The Soldier
Rise of the Jain, Book One
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4.5 • 23 Ratings
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
In a far corner of space, on the very borders between humanity’s Polity worlds and the kingdom of the vicious crab-like prador, is an immediate threat to all sentient life: an accretion disc, a solar system designed by the long-dead Jain race and swarming with living technology powerful enough to destroy entire civilizations.
Neither the Polity or the prador want the other in full control of the disc, so they’ve placed an impartial third party in charge of the weapons platform guarding the technology from escaping into the galaxy: Orlandine, a part-human, part-AI haiman. She’s assisted by Dragon, a mysterious, spaceship-sized alien entity who has long been suspicious of Jain technology and who suspects the disc is a trap lying-in-wait.
Meanwhile, the android Angel is planning an attack on the Polity, and is searching for a terrible weapon to carry out his plans?a Jain super-soldier. But what exactly the super-soldier is, and what it could be used for if it fell into the wrong hands, will bring Angel and Orlandine’s missions to a head in a way that could forever change the balance of power in the Polity universe.
In The Soldier, British science fiction writer Neal Asher kicks off another Polity-based trilogy in signature fashion, concocting a mind-melting plot filled with far-future technology, lethal weaponry, and bizarre alien creations.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In the first book of his Rise of the Jain trilogy, Neal Asher unveils a new frontier of military sci-fi. Digging deeper into his ever-expanding Polity mythos, Asher takes us on a manic, thought-provoking journey through humanity’s future, including cyber-warfare and interstellar coexistence. By bringing together the book’s imaginative and warped characters (human, AI, and alien) to battle a common enemy, Asher presents an inclusive picture of sci-fi warfare that's as much about pulling together as it is about kicking butt.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Asher (Infinity Engine) begins his new series set in the Polity universe with this adrenaline-charged work that brings the threat of the civilization-destroying Jain to the fore. Asher demonstrates his skill at creating alien actors with a cast of characters that does not include a single unaltered human. The action in this volume centers on the accretion disk of an exploded star that is littered with dormant Jain tech. The human-AI amalgam Orlandine is sent to protect against any threats from the disk, while the AI-controlled human Polity and the king-dom of the crablike prador, who were once at odds, wait warily to see what happens there. Partnered with Orlandine is Dragon, a moon-size alien artifact with inscrutable motives and a fierce hatred of the Jain. When the Client, the last remnant of her species, is revived, she takes control of one of the many weapons platforms guarding the disk and disappears on her own mission. Once a Jain soldier unit is activated, all these entities and more join in combat, starting with hand-to-pseudopod fights and escalating to titanic battles that rend space. With mind-blowing complexity, characters, and combat, Asher's work continues to combine the best of advanced cybertech and military SF.
Customer Reviews
The Soldier: Rise of the Jain
Another classic from Neal Asher. No one has a better cast of characters than Asher. There are so many and each one is so interesting and integral to his story. Just a great read.
Very pleased
My completely subjective measure of a good science fiction writer is whether or not they can leave me with strong, lasting impressions; memories laden with powerful emotions & vivid imagery that persist throughout the years, even if I haven’t read the work in awhile. Mr. Asher does that wonderfully. He always leaves me with at least one such scene burned into my memory, even invading my dreams and nightmares. The Soldier has lived up to my expectations of him in that respect. I look forward to the next installment of this story!