Line of Polity by Neal Asher

This is book two in the Agent Ian Cormac series.

From Goodreads.com: Outlink station Miranda has been destroyed by a nanomycelium, and the very nature of this sabotage suggests that the alien bioconstruct Dragon - a creature as untrustworthy as it is gigantic - is somehow involved. Sent out on a titanic Polity dreadnought, the Occam Razor, agent Cormac must investigate the disaster.

Meanwhile, on the remote planet Masada, the long-term rebellion can never rise above-ground, as the slave population is subjugated by orbital laser arrays controlled by the Theocracy in their cylinder worlds, and by the fact that they cannot safely leave their labour compounds. For the wilderness of Masada lacks breathable air ... and out there roam monstrous predators called hooders and siluroynesgabbleducks.

Paperback, 672 pages

Published October 9th 2009 by Tor Books (first published 2003)
ISBN0330512560 (ISBN13: 9780330512565)
Original title: The Line of Polity. Agent Cormac #2, Polity Universe #4

I enjoyed this selection for several reasons: the story moved right along, with neither a huge amount of description, unnecessary background building, or grandiose space-physics explanations; the characters were predominantly interesting; the chapter beginnings, where a woman was reading to her child, were quite humorous; and the world Masada was a delight to read about. 

Items I didn't care for: even though this was the protagonists vengeance against Cormac, Cormac really wasn't the main story.  I would liked to have had him a bit more in the forefront.  There were at least three story lines happening at the same time - which is good because it keeps things moving - but often the number of people in each story line became a bit confusing.  More than once I found myself going, "Now who was so-and-so again?  Oh yeah...that person..."  By page 600, that becomes a bit annoying.  I also struggled a bit with recalling what happened in book one - it's been over a years since I read Gridlinked, and while I thoroughly enjoyed it, again the whole who was who and who did what to whom became a bit of a blur. 


I intent to make a point of reading Brass Man sooner rather than later.