they want to annihilate everything bla bla bla... I'm fed up with the Jain and they have been forcefully inserted into the storyline of Spatterjay and on this planet here and everywhere and they are boring. You know who are interesting? The Prador. Give us more of the Prador.
And there were the backflashes. Those were even less exciting and more boring, because when they were shooting a lot in the past, even the uncertainty about who's gonna live and who's gonna die was taken away.
And one more thing: the fucking Jain again. Just stop with the Jain, no one gives a fuck about the Jain. Yes they're bad, they want to take everything over and they want to annihilate everything bla bla bla... I'm fed up with the Jain and they have been forcefully inserted into the storyline of Spatterjay and on this planet here and everywhere and they are boring. You know who are interesting? The Prador. Give us more of the Prador.
June 17, 2022
DNF at 20%
Tedious, boring, repetitive.
No connection with main characters.
Constant use of flashbacks is distracting when listening to the audiobook.
Tedious, boring, repetitive.
No connection with main characters.
Constant use of flashbacks is distracting when listening to the audiobook.
July 26, 2022
Regrettably Neal's writing follows a reciprocal course to that charted by his protagonists. Whilst his obsession, bordering on fetishization, with powerful and intelligent women is evident, sadly so is his inability to reign that in. As he frantically endows his warrior maidens with ever more bountiful gifts of intellect and technological prowess his story telling abilities are ever more constrained by failure to imbue stories of the increasingly inhuman with wonder. If there is any left it is the question just how absurd things can become!
Time to reign it in Neal. I may still read the next book, but if it starts with the heroine surviving being tossed into a black hole whilst strapped to a CTD then I'll have to call it enough!
Time to reign it in Neal. I may still read the next book, but if it starts with the heroine surviving being tossed into a black hole whilst strapped to a CTD then I'll have to call it enough!
September 6, 2022
I’m a Neil Asher fan, but I really didn’t like this book. I’ve now read all his earlier polity universe books at least twice each, but this one I struggled through.
Firstly the science is just stupid. He was starting to use a lot of deus ex machina plot tools in his later books, rather than character driven endings. This one takes it to another level. He then lost me when he didn’t seem to know where a urinary catheter goes on a woman (it’s the urethra not the vagina Neil).
The characters are not engaging, many are simply annoying. A lot of plot conflict is driven by people simply doing stupid things, rather than by setting up an readable circumstance for the conflict to arise from. It also annoyed me that far into the future people somehow still used imperial measurements. In most of his other books he at least uses SI.
The twist as obvious and I guessed it in the first quarter of the book.
I think he phoned this one in.
Firstly the science is just stupid. He was starting to use a lot of deus ex machina plot tools in his later books, rather than character driven endings. This one takes it to another level. He then lost me when he didn’t seem to know where a urinary catheter goes on a woman (it’s the urethra not the vagina Neil).
The characters are not engaging, many are simply annoying. A lot of plot conflict is driven by people simply doing stupid things, rather than by setting up an readable circumstance for the conflict to arise from. It also annoyed me that far into the future people somehow still used imperial measurements. In most of his other books he at least uses SI.
The twist as obvious and I guessed it in the first quarter of the book.
I think he phoned this one in.
June 11, 2022
A tour de force from the master
Once again a book that is virtually un-putdownable.
Mr Asher has woven the various aspects of the Polity Universe into a fine mesh.
It launches then keeps right on accelerating to the line.
I await what is coming next from the master.!!!
Once again a book that is virtually un-putdownable.
Mr Asher has woven the various aspects of the Polity Universe into a fine mesh.
It launches then keeps right on accelerating to the line.
I await what is coming next from the master.!!!
May 18, 2023
This took me forever to finish due to life and story pacing. I felt like it seemed to drag a little near the middle. Overall, it was an enjoyable addition to the Polity universe, though, that shed more light on its history and societal structure.
June 16, 2022
This book feels like it is meant as a part of the greater saga. At first I though it was about continuing Jack Four storyline but it is not, this one's story takes place around the same time as Prador Moon which means hundred of years before Jack Four.
That being said I wont go into details except to say that main protagonist here is long-living Polity citizen Ursula who decides to start the enterprise by establishing new colony on a distant world. Her plan is to settle only humans without AI involvement and let colonists develop on their own.
As can be expected it does not go according to the plan.
Author touches lot of interesting topics - almost immortality for Polity citizens, way humans handle what can only be named as middle-age crisis (you, know after first 200 years) - that makes them do crazy stuff out of boredom, discussion abut evolution and adaptation, pros and cons of mechanical and bio-mechanical development and for the first time very intricate ways Polity AIs manipulate and mercilessly use the human race. Also, I think for the first time, we are not given blaze and glory story but more story of logistics and weapon development for the known danger expected to culminate in very near future.
In general, while all elements are in and we have a level of gore as expected from the author story seems a little bit ..... out of context? I mean for the first time I did not find any character that I could link with. All the characters are there to play a role (including Ursula) but at the end there is huge question mark - what was the point? I hope this book is starting point for future story development.
If not .... I dont say it's a bad book. it is not, it is rather good thriller. Only thing is .... well style is rather repetitive (i.e. constant insistence on Ursula's anger and irritation with others - this gets repeated and repeated and repeated (not helped by constant jumps between present and past)..... lets say if this was initially serialized and then collected into book I would understand but I see no need for constant repetition like this in original book release) and after a while it starts to affect the story pace. This and rather open ending make the book not so good if you look at it as standalone story. Jack Four for example is much better in this regard, more to the point and has closure.
