The Skinner

The Line of Polity New Cover

2009-04-30T12:06:00.002+01:00

Here's the new cover for The Line of Polity. Excellent!

Twisted Metal - Tony Ballantyne

2009-04-24T14:08:00.001+01:00

When robots make a child together the husband provides the wire for the wife to twist into the shape of their child’s mind. The wife can choose much of the shape she twists, much is inherent in her, unconscious, and there may even be fragments of the The Book of Robots in there too. The wealthy ‘free’ society of the Turing robots is threatened by the quite familiar collective of Artemesia, who believe there is only metal and the individual is unimportant (yup, the state is all). Artemesia is on the move, destroying societies, torturing and murdering citizens and then melting them down to make more citizens of its own, if not transplanting their minds into common machinery. Robots originally generated from deep in the ground and some still do so now. Or is that really true? You can feel sure that if there’s talk of watchmakers (or blind watchmakers) here the whole debate has been turned on its head.

So we’ve got nature vs nurture in the larger quandary about free will and predestination; we’ve got a Communist’s wet dream of a society because the one thing that can’t be changed in our world, can here, because the minds can be made to fit the ideology; we’ve got an inversion of the kind of arguments with which Richard Dawkins and the Intelligent Design crowd would feel at home, all set in a world populated by robots engaged in the familiar human pastime of murdering each other for power, but excusing it with dogma. Plenty of twisted metal here, usually in the smouldering ruins of of the next city state the Artemesians have torn apart. So what more could you want? The next book please Mr Ballantyne.

There’s so much implicit in the title of this book, which hints at the philosophical layers underlying but not undermining rip-snorting robot total war. A thumping good read.

Prince Caspian

2009-04-24T14:05:00.002+01:00

When I was about eleven my mother was a junior school teacher of the kind who used to read stories to her classes. The kids always used to enjoy the Narnia books by C. S. Lewis and, when I read them, I enjoyed them too. Now these books are being turned into films and as with many other recent films, like the ones based on the Marvel characters, since as a child I used to read the comics, or The Lord of the Rings, I looked forward to seeing this stuff from my formative years up there on the screen. I enjoyed The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, enjoyed seeing the images I’d once seen in my mind translated into the ersatz reality of the big screen, but with some reservations about how the story was told. And yesterday, when we sat down to watch Prince Caspian, I began to enjoy that, until the very end, when Aslan appeared.

Wonderful special effects here, and excellent translation (as far as I can remember) of the book to the screen. The centaurs, minataurs and all the other creatures of Narnia were done superbly, nothing wrong with the acting too, though the children made me feel rather uncomfortable and I was thoroughly aware that this was definitely a children’s book. So what pissed me off? Well Mr Lewis was very definitely a believer, as his many Christian books will attest, and his religion came up through the story telling to smack me in the forehead like a mallet made from the true cross.

I guess the film producers really went with this because Aslan couldn’t have been more Christlike if he’d worn a crown of thorns and been bleeding from the paws. He came in at the end and sorted it all out – a deus ex machina Greek god lowered on his platform to sort out all the squabbles, an ending almost completely severed from the story that went before, moral message delivered: all you had to do was believe in me. Very disappointing, but then one should not try to revisit childhood. And, I guess, the original book was a piece of religious propaganda, and attempt at indoctrinating children, that just didn’t work with me.

Shadow Reviews

2009-04-21T14:20:00.000+01:00

It seems there’s been a couple of nice reviews of Shadow of the Scorpion lately. It is one of Eric Brown’s ‘Choices’ (a name very much reminding me of the time when I was submitting to Interzone and getting regularly, but nicely, rejected) in the April 4th issue of The Guardian. He says it skilfully combines graphic action and sensitive characterisation and is Asher’s most accomplished novel to date though this is on top of a Despite some infelicities of prose. I’m still trying to figure out whether he’s talking about some shabby grammar, purple prose or whether my characters say ‘fuck’ too often.

In the Friday 1st of May issue of SFX the book is five star rated and ‘SFX Recommends’. Saxon Bullock, the reviewer says of it: Asking difficult questions while delivering plenty of full-tilt adventure and widescreen action, this is top-notch stuff from an author well and truly at the top of his game.

Thanks guys!

Now you’d think that all this praise would make me big-headed … and you’d probably be right!

New Cover for Gridlinked

2009-04-18T12:48:00.002+01:00

Here it is, let me know what you think!

More Artwork.

