“Dark Intelligence” by Neal Asher – Robotic Bloodlust

The potential pitfalls that come with rapidly-evolving technologies have become rather-well known to us, mainly because it is a subject that has been explored abundantly in the realm of fiction... and upon further review, it can be said that the concerns certainly aren't baseless.

The idea of creating a sentient artificial intelligence is one that raises a whole number of questions, and even though in the real world we haven't ventured this far, Neal Asher uses it as the base for his new book series, Transformation.

The first book in this series is titled Dark Intelligence, and it follows the exploits of Thorvald Spear, who begins by performing a rather impressive feat: he comes back from the dead more than a hundred years after he was killed. As it happens, his murderer was not someone, but rather something: an artificial intelligence, Penny Royal.

Needless to say, Thorvald isn't exactly over the whole ordeal and sets out to hunt down the murderous being, knowing that it is still roaming the galaxy somewhere. He finds a companion for his overwhelming mission in Isobel, the former leader of a powerful crime syndicate and now part human, part-AI... giving her some terrible powers, but more importantly, engendering a rather somber transformation.

Spear, not being the brightest tool in the shed, tries to double-cross Isobel shortly after hiring her to help him track down Penny Royal, a decision that will infinitely complicate the pursuit of his ultimate goal... and perhaps give him something more immediate to worry about.

The first chapter in Asher's new series presents a rather promising outlook for the further works in it. Once again we are returned to the dark and gritty universe of Polity, one that is characterized by action and omnipresent violence between members of all the factions you'd expect to see in a science-fiction universe, including androids, aliens, drones, AI's and more.

Like Asher's other works, this one goes along at a rather fast pace and tries to ensure that there is seldom a dull moment. Though I do believe that this pace makes it slightly more difficult to get deeply immersed in the presented universe and its mechanisms, it is a small price to pay in exchange for cranking up the excitement factor.

On the surface the story may appear to be common enough in this genre, but fortunately the author strays from the beaten path and manages to turn a simple premise into something that truly feels epic in its scope.

There are twists and turns around every corner and even though the book does end on somewhat of a cliffhanger, it is to be expected in a trilogy and many storylines are given some sort of closure, if not a conclusion.

In other words, your curiosity is satiated and piqued at the same time for different reasons, a trait many fantastic writers share.

The characters are also a strong driving force in this book, especially because they often step out of the stereotypes and shells that would be assigned to them. This is a case of the cast being filled more with characters that have questionable morals and vague motivations, characters who have both good and evil in them, who are human-like in their actions and motivations.

Though it certainly hurts many of them on the likeability factor, it gives them much more depth, something that is needed to carry such a huge work through.

All in all, Dark Intelligence is a solid beginning to a very promising series, one that delivers an exhilarating experience for science-fiction fans, and though it hasn't really broken any boundaries or done anything extraordinary, it remains an enthralling space opera that will please science-fiction fans who prefer fast-paced, action-packed stories.

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Neal Asher Personal site Neal Asher is an English science-fiction writer from Essex who began publishing his works a bit later in his life, in the year 2000. He wrote a number of works and different series, with some of his better-known works including the Agent Cormac series, The Owner trilogy, and Cowl, nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award.