I am looking forward to see how this story progresses.
All in all interesting story, with all the trademarks of Polity universe and author's imagination and I wholeheartedly recommend it, especially if you are Polity universe fan.
It is just that I have a feeling something is missing, and so one star goes down.
That being said I wont go into details except to say that main protagonist here is long-living Polity citizen Ursula who decides to start the enterprise by establishing new colony on a distant world. Her plan is to settle only humans without AI involvement and let colonists develop on their own.
As can be expected it does not go according to the plan.
Author touches lot of interesting topics - almost immortality for Polity citizens, way humans handle what can only be named as middle-age crisis (you, know after first 200 years) - that makes them do crazy stuff out of boredom, discussion abut evolution and adaptation, pros and cons of mechanical and bio-mechanical development and for the first time very intricate ways Polity AIs manipulate and mercilessly use the human race. Also, I think for the first time, we are not given blaze and glory story but more story of logistics and weapon development for the known danger expected to culminate in very near future.
In general, while all elements are in and we have a level of gore as expected from the author story seems a little bit ..... out of context? I mean for the first time I did not find any character that I could link with. All the characters are there to play a role (including Ursula) but at the end there is huge question mark - what was the point? I hope this book is starting point for future story development.
If not .... I dont say it's a bad book. it is not, it is rather good thriller. Only thing is .... well style is rather repetitive (i.e. constant insistence on Ursula's anger and irritation with others - this gets repeated and repeated and repeated (not helped by constant jumps between present and past)..... lets say if this was initially serialized and then collected into book I would understand but I see no need for constant repetition like this in original book release) and after a while it starts to affect the story pace. This and rather open ending make the book not so good if you look at it as standalone story. Jack Four for example is much better in this regard, more to the point and has closure.
I am looking forward to see how this story progresses.
All in all interesting story, with all the trademarks of Polity universe and author's imagination and I wholeheartedly recommend it, especially if you are Polity universe fan.
It is just that I have a feeling something is missing, and so one star goes down.
July 14, 2024
This is the first book I have read from Neal Asher so take my review with a grain of salt.
I picked up one of his books in my local library and had a quick flick through and really liked what I saw so I decided to start at the chronological beginning of his Polity series. There is certainly a lot to unpack but I will attempt to be brief and merely communicate what I liked and what I didn't like.
The world he paints is very vivid and, in my opinion, original. The way the Polity society works makes a lot of sense, especially with the effects of ennui on the population (people getting bored with life because they can live so many years). AI runs the show; not forced on people but, in this case, welcomed by people. There are some great examples included in here about what happens when people try to do things on their own in this utopian yet dystopian future. I was also very captivated by the idea of human augmentation and evolution of the species through dramatic upgrades. The amount of description given to the processes makes it feel very plausible.
However, this is where I ran into problems with this book. I felt like I was having so much vocabulary and information thrown at me on nearly every page that I grew quite weary as I was reading. I didn't skim, I read every word and yet still found myself lost sometimes. I think the flashbacks worked to some degree but were too unclear. I liked the flashbacks of the past because it was a decent amount of time from the present and sought to develop the main character (who during the present portion of the book receives very little character development) but the near past ones were a bit too confusing and made me lose my place in the story. Also, by the time I had enough backstory on the main character, I already felt like I didn't care about her. I didn't care about any of the characters. This didn't bother me that much because the story was more about the plot than the actual people but it is something to note.
All in all, I enjoyed this book. The twist was predictable but the ending was quite satisfying. If it had been 20% shorter and removed some of the longer screeds of descriptive language I would definitely give it 4 stars but, because it was a real slog to get through the middle, I can only give it 3. From what I've seen this is one of the lower rated books in Neal's series so I definitely intend to continue. This is worth a look based on the creativity and world-building alone.
I picked up one of his books in my local library and had a quick flick through and really liked what I saw so I decided to start at the chronological beginning of his Polity series. There is certainly a lot to unpack but I will attempt to be brief and merely communicate what I liked and what I didn't like.
The world he paints is very vivid and, in my opinion, original. The way the Polity society works makes a lot of sense, especially with the effects of ennui on the population (people getting bored with life because they can live so many years). AI runs the show; not forced on people but, in this case, welcomed by people. There are some great examples included in here about what happens when people try to do things on their own in this utopian yet dystopian future. I was also very captivated by the idea of human augmentation and evolution of the species through dramatic upgrades. The amount of description given to the processes makes it feel very plausible.
However, this is where I ran into problems with this book. I felt like I was having so much vocabulary and information thrown at me on nearly every page that I grew quite weary as I was reading. I didn't skim, I read every word and yet still found myself lost sometimes. I think the flashbacks worked to some degree but were too unclear. I liked the flashbacks of the past because it was a decent amount of time from the present and sought to develop the main character (who during the present portion of the book receives very little character development) but the near past ones were a bit too confusing and made me lose my place in the story. Also, by the time I had enough backstory on the main character, I already felt like I didn't care about her. I didn't care about any of the characters. This didn't bother me that much because the story was more about the plot than the actual people but it is something to note.