2009-04-18T12:45:00.002+01:00

Here's a Skinner scene from Asmus Neergaard:

Dear Mr. Asher

Since I read about your artwork competition, I've been thinking about things to draw.
My first impulse was drawing The Skinner, but I decided against it. In retrospect, it was a wise decision because the recent new front for The Skinner was exactly what I had in mind (Though it is far better looking than what I had started drawing)
I hope that you like the attached drawing. I imagine that a meeting with a seagoing leech on Spatterjay would look something like this.

Kind regards,
Asmus Neergaard
Denmark

Update from Crete.

2009-04-18T12:42:00.001+01:00

Okay, it’s been a while since I’ve blogged here what with being on the island of Crete right now with no Internet connection here in our house, the Internet café in Sitia now a clothing shop selling expensive looking men’s jackets whilst another connection in the Status Bar in Makrigialos was just not functioning at all – a statement that also covers the condition of my brain about an hour or so later after our third carafe of white wine.

Having entered our house here to be greated with mud on the floors, water stains down a couple of walls, a strange furry object in the washing machine that might have been a flannel or a sock in a previous life, and a proliferation of mould elsewhere, things were pretty depressing at first. But, with a bit of clearing up, the Cretan sunshine kicking in, the garden dug, planted and already showing sprouts of rocket, things are gradually improving. In the intervening time I’ve taken the latest book up past 130,000 words and am on the home straight. I just need to research some stuff on the Internet, like Mars, like the effects of CO2 poisoning…

Since the only television here is obviously Greek, with maybe on English film or episode of some series each night interspersed with adverts that go on for long enough for you to not only make tea but make a sandwich, clean the windows and polish the cutlery, whilst forgetting what it was you were watching, I’ve also gone through a few books. These include three of which were each a firm index finger at political correctness and New Labour, being Littlejohn’s Britain and two by Jeremy Clarkeson: I know You got Soul and Born to be Riled.

The first of these wasn’t that great – far too many made-up songs or scripts that weren’t that funny and, frankly, enough about the insane way Britain is being run to just leave you angry. The first Clarkeson was enjoyable, what with him going on about his favourite machines, but didn’t have quite so much of his laugh-out-loud moments as The World According to Clarkeson. The second had those moments but since these were Top Gear articles in the main, they went on to stuff about 0 to 60, bhp and the like, and I started to lose the will to live. Some science fiction next, I think.

Line War

2009-03-30T13:05:00.009+01:00

Ooh, nice to see Line War (paperback) up on the Amazon Science Fiction Bestseller list - as of 1.00pm today it was sitting at number 3. But then they do tend to leap up the charts prior to publication.

Note: Line War in paperback is out on April 3rd, along with the hardback The Shadow of the Scorpion! All my books can also be purchased through the Pan Macmillan website where there's presently a 3 for 2 deal:

To celebrate Tor’s attendance at Sci-Fi-London 2009 we are offering 3-for-2 on selected SF and Fantasy books and ebooks. From the hottest new SF and Fantasy books to legendary backlist titles, this fantastic deal will run for a short time only so snap them up. Don't forget, all the books listed here are included in this massive offer so feel free to pick and mix.

G20 Conference.

2009-03-29T11:03:00.004+01:00

I see the crusties are coming out of hibernation and brushing off their placards for this G20 nonsense. I guess they feel they’re coming into their own in this time of recession having made a habit of living up trees, in tents or in their CO2 belching Volkswagon camper vans. Though admittedly, when winter kicks in, it’s best to nip back to Daddy’s place in Berkshire. It’s also interesting how the TV media line is that ‘this is a chance for ordinary people to make their voices heard’. Well, ordinary people see this stuff on television and have jobs to go to on Monday and, generally, ordinary people forgo the white man dreadlocks, knitted hats and combat trousers.

But attendees of the conference need not fear, for I’m sure a nicely secure refuge can be found from the crusties in the G20 Smoking Lounge. Elsewhere, throughout the conference, between the lobster thermidor dinners and bottles of Krug, overpaid elitists will be discussing the parlous state of world finances. Once his Brownian movement about the world comes to and end the sainted Brown (or the Anti-Midas as he’s known to his inner circle) , will be promoting his brilliant economic plan to save the world, this basically being that of a junky getting a loan shark to fund his habit, which in Brown’s case is that rather outdated drug called socialism.

Since most ‘ordinary people’ know that many of the problems could be sorted by leaving the money in the hands of those who make stuff and generate wealth rather than transferring it to those who piss it up the wall (like all the attendees of G20), there isn’t a vast amount more for me to add, so I thought I’d take time to ponder some aphorisms for the occasion:

Paper economies always fold.

The greater its distance from the factory floor, the fatter the parasite.

Society is like an animal; its health is directly proportional to the amount of parasites it supports.

