Dark Intelligence

This book was okay. I thought, before getting it, that it was the first in a series and it is, but first in a series of an even larger series of books by Neal Asher. What that means is that there is a lot of super interesting characters and concepts in this book that I would have liked expanded but were expanded in the first series in this universe.

Towards the end the concepts and names and call backs were coming so fast and furious it was hard to know what was really going on or why it was impactful.

I full accept this was my fault for getting this book first but I definitely thought this was the first book ever in this universe.

This was not, I felt, one of the strongest of Asher's books, although there's still plenty to like. It's officially the beginning of a trilogy, but, in fact, relies heavily on previous books, so that it feels more like another part of a much longer series. Indeed, I found that to be the main weakness, in that there isn't terribly much new introduced here, more a revisiting of old locations and concepts.

Having said that, many of the characters are new, even if the places that we see them visiting aren't. Of particular interest is the primary character implied by the trilogy title of “transformation”, a haiman being biologically transformed into a hooder. This (along with a less important character who is also altering their species) is perhaps the most intriguing idea in the book, which at times gets a little confusing as the original revenge plot morphs into something more.

It does all make sense in the end, as it eventually becomes clear what the “dark intelligence” of the title - the rogue AI Penny Royal - is trying to do. And, even if it does rely on earlier novels, it does a pretty good job of explaining what happened in them, for those who haven't read them (or have forgotten the details). So, not one of the best, but it still works, and is an enjoyable read.