All in all, I enjoyed this book. The twist was predictable but the ending was quite satisfying. If it had been 20% shorter and removed some of the longer screeds of descriptive language I would definitely give it 4 stars but, because it was a real slog to get through the middle, I can only give it 3. From what I've seen this is one of the lower rated books in Neal's series so I definitely intend to continue. This is worth a look based on the creativity and world-building alone.
January 8, 2024
I’m on the lookout for more authors or franchises that I would enjoy, and Neal Asher’s opus seemed right up my alley � posthuman future wars with weird aliens, dozens of books, thousands of pages. So, I decided to be a smart-ass about it and not start with the first published book, but chronologically, and this has proven to be a DNF-level mistake.
I will definitely give him another chance with Prador Moon, but Weaponized is a terrible, unreadable mess. While there are individual scenes that are interesting and well written, the frantic and unnecessary time jumps between distant past, near past, and now � where those two pasts need not always be the same ones � made it nigh impossible to track what happened when and to whom (among the myriad of sketched-out characters). On the other hand, with colonists dropping like flies, the capabilities of the aliens shifting and adjusting to suit the action, and said action being near constantly at 110% intensity, it also quickly became tiring and difficult to care for any one of the characters, turning what might have been an engaging read into a real chore that I was avoiding.
I will definitely give him another chance with Prador Moon, but Weaponized is a terrible, unreadable mess. While there are individual scenes that are interesting and well written, the frantic and unnecessary time jumps between distant past, near past, and now � where those two pasts need not always be the same ones � made it nigh impossible to track what happened when and to whom (among the myriad of sketched-out characters). On the other hand, with colonists dropping like flies, the capabilities of the aliens shifting and adjusting to suit the action, and said action being near constantly at 110% intensity, it also quickly became tiring and difficult to care for any one of the characters, turning what might have been an engaging read into a real chore that I was avoiding.
June 20, 2022
Excellent
Tech, tech, and more tech. That’s fine, I like tech. Plus plenty of gruesome violence and a past and present storyline, a great read leaving you gasping for a sequel
Tech, tech, and more tech. That’s fine, I like tech. Plus plenty of gruesome violence and a past and present storyline, a great read leaving you gasping for a sequel
August 12, 2022
Anybody who reads my reviews will know I am a fan of Neil Asher and the complexities of the universe he has created. I love smart arse robots and AI who have a longer term view of space-time. In Weaponised you will only find the latter.
Ursula, the leader of a colonisation expedition, encounters a strange and increasingly violent life form on Threpsis where she and her team are trying to break free from AI control to regain their lost autonomy and humanity. They have removed all their computerised enhancements and want to go back to basics. The Cacoraptors (?spelling as I only listened to this) seem to be able to evolve rapidly to adapt to the threats posed by Ursula's team and are beginning to win. Out of the blue the arrival of a Prador (think totally psychotic, tooled up crabs bent on universe domination) makes life more dangerous. The only way Ursula and her team can survive is to take over the Prador ship. To do so they must accept an untested organic enhancement provided by their resident scientist, possibly based on Jain (a super-intelligent civilisation of whom only traces remain, mostly dangerous) technology.
Set in the time before the Prador War, before even knowing they exist, this is a much darker book than anything I have read by Asher before. There is no comic relief, not even a light quip, anywhere. If it was meant to be relentless, it succeeds. Each chapter is a combination of the present, sometimes recent past, and Ursula's past as a way of giving insight into her decision making processes. This is both a story about what you are prepared to do to survive and and how thin the dividing line is between being an enhanced human being and becoming a monster. It also alludes to totalitarianism in the ways that Ursula uses her superiority to keep control.
This is not a nice story, but it is thought provoking and has some genuinely surprising moments. It is well written and, in Audible, beautifully narrated by Peter Noble.
Ursula, the leader of a colonisation expedition, encounters a strange and increasingly violent life form on Threpsis where she and her team are trying to break free from AI control to regain their lost autonomy and humanity. They have removed all their computerised enhancements and want to go back to basics. The Cacoraptors (?spelling as I only listened to this) seem to be able to evolve rapidly to adapt to the threats posed by Ursula's team and are beginning to win. Out of the blue the arrival of a Prador (think totally psychotic, tooled up crabs bent on universe domination) makes life more dangerous. The only way Ursula and her team can survive is to take over the Prador ship. To do so they must accept an untested organic enhancement provided by their resident scientist, possibly based on Jain (a super-intelligent civilisation of whom only traces remain, mostly dangerous) technology.
Set in the time before the Prador War, before even knowing they exist, this is a much darker book than anything I have read by Asher before. There is no comic relief, not even a light quip, anywhere. If it was meant to be relentless, it succeeds. Each chapter is a combination of the present, sometimes recent past, and Ursula's past as a way of giving insight into her decision making processes. This is both a story about what you are prepared to do to survive and and how thin the dividing line is between being an enhanced human being and becoming a monster. It also alludes to totalitarianism in the ways that Ursula uses her superiority to keep control.
This is not a nice story, but it is thought provoking and has some genuinely surprising moments. It is well written and, in Audible, beautifully narrated by Peter Noble.
June 21, 2022
This takes place during the prador war and fills in some detail not covered by other books.
It also answers the question about how dirty is the Polity willing to be to win.
Contains the standard Asher escalation of MORE, BIGGER weapons and it was quite readable, but the characters didn't really engage me.
It also answers the question about how dirty is the Polity willing to be to win.