The world of politics is a cesspit, and we all know what floats to the top of those.

A banker is just one letter away from reality.

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money. (Margaret Thatcher)

New Covers WOW!

2009-03-27T16:59:00.005Z

As I believe I mentioned on here before, Macmillan have decided to produce new covers for the first four of my books. I guess they thought it about time what with, for example, Gridlinked now in its twelfth print run. Here are two of them. Please let me know what you think!

Both of these images are a mere blink away from what I was seeing in my fevered mind. Brilliant work Mr Jon Sullivan.

Looking for a Sleer

2009-03-26T16:29:00.004Z

Somewhere I've got a picture of a sleer, but I can't find the damned thing. However, I did find some of my other weird shit. In about 1997 (I think) I joined an art class where it was all still lifes and figures which, though fun, was not what I started out drawing. After that class when I sat down with a pencil I returned to drawing what I liked. Here's a few samples:

Sails - Bob Lock

2009-03-26T15:05:00.003Z

Here's another one from Bob Lock. And here's a review of his book.

Shadow of the Scorpion in French.

2009-03-25T18:03:00.002Z

Nice missive here from the Rights Manager at Pan Macmillan, Liz Johnson. She’s delighted to report that Bénédicte Lombardo, at Fleuve Noir (French Publisher) is keen to publish SHADOW OF THE SCORPION.

This will doubtless be as either large format or hardcover or both, then in mass market paperback edition in their Pocket imprint, and there’s also likely to be an e-book, since they have those rights too. This is all scheduled for 2010.

Now I much look forward to seeing what sort of cover they come up with for this, since Flueve Noir has turned out some stunners.

Thanks Bénédicte!

Glister2 - Vaude

2009-03-25T13:20:00.003Z

Vaudeviewgalor Randisraisins asked me if glisters possessed antennae, my tardiness in replying resulted in the previous picture, but now, after

And I was just about to reply to you with this from The Skinner:

The second male glister flicked clumps of hairlike organs on its head, registering the tail-end of a low-pitched squeal in what served it as ears, but so stupified was it by its current pleasure in gustation that it could not identify the sound. Perhaps this was understandable, since never having heard a brother’s death-squeal before. Waving its antennae, it detected only an overwhelming taste of whelk, but that was perfectly understandable – so many of them having recently been torn apart in the vicinity. It gave a lobsterish shrug, and went to take another bite of the wonderful bounty of flesh strewn before it. The wall of flesh that rolled over it and its meal, as well as uninvited leeches and prill, was as yeilding as old oak – the the great mouth behind just hoovered them all up.

we have antennae!

Art Competition Decision

2009-03-25T10:03:00.003Z

Caroline, being quite impressed by the entries I’m receiving for this art competition, said she might have a go at drawing an entry. First we discussed Sniper, then she decided against it when I asked which drone shell she would go for. Next we talked about Mr Crane, but she admitted to not being very good at faces. But no problem, since she sees him standing with his face shaded by his hat. Yes, I enthused, he could have his hat casting a shadow across half his face, whilst he stands there in his long coat and lace-up boots, maybe some intestines he’d ripped out dangling from one brass hand, or he could even be holding a human head he’d just ripped off, blood dripping on the floor. Caroline decided she’d draw a bunny rabbit.

SF Taboo.

2009-03-24T19:51:00.002Z

Asked the question on Mind Meld:

Once upon a time, sf/f was full of taboos: no swearing, no sex, etc. We're thankfully past those days, but are there any taboos still remaining or new ones that have sprung up? Have you ever had trouble with publishing something, or caught yourself self-censoring?

I found myself at a bit of a loss but, came up with this answer:

Well, every writer has had trouble getting stuff published, but probably because they breached the publishing world taboo of writing crap. For me, beyond 2000 when I was taken on by Macmillan, I've been censored all the time in that respect - it's called editing. But no, I don't really have much trouble getting stuff published and I don't self censor ... except all the time in regard to that first publishing taboo. Doubtless, in years to come some minority group lobby will run out of larger targets and focus its attention on SF books, and then violence, drinking, smoking and excessive consumption of beefburgers will be a no no. I just hope I'm in a position to give them the finger by then.

Other writers and those commenting have produced other answers over here. Some people might even find all this interesting. I have to add that I do self censor here -- in fact I did it in the last sentence.

Shadow of the Scorpion Competition.

2009-03-24T17:54:00.004Z

There's a competition over at Geekplanet to win a copy of Shadow of the Scorpion. Note that the competition ends on April 3rd (interestingly the publication date of the British edition - I'm just saying, that's all).

