Prador Moon by Neal Asher

Prador Moon is one of Neal Asher’s most explosive excursions into the Polity universe – a vivid, visceral, brilliantly intense space opera that you won’t forget. It takes one encounter to turn peace into war . . . The worlds of the Polity stretch from Earth Central into the unfathomable reaches of the galactic void. And when humanity finally encounters alien life – in the form of massive, hostile carnivores known as the Prador – there can only be one outcome. Total warfare. Chaos reigns as, caught unawares, the Polity struggles to regain control. It must try and remake itself into a military society as starships clash, planets fall and space stations are overrun. But for Jebel Krong and Moria Salem, trapped at the centre of the action, this war is far more than a clash of cultures or technology versus brute force. This war is personal. Prador Moon is a standalone prequel to the dramatic events in Neal Asher's Spatterjay novels.

Wasn't really that impressed. I've seen Asher's work referenced several times around other books, so I decided to check him out. Maybe the hype was too much but really not overwhelmed.

The story was interesting but too short, leaving a ton of things out that woulda made it better, IMO.

The book introduces the first meeting and opening conflict between the Polity and the violent Prador race. The beginning of the war was first referenced in the action-packed book Weaponized set in the Polity universe. Both books are full of gory violence and non-stop action. The reader learns that at this opening of the war the Polity ships are outmatched by the superior armored Prador vessels. The descriptions of the monstrous lobster-like Prador, their caste system and their appetites for both human flesh and the flesh of their own kind are detailed. While this book is a recommend, personally I enjoyed even more the first book Weaponized about a colony of humans running up against an almost unstoppable adaptive native raptor on their chosen new world. That being said, I look forward to reading the next Polity book Shadow of the Scorpion.

Neal Asher's brand of SF is not for the squeamish. Prador Moon is set within his Polity universe. The Polity is the collective group of worlds which is run by AI and policed by Earth Central Security agents. Unlike the first Polity novel, Gridlinked (which I've read), this one does not feature ECS agent Ian Cormac. Prador Moon is a standalone novel which details the first contact with emissaries of the Prador Second Kingdom. The alien race known as the Prador are huge crab-like beasts who give new meaning to the world hostile. For instance they enjoy dining on humans and occasionally will eat their own young. (I found much to admire in their parenting skills.) This tale has two main characters: Jebel Krong and Moria Salem. Jebel Krong becomes a revenge-driven leader of the defensive forces; Moria Salem is getting used to having a new aug implanted on her skull. Think of an aug as like a small super-computing wi-fi connected interface to universe-spanning data bank. That would take some getting used to. Anyway, Prador Moon is a short book that moves quickly. It occasionally gets lost in head-scratching technobabble but only for a paragraph here and there. It's a nice diversion for Asher fans. But if you're interested, I'd suggest checking out Gridlinked first. That said, The Skinner is my favorite Asher tale and one I plan on revisiting some day. The Skinner also features some Prador characters. They are nasty!