Contains the standard Asher escalation of MORE, BIGGER weapons and it was quite readable, but the characters didn't really engage me.
August 2, 2022
A bit different.
Big fan, but compared to his other Polity series, which are all included in my favorite sci-fi this book was quite different. Almost manic, obsessive, like non-stop grinding your teeth. Maybe just too fast paced, not enough time for me to feel like it was story telling. Just a bit intense for me. For the first time if this turns into a series I doubt I'll buy the next book. I've read all his others two or three times. There's just not much out there that compared to Asher. But hey, he's awesome and has to keep growing right. He sure as beck knows what he's doing.
Big fan, but compared to his other Polity series, which are all included in my favorite sci-fi this book was quite different. Almost manic, obsessive, like non-stop grinding your teeth. Maybe just too fast paced, not enough time for me to feel like it was story telling. Just a bit intense for me. For the first time if this turns into a series I doubt I'll buy the next book. I've read all his others two or three times. There's just not much out there that compared to Asher. But hey, he's awesome and has to keep growing right. He sure as beck knows what he's doing.
June 24, 2022
Alas, I feel this is the weakest novel Asher’s written for a long long time. I’m not a fan of the structure (goes Present, Near Past, and Past in every chapter) and there is some serious bloat. It could’ve been like Jack Four last year, which was a neat and relatively lean survival story, but Weaponized says an awful lot without actually saying much. When it works it’s terrific, but those moment are segmented by waffle.
June 23, 2022
I don't understand how a book about survival in hostile world while changeing into a monster can be dull, but this book mangages it.
April 18, 2024
The general essence of the plot failed to grasp my attention and the non-linear structure struck me like an obstacle to overcome.
The last half of this book was honestly a chore to read, even when the action is fast paced. An okay book but i found it hard to connect to the themes and the characters.
The last half of this book was honestly a chore to read, even when the action is fast paced. An okay book but i found it hard to connect to the themes and the characters.
October 24, 2022
One is seldom disappointed after reading a novel by Neal Asher, and Weaponized is not exception! The author knows his stuff! The science is sound, from everything to ecology of a planet, to computing, and technology. He also has a firm grasp of the storylines, he writes well, the characters are believable, and the dialogue snappy and to the point. The storyline of Weaponized is divided into three parts: Present, past, and near past. We follow the main character, Ursula Ossect Treloon, as she battles her ennui and her ambitions, lives through the toughest military training in the galaxy, and how she ends up colonizing an alien planet full of hostile lifeforms. The jumping between timelines takes a bit getting used to, but after a few chapters, it flows naturally. Without boasting I can say that I’ve read all his books, and this one fast became one of my favorites. It’s simply perfect.
August 21, 2023
Weaponized presents an intriguing story on transhumanism and the limits of what can be called human, but does so at such a slow pace and with such a strange chronological structure that the resulting book is merely 'okay.'
June 11, 2022
Diamond Dogs meets Deathworld
Good to see the author emerge from some tough times in his private life and get his power back!
Page-turning action, visceral, brutal and ruthless.
The beginning of Polity war with the Prador - desperate AIs do something that would never be allowed otherwise.
An experiment so risky and terrifying it's beyond black.
Good to see the author emerge from some tough times in his private life and get his power back!
Page-turning action, visceral, brutal and ruthless.
The beginning of Polity war with the Prador - desperate AIs do something that would never be allowed otherwise.
An experiment so risky and terrifying it's beyond black.
May 26, 2022
Not what I wanted, but still good
With authors I know, I avoid all information I can on new works to prevent accidentally spoiling the joy of not knowing the story (I’m far too good at accurately expanding on the slightest details). In this case it lead me to disappointment as from the cover image I was expecting a bleeding-edge polity expansion type of story�
I got an attempted deep-mind exploration of Jain instead.
Still a good book. Would have been a better short story or as part of a larger storyline IMO. For once I’d have likely enjoyed it more if I’d known what to expect! My own fault though :-P
With authors I know, I avoid all information I can on new works to prevent accidentally spoiling the joy of not knowing the story (I’m far too good at accurately expanding on the slightest details). In this case it lead me to disappointment as from the cover image I was expecting a bleeding-edge polity expansion type of story�
I got an attempted deep-mind exploration of Jain instead.
Still a good book. Would have been a better short story or as part of a larger storyline IMO. For once I’d have likely enjoyed it more if I’d known what to expect! My own fault though :-P
December 6, 2022
Just a typical Asher book set in his Polity universe.
This one is set just before the Prador War kicks off and revolves around disgruntled citizens that want to break away from AI control and start afresh, these are people that have pushed through and survived their ennui barrier.
As always all is not as it seems, we mainly follow Ursala as leader of the colonists and the stories hops around in time from her pov (present,past & near past) which was a little off-putting for me.
The dreaded civilization killer Jain tech rears its ugly head and the Prador make a welcome appearance (I love the fuckers) as a special guest star.
Mainly about what makes us human and what is humanity blah blah at its core I think, I don't really go that deep into Asher's books I'm pretty shallow and am here for the tech, space battles and the gore!
This one is set just before the Prador War kicks off and revolves around disgruntled citizens that want to break away from AI control and start afresh, these are people that have pushed through and survived their ennui barrier.
As always all is not as it seems, we mainly follow Ursala as leader of the colonists and the stories hops around in time from her pov (present,past & near past) which was a little off-putting for me.
