BOOK REVIEW Line War

By Neal Asher. The end of the line for the Polity?

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Author: Neal Asher

Publisher: Tor

504 pages • £17.99

ISBN: 978-1-4050-5501-7

Rating:

Neal Asher is the M&S of deep space SF. He doesn’t do combat droids; he does razor-edged combat droids with attitude. He doesn’t do alien tech, he does alien tech clumped like coral around desiccated bodies – floating in deep space with a deep desire to start spearing bits of his heroine.

In this, the fifth of his Agent Corman novels, four alien civilisations have been destroyed by Jain technology, and it looks like humanity is going to be the fifth. Erebus, once a Polity AI, now a melded mind wielding that technology and controlling thousands of wormships, intends to win the war against humans once and for all. All that stands between it and success is...

Well, you probably know the answer. If you don’t, this probably isn’t the book for you. Begin at the beginning with Gridlinked, and then read Brass Man, Line of Polity, Polity Agent... everything will make infinitely more sense.

Agent Cormac, Dragon, Mr Crane, the eight-foot-high brass golem with a liking for ripping off people’s heads, Polity AI Jerusalem, Orlandine (her need for absolution now at war with her increasingly god-like powers)… all the familiar characters are back, only marginally more damaged than they were in the previous Cormac novels.

Asher has claimed he writes because he wants to tell stories, “Not because I intended to explore this or examine that, but because it’s fun...’ But he asks questions despite himself, like “does a civilisation that fights not to become something else destroy itself anyway?”

His writing is occasionally matter of fact – although his use of common objects to describe unfamiliar things is clever. Objects are described as, “like a slimy egg”, or sounding like flapping leather. And there are neat touches, like a morality virus that has psychopathic golems dialling down the power on their particle weapons to stun their enemy rather than leaving them in raw chunks all over distant walls.

Asher is brilliant at conveying the vastness of space, the strangeness of alien life and the sweep of planetary horizons. Not to mention the vast sweep of this novel itself. Line War is where the Cormac novels have been heading.

Right at the end, there’s a slight sense of the villain rubbing his hands, stoking his white cat and settling back in this chair. But then, with half a dozen plotlines and information threads from five previous novels to tie up into something resembling a great big bow, that’s inevitable. This is Asher’s best yet.

Jon Courtenay Grimwood

SFX Magazine is the world's number one sci-fi, fantasy, and horror magazine published by Future PLC. Established in 1995, SFX Magazine prides itself on writing for its fans, welcoming geeks, collectors, and aficionados into its readership for over 25 years. Covering films, TV shows, books, comics, games, merch, and more, SFX Magazine is published every month. If you love it, chances are we do too and you'll find it in SFX.

Latest in Entertainment
Gachiakuta season 1 promo art featuring Rudo
The anime for stylish action manga Gachiakuta will be a Crunchyroll exclusive, and the hit series could be the next big shonen star
The Toxic Avenger
Here's your first look at Peter Dinklage as the Toxic Avenger in ultra-violent, unrated, and long-delayed superhero movie remake
Jenna Ortega as Astrid Deetz in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice 2 star Jenna Ortega would love to star in another classic horror comedy franchise: Gremlins
Black Mirror season 7
First trailer for Black Mirror season 7 teases USS Callister sequel and the return of Will Poulter's Bandersnatch character
Michael Fassbender in Black Bag
X-Men star Michael Fassbender says he auditioned for James Bond, but ended up suggesting they go for Daniel Craig: "I don't know why I was promoting him"
Adolescence
Peaky Blinders star Stephen Graham's new Netflix one-shot crime drama is out now, and it has a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score
Latest in Reviews
Razer USB 4 Dock in silver on a wooden desk
Razer USB 4 Dock review: "solid, reliable, and surprisingly well-priced"
Lenovo Legion Go S with FlyKnight gameplay on screen featuring player character holding bow and arrow with enemy ant in backdrop.
Lenovo Legion Go S Windows 11 review: “my heart aches for this mixed up handheld”
Talisman 5th Edition game components
Talisman 5th Edition review: "The characterful imperfections of the original game remain clear to see "
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 review: "A colossal package even if you never go anywhere near Virtual Currency"
Altered: Trial by Frost booster box and packs on a playmat
Altered: Trial by Frost review - "Satisfying enough to offer highly varied gameplay"
Three SteelSeries QcK Performance mouse pads on a wooden desk
I didn't expect to prefer a coarser mouse pad, but SteelSeries' new QcK Performance range has changed my mind