This is going to be one of our simplest competitions. All you need to do is sign up, email your username, name and address to \n This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ?subject=Doctor Who Series 4"> compos@geekplanet.co.uk with 'SCORPION COMPETITION' in the topic title. We'll pick five winners by the 3rd April and contact the winners then.

Geekplanet Review

2009-03-24T13:38:00.003Z

Nice review here at Geekplanet of Shadow of the Scorpion...

Beginning with Gridlinked, and continuing most recently with Line War, Neal Asher’s stories of Agent Ian Cormac have garnered some good reviews. Despite this, and despite my weakness for space opera, they’ve nevertheless remained under my radar. Shadow of the Scorpion is a prequel, outlining the origin story of the series’ protagonist. This being my first foray into the world of the Polity, I can’t tell you how it compares to the other books, but from the perspective of a new reader I can assure you I’m hooked.

Glister - Vaude

2009-03-23T20:28:00.003Z

Vaudeviewgalor Randisraisins' glister:

heres the final. no input so the antennae stay off. i cant get them to look menacing enough to be a spatterjay type threat. also wouldnt they just get hacked off every few days. eyes on stalks also which can be a hazard there too. eh. rough call without it being like a pal/doll. it's of no ultimate consequence as my talents pale to the super comic rpg type lad, Mr. Mendez, an obvious pro. that last gabbleduck was amazing too. was hopin to tackle that one next. jabberwock/Pnume plume competition.

Earth Central Trooper - Peter Nugent

2009-03-23T20:22:00.003Z

Earth Central Foot Trooper:

Dear Neal Asher

Please find attached my entry for your art competition. I'm a complete amateur when it comes to drawing, very rarely going further than covering my log books in doodles, but I had a go at drawing what I imagine an Earth Central foot trooper might look like in some all purpose armour. I never realise how hard it would really be to design such a piece of kit, having to think how the plates fit together and not to hinder movement too much but I think I came out with something good! Also included is an APW, which was also a bitch to do, so much blank space to fill with details!

Keep up the good work with your books!

Mr Crane - Bob Lock

2009-03-22T13:37:00.005Z

Bob Lock's Mr Crane.

Hi Neal,

Here's a collage I've done of Mr.Crane. I can't draw for the life of me
but enjoy messing around in Photoshop so took bits and pieces from
around the web and voilà here he is.

Best,
Bob

Gabbleduck - Robert McGregor

2009-03-20T15:56:00.001Z

Here's another one:

Please accept this as a submission for your drawing contest. My father and I are great fans of your books and between us we own just about all of them with the exception of The Gabble, Orbus and Shadow of the Scorpion. I have a hunch that your depiction of AI will influence some young reader, somewhere, to actually set about making such things possible some day! Hurray!

Consider yourself held responsible for our collective fates.

HA HA HA.........(only partially joking.......)

KEEP WRITING!

Mr Crane - Carlos Mendez

2009-03-20T15:30:00.003Z

Here's another one from Carlos Mendez. Comments please! Incidentally, I'll put the picture title and artist's name in the titles of these posts from now on.

Artist's Comments
This is another piece inspired on Neal Asher's books. It's a mad Golem Android called Mr. Crane...

The words "Golem Android" evoke to me something technologically very advanced (an android with an AI) but at the same time something classic-old fashioned (something with a medieval air...a Golem...). That's why I tried to give it a "mechanic look"...with those clockwork-like wheels and all...

I have to admit it...Jack Kirby was one of my greatest influences...and Jim Steranko (who was clearly inspired by Kirby...) and Mike Mignola (who is also influenced by Kirby) ...and Paul Gulacy (who was very influenced by Steranko...ok, ok, ....Steranko was influenced by...Kirby...!)

Life in the 1500s.

2009-03-20T09:17:00.003Z

I wonder how much of this is apocryphal:

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500's:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, ‘Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water.’

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, ‘It's raining cats and dogs.’

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, ‘Dirt poor’.

The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed across the lower part of the doorway. Hence, ‘a thresh hold’.

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, ‘Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old’.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, ‘bring home the bacon’. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and ‘chew the fat’.

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the ‘upper crust’.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England

is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the ...graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be ‘saved by the bel, or was considered a ‘dead ringer’.

And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring?

Sketches: Gabbleduck

2009-03-19T08:42:00.003Z

Here's a couple of sketches of the gabbleduck from Pekka Jonsson who, incidentally, started off the bookshelf craze here. Definitely getting there with the shape of the head (though the eyes need to be more integrated) and the 'feel' of the things, though too anthropomorphic, especially about the back legs.