The dreaded civilization killer Jain tech rears its ugly head and the Prador make a welcome appearance (I love the fuckers) as a special guest star.
Mainly about what makes us human and what is humanity blah blah at its core I think, I don't really go that deep into Asher's books I'm pretty shallow and am here for the tech, space battles and the gore!
May 3, 2023
An interesting book with bizarre ideas. The story happens at the same time the polity made the first official contact with the prador, and focuses on post ennui barrier colonists trying to colonize a new planet with hostile life forms. Things get crazier and crazier and the ending is... Well... I won't spoil it for you. I would give it 3.5 stars but rounded it up to four.
January 17, 2024
A book with excellent ideas let down by shoddy execution. This is my introduction to the Polity universe, and while I was taken with the setting, the craft left much to be desired.
Starting with the good: the central premise that drives the book. Humans subsisting in a post-scarcity society, where all their needs are provided by benevolent AI, lapsing into states of ennui after years of living and experiencing what the galaxies have to offer. The concept of the 'ennui barrier' is excellent and seems realistic (likened to grief; something that cannot be treated, only worked through), as is the individualistic nature of humanity, which drives our protagonist into seeking a fresh start away from carefully managed AI civilisation. She seeks to probe the boundaries of humanity in an evolutionary sense, establishing a colony on an extreme planet that will accelerate change, forcing them to evolve and adapt...or die.
Asher has a lot to say on these topics, and while not all of it is novel, it's usually thought-provoking. There's a libertarian streak that comes through, humanity striking out to make its own mistakes without the guiding hand/suffocating oversight of AI, . The book chiefly explores evolutionary changes brought on by environmental pressure - in fact, it quickly becomes a biological arms-race between the colonists and the Cacoraptors, the apex predator of this hostile planet. What measure is a human? It's a question that's been asked many times, and while this is a less philosophical take than most (or at least, pretty short on navel-gazing), the novel is still ultimately posing the question throughout.
The colonists themselves aren't crackpot loons. In fact, Ursula systematically sifts out the nutters, thrillseekers and anyone who isn't deadly serious about pursuing her noble goal. They are, to a man, highly accomplished, experienced and professional specialists - you won't find any blatant incompetence in this book. On a narrative level this is both a strength and weakness, as it feels realistic and meshes with the concept of a post-human that's seen it all before and prizes reason over emotion. However, within the reading experience, characters can come across as automatons with strong logic chips but notably lacking in humanity at times. It's all very polite and bland. Asher's focus is unapologetically plot and concept, and you should be aware of that going in.
Speaking as someone with no prior experience with Asher, I wasn't remotely lost as this is a standalone work that's actually chronologically the earliest the setting goes to date, and thus is likely a decent enough starting point. Weaponized is pretty dark, though. I personally felt this was borderline sci-fi horror in the first half of the book, because the degree to which the cacoraptors outcompete the colonists is actually terrifying - they are implacable creatures with a seemingly endless capacity for tactical and evolutionary adaptation. How do you fight something that absorbs or negates anything you throw at it, even your own tactics?
Despite all the above praise, I did find the writing itself to be a sizeable letdown. While the lack of characterisation can be forgiven as a stylistic and narrative choice, Asher has a serious issue with pacing and detail, one stemming from the other. Everything - and I do mean everything - is explained to the nth degree, right down to every individual piece of technology, and it absolutely kills the pace of the book. It's like the author was writing to justify or show off his research, or perhaps appeasing a theoretical reader that's waiting to pounce on any inaccuracy or implausibility. Do I really need a paragraph showing exactly how a piece of breathing apparatus works, 80% of the way into the novel? No. This issue mostly occurs at the micro level, which means it's relentless throughout the whole book. Interesting on occasion, but mostly turgid and annoying. The story framing is also jarring at times, lurching between past, near-past and present. Again, sometimes it segues appropriately between story sections, but often feels arbitrary and gimmicky.
Is Weaponized worth reading? I honestly don't know. It has some superb ideas, and parts of the book were thrilling, but I found it slow going at numerous points. The setting is excellent and I'll certainly read another Polity book, but there'll be some research conducted beforehand that aims to find a tighter, pacier read.
Starting with the good: the central premise that drives the book. Humans subsisting in a post-scarcity society, where all their needs are provided by benevolent AI, lapsing into states of ennui after years of living and experiencing what the galaxies have to offer. The concept of the 'ennui barrier' is excellent and seems realistic (likened to grief; something that cannot be treated, only worked through), as is the individualistic nature of humanity, which drives our protagonist into seeking a fresh start away from carefully managed AI civilisation. She seeks to probe the boundaries of humanity in an evolutionary sense, establishing a colony on an extreme planet that will accelerate change, forcing them to evolve and adapt...or die.
Asher has a lot to say on these topics, and while not all of it is novel, it's usually thought-provoking. There's a libertarian streak that comes through, humanity striking out to make its own mistakes without the guiding hand/suffocating oversight of AI, . The book chiefly explores evolutionary changes brought on by environmental pressure - in fact, it quickly becomes a biological arms-race between the colonists and the Cacoraptors, the apex predator of this hostile planet. What measure is a human? It's a question that's been asked many times, and while this is a less philosophical take than most (or at least, pretty short on navel-gazing), the novel is still ultimately posing the question throughout.
