Cowl
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4.2 • 28 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
The latest high-octane galactic adventure from Britain's new master of wide-screen science fiction.
In the far future, the Heliothane Dominion is triumphant in the solar system, after a bitter war with their Umbrathane progenitors. But some of the enemy have escaped into the past, intent on wreaking havoc across time. The worst of these is Cowl, an artificially forced advance in human evolution but one who is no longer human.
Polly, desperate to obtain funds to support her habits, is unprepared for her involvement with Nandru Jurgens, a Taskforce soldier, and the killers pursuing him. Nor can resist the the alien 'tor' which she feels impelled to attach to her arm. But she must learn fast, as she is dragged back through time, not least that to the denizens of some earlier eras, she is little more than a convenience food.
Initially, the fragment of tor imbedded in Tack's wrist sums up his value to the Heliothane-a point brought home to him with bloody abruptness. But, as a vat-grown programmable killer employed by U-gov, he is no stranger to violence. His long journey into the lethal world of the Heliothane is only beginning, the extent of his mission just becoming apparent.
Meanwhile, hunting throughout time and the alternates, Cowl's pet, the torbeast, grows vast and dangerous. And the beast continues to feed.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Like "Kage Baker on steroids," says David Hartwell in his promotional letter, and indeed Asher's latest SF novel (after 2004's The Skinner) bears definite similarities to Baker's popular tales of the Company. Both involve near-immortal time travelers who pursue complex, often mysterious objectives. But where Baker tends toward the literary and satirical, Asher prefers over-the-top violence and pyrotechnic super-science. In the near-future, Polly, a prostitute, and Tack, a government-programmed killer, get caught up in a war fought by superhuman antagonists from the future, the Heliothane and the Umbrathane. Neither side is particularly sympathetic, but the latter group is allied with the monstrous Cowl, an even more advanced being that threatens all human life. Cowl has let loose the torbeast, a ravening interdimensional creature the size of a small planet, and the Heliothane have reprogrammed Tack to go back in time and assassinate the monster. Well-done battle sequences, serviceable characters and an old-fashioned sense of wonder help offset a sometimes overly byzantine plot and a too-abstract depiction of time travel. Overall, this is an excellent read and should increase the author's growing reputation.