The colonists themselves aren't crackpot loons. In fact, Ursula systematically sifts out the nutters, thrillseekers and anyone who isn't deadly serious about pursuing her noble goal. They are, to a man, highly accomplished, experienced and professional specialists - you won't find any blatant incompetence in this book. On a narrative level this is both a strength and weakness, as it feels realistic and meshes with the concept of a post-human that's seen it all before and prizes reason over emotion. However, within the reading experience, characters can come across as automatons with strong logic chips but notably lacking in humanity at times. It's all very polite and bland. Asher's focus is unapologetically plot and concept, and you should be aware of that going in.
Speaking as someone with no prior experience with Asher, I wasn't remotely lost as this is a standalone work that's actually chronologically the earliest the setting goes to date, and thus is likely a decent enough starting point. Weaponized is pretty dark, though. I personally felt this was borderline sci-fi horror in the first half of the book, because the degree to which the cacoraptors outcompete the colonists is actually terrifying - they are implacable creatures with a seemingly endless capacity for tactical and evolutionary adaptation. How do you fight something that absorbs or negates anything you throw at it, even your own tactics?
Despite all the above praise, I did find the writing itself to be a sizeable letdown. While the lack of characterisation can be forgiven as a stylistic and narrative choice, Asher has a serious issue with pacing and detail, one stemming from the other. Everything - and I do mean everything - is explained to the nth degree, right down to every individual piece of technology, and it absolutely kills the pace of the book. It's like the author was writing to justify or show off his research, or perhaps appeasing a theoretical reader that's waiting to pounce on any inaccuracy or implausibility. Do I really need a paragraph showing exactly how a piece of breathing apparatus works, 80% of the way into the novel? No. This issue mostly occurs at the micro level, which means it's relentless throughout the whole book. Interesting on occasion, but mostly turgid and annoying. The story framing is also jarring at times, lurching between past, near-past and present. Again, sometimes it segues appropriately between story sections, but often feels arbitrary and gimmicky.
Is Weaponized worth reading? I honestly don't know. It has some superb ideas, and parts of the book were thrilling, but I found it slow going at numerous points. The setting is excellent and I'll certainly read another Polity book, but there'll be some research conducted beforehand that aims to find a tighter, pacier read.
September 3, 2023
This was an amazing and imaginative story set in a far-flung future. In this future world of the Polity, AI has come to govern human civilization that has spread out across the galaxy using both physical spaceships and matter transmitter gates called runcibles. It is not an overtly despotic rule, since humans can now live for centuries in relative comfort exploring personal interests within certain AI guidelines. It is also a future of very advanced nanotechnology in which each person can change and augment their physical forms in specialized ways. However, some balk at AI control and augmentation and long to be free to explore what it means to be a truly free human being. Some turn to violence against AI control that the AI easily quashes, while others look to less violent means to become more independent with AI's permission. As an aside, over the centuries of exploration ancient ruins containing highly advanced technology left by an extinct advanced race called the Jain has been found on worlds throughout the galaxy. However, it appears that the Jain purposely left this technology knowing that its use by any future races would only lead to their ultimate destruction.
Through continuous flashbacks between past, near past and the present the story unfolds through the eyes and memories of the main character Ursula Ossect Treloon, who after surviving a period of ennui that happens to the long-lived, with AI's permission has used her lifetime's amassed fortune to gather 800 others like herself to set up a colony on Threpsis, a remote and very hostile world away from most Polity AI control. She and the members of her colony hope to find a path to a more human existence. Under a blazing sun, all lifeforms on the desert-like planet are hostile and deadly, forcing the colonists to turn to the one non-colonist and Polity provided enigmatic scientist Oren Salazar to provide upgraded nanosuites to enhance their makeup and the makeup of their crops in order to adapt and survive. But there is one nightmarish life form, an apex predator or cacoraptor, that begins to kill and consume the colonists; a life form that is able to quickly adapt to outmaneuver any defenses the colonists can throw up, and whose sole focus seems to be the eradication of the colonists. After the raptors destroy the colonies means of escape off the planet, it seems inevitable that Ursula and her dwindling number of colonists will have to request the Polity retrieve them from Threpsis. However, before the colony can be rescued, another hostile galactic race, the Prador, is met by the Polity and a galactic war breaks out in which the Polity is soon at a disadvantage against the Prador's invincible ship armor. With hope of rescue gone, the remaining colonists face another threat when a damaged Prador shuttle lands near the colony and Ursula and the remaining colonists must give up more and more of their humanity and turn to evermore drastic nano augmentation to survive the onslaught of the raptors and hopefully attack and defeat the Prador in order to take their ship and leave the planet. And, Ursula continues to question why AI scans of Threpsis supposedly never revealed the existence of the raptors or of Jain technological ruins on the planet.
There is non-stop action throughout the book, which crosses the boundaries between Science Fiction and Horror, much like the Alien franchise. It is well worth a read and I'm looking forward to other books by the author set in the Polity universe.
Through continuous flashbacks between past, near past and the present the story unfolds through the eyes and memories of the main character Ursula Ossect Treloon, who after surviving a period of ennui that happens to the long-lived, with AI's permission has used her lifetime's amassed fortune to gather 800 others like herself to set up a colony on Threpsis, a remote and very hostile world away from most Polity AI control. She and the members of her colony hope to find a path to a more human existence. Under a blazing sun, all lifeforms on the desert-like planet are hostile and deadly, forcing the colonists to turn to the one non-colonist and Polity provided enigmatic scientist Oren Salazar to provide upgraded nanosuites to enhance their makeup and the makeup of their crops in order to adapt and survive. But there is one nightmarish life form, an apex predator or cacoraptor, that begins to kill and consume the colonists; a life form that is able to quickly adapt to outmaneuver any defenses the colonists can throw up, and whose sole focus seems to be the eradication of the colonists. After the raptors destroy the colonies means of escape off the planet, it seems inevitable that Ursula and her dwindling number of colonists will have to request the Polity retrieve them from Threpsis. However, before the colony can be rescued, another hostile galactic race, the Prador, is met by the Polity and a galactic war breaks out in which the Polity is soon at a disadvantage against the Prador's invincible ship armor. With hope of rescue gone, the remaining colonists face another threat when a damaged Prador shuttle lands near the colony and Ursula and the remaining colonists must give up more and more of their humanity and turn to evermore drastic nano augmentation to survive the onslaught of the raptors and hopefully attack and defeat the Prador in order to take their ship and leave the planet. And, Ursula continues to question why AI scans of Threpsis supposedly never revealed the existence of the raptors or of Jain technological ruins on the planet.
There is non-stop action throughout the book, which crosses the boundaries between Science Fiction and Horror, much like the Alien franchise. It is well worth a read and I'm looking forward to other books by the author set in the Polity universe.
February 23, 2023
Weaponized is a razor-sharp slice of military sci-fi. It starts at 100mph and keeps its foot on the gas. The story doesn’t gently probe the question of what makes us human, but it puts all of its hefty speculation in a boxing ring and tackles it one punch at a time.
The lure of the book is a jaded colonist (Ursula Treloon) going toe to toe with alien raptors on a desolate world. Ursula’s got shades of Ripley from Alien, and the raptors are as freakily unsettling as you’d hope them to be � think Jurassic Park crossed with The Thing. The book also has a Frankensteinish quality in the shape of a scientist by the name of Oren, whose agenda on the colony is suspicious and clouded in mystery.
Evolution is the name of the game. The raptors which the colonists face seem to evolve into ever more brutal foes. Can the humans adapt to survive? In order to survive, will the colonists be forced to sacrifice their humanity? Is survival really a human instinct? All this speculation is satisfying, and the questions posed as the story unfolds kept me turning the pages.
The strongest element of the book is the structure. Every chapter begins with events set in the present. But each chapter is also segmented with accounts from the recent past or the distant past. It’s this non-linear approach to each chapter that really hooked me. I love a story that plays around with the chronology of how it’s told, and I really enjoyed seeing the themes deepen across the whole timespan of these characters� lives. Sometimes, flashbacks were telegraphed directly. At other times, it was left up to the reader to surmise the connection to the present.
And what a present it is! It’s effectively one gigantic chase across an alien planet, Mad Max: Fury Road style. Along with monster stand-offs and plenty of twists along the way, it’s a brilliant set piece that’s cleverly drawn out across the entire novel.
Another of the book’s strengths was the way that AI was depicted across the Polity in the different derivations of the past. The glimpses into the universe at large beyond the colony of Threpsis were really engaging. Granted, this is my first Polity novel, but it made me intrigued as to what else there is to discover in this vast universe that Neal Asher has created. If you’re a first-timer to the Polity, then you’ll be left wanting more, and if you’re a die-hard Polity fan, then I imagine you’ll find plenty to enjoy with this offering.
Weaponized is high-octane, gripping military sci-fi. But it’s also a heady speculation into how far evolution could push humanity until it no longer recognises itself. The tightrope between thoughtful exploration and adrenaline-pumping action is carefully walked. If you like your sci-fi raw, pulse-pounding, and with plenty to leave you thinking about, then this should be your weapon of choice.
The lure of the book is a jaded colonist (Ursula Treloon) going toe to toe with alien raptors on a desolate world. Ursula’s got shades of Ripley from Alien, and the raptors are as freakily unsettling as you’d hope them to be � think Jurassic Park crossed with The Thing. The book also has a Frankensteinish quality in the shape of a scientist by the name of Oren, whose agenda on the colony is suspicious and clouded in mystery.
Evolution is the name of the game. The raptors which the colonists face seem to evolve into ever more brutal foes. Can the humans adapt to survive? In order to survive, will the colonists be forced to sacrifice their humanity? Is survival really a human instinct? All this speculation is satisfying, and the questions posed as the story unfolds kept me turning the pages.
The strongest element of the book is the structure. Every chapter begins with events set in the present. But each chapter is also segmented with accounts from the recent past or the distant past. It’s this non-linear approach to each chapter that really hooked me. I love a story that plays around with the chronology of how it’s told, and I really enjoyed seeing the themes deepen across the whole timespan of these characters� lives. Sometimes, flashbacks were telegraphed directly. At other times, it was left up to the reader to surmise the connection to the present.
And what a present it is! It’s effectively one gigantic chase across an alien planet, Mad Max: Fury Road style. Along with monster stand-offs and plenty of twists along the way, it’s a brilliant set piece that’s cleverly drawn out across the entire novel.
Another of the book’s strengths was the way that AI was depicted across the Polity in the different derivations of the past. The glimpses into the universe at large beyond the colony of Threpsis were really engaging. Granted, this is my first Polity novel, but it made me intrigued as to what else there is to discover in this vast universe that Neal Asher has created. If you’re a first-timer to the Polity, then you’ll be left wanting more, and if you’re a die-hard Polity fan, then I imagine you’ll find plenty to enjoy with this offering.
Weaponized is high-octane, gripping military sci-fi. But it’s also a heady speculation into how far evolution could push humanity until it no longer recognises itself. The tightrope between thoughtful exploration and adrenaline-pumping action is carefully walked. If you like your sci-fi raw, pulse-pounding, and with plenty to leave you thinking about, then this should be your weapon of choice.
Read
August 22, 2022I was so eager to read Asher's new Polity book, that I ordered it early from the UK (currently it's available as an ebook in the US). Alas, I was somewhat disappointed. Ursula opts out of civilization to lead a group of long-lived, and thus disaffected, colonists to settle on a world where evolution has gone into high gear such that every organism is fantastically dangerous and out to get humans, including the plants, thus, it's Harry Harrison's "Deathworld" warmed over. (I hope that author's estate gets at least a nod.) There's lot of good set-up and seemingly interesting ideas we're teased with, but unfortunately, the bulk of the book goes from one encounter to the next with the ultra-predators, the unfortunately named cacoraptors, each encounter described in agonizing (and eventually uninteresting) detail. The raptors can morph instantly from a dinosaur to a burrowing worm to a humanoid and are ridiculously overpowered, and even with their own superpowers constantly enhancing, it's not clear why the humans simply aren't stomped out, except, of course: For the plot. This quote from p. 266 pretty much describes the repetitive action in the whole book: "He was right - the creatures were too tough and the weapons he had weren't powerful enough." To make things worse, Asher divides each chapter into Present, Near Past, and Past. Now, of course I know that telling narratives out of order is a feature of modern literature, but Asher really drops the ball with this, the Present chapters give away what happens in the Past narratives, and the Past narratives rarely enlighten us or add any reveals - with the net result of making the story seem even more repetitive. It redeems itself toward the end, where things finally come to a conclusion with reveals that honestly, don't completely surprise (that may be intended, though). For those with an aversion to violence, there is violence on nearly every page here, although it struck me as cartoon violence, your mileage may vary. It was an "okay" book, but disappointing in many respects.
June 19, 2023
I love Neal Asher, and I hate to give anything of his lower than three stars because, well, his writing is always entertaining.
Sadly, this book is not his greatest. A lot of the book seems to be a revision to the Polity's history, and if anyone has permission to do that, it's him.
But, please correct me if I am wrong, but the technology on display in this book, and this early in Asher's Polity-timeline, seems to make all his earlier works rather redundant, considering the advanced nature of it all.
Also, a lot of Asher's real-life obsessions and recent interests are on full display, to the books detriment; there is so much detail and jargon about body work, body building, and calorie and fat burning that are injected into the book for the sake of... what? What purpose then, "Hey, I'm into living the healthiest lifestyle now, and I think it's cool!"
Neal Asher never used to preach. Whereas this one seems to be a wee bit on the preaching side. I don't know. The book felt like a contractual obligation that grew and grew, and not much creative editorial répartie saw it be shaped into an overall decent book.
The fun of science fiction is the aliens, the tech, the various avenues to tell compelling out of this world narratives. Asher seems to get too beholden to miscellanea and science-shizz that it alienates and bothers the reader.
The story is broken down into Past, Near Past, amd Present, and sadly, the pacing was ruined by the continual time jumps and the way they were handled. Yes, though each corresponds to Ursula's Present decisions, it just slowed the high energy that the PRESENT presented as the main throughline, when not full to the brim with jargon we have already read over and over.
Great concept, but it seems a bit detrimental to the solid books that started this amazing series. Too manic, too big, too hectic, and very little character development, apart obviously from the main character of Ursula, who doesn't develop in any way but physically and genetically.
Sadly, this book is not his greatest. A lot of the book seems to be a revision to the Polity's history, and if anyone has permission to do that, it's him.
But, please correct me if I am wrong, but the technology on display in this book, and this early in Asher's Polity-timeline, seems to make all his earlier works rather redundant, considering the advanced nature of it all.
Also, a lot of Asher's real-life obsessions and recent interests are on full display, to the books detriment; there is so much detail and jargon about body work, body building, and calorie and fat burning that are injected into the book for the sake of... what? What purpose then, "Hey, I'm into living the healthiest lifestyle now, and I think it's cool!"
Neal Asher never used to preach. Whereas this one seems to be a wee bit on the preaching side. I don't know. The book felt like a contractual obligation that grew and grew, and not much creative editorial répartie saw it be shaped into an overall decent book.
The fun of science fiction is the aliens, the tech, the various avenues to tell compelling out of this world narratives. Asher seems to get too beholden to miscellanea and science-shizz that it alienates and bothers the reader.
The story is broken down into Past, Near Past, amd Present, and sadly, the pacing was ruined by the continual time jumps and the way they were handled. Yes, though each corresponds to Ursula's Present decisions, it just slowed the high energy that the PRESENT presented as the main throughline, when not full to the brim with jargon we have already read over and over.
Great concept, but it seems a bit detrimental to the solid books that started this amazing series. Too manic, too big, too hectic, and very little character development, apart obviously from the main character of Ursula, who doesn't develop in any way but physically and genetically.
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