The Technician
By Neal Asher
Paperback: 512 pages
Publisher: Tor
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0230750371
Plot Summary:
In The Technician, we return again to Asher’s Polity Universe, this time to a period about twenty years after the destruction of the Theocracy on the world of Masada (this destruction being described in detail in Asher’s earlier book The Line of Polity, reviewed here some time back).
Masada is a world in flux, the old, harsh, and very dangerous world that existed under the Theocracy being steadily worn away and tamed by an ongoing infusion of Polity technology and social principles. This process has been complicated somewhat both by the contamination of the planet with alien Jain technology (the Jain are extinct ancient aliens whose remnant artifacts are both very powerful and very dangerous) and the discovery around the same time that Masada is the former homeworld of another long gone alien race, the Atheter (also detailed in The Line of Polity).
Further complicating matters is the Tidy Squad, a group of holdover rebels from the days of Theocracy rule who seek out still surviving members of Theocracy society and terminate them with extreme prejudice. High on their hit list is Jeremiah Tombs, a former proctor/soldier in the Theocracy hierarchy who was nearly killed in an encounter with a Hooder, easily the deadliest of all the Masadan predator species.
Tombs has been held by the Polity in a secure location since shortly after the fall of the Theocracy, spending most of this time in a fugue-like state that includes refusing to believe that the Theocracy has fallen or that some two decades have passed since this occurrence. The reason for the Polity’s great interest in him is twofold: First, he is virtually the only individual to ever survive a Hooder attack, second it seems that Hooders may actually be some sort of ancient war machines built by the Atheter, and third when this particular Hooder attacked Tombs it apparently put something into him while it was taking a lot of stuff out. In an attempt to find out exactly that that something might be, the Polity AIs decide to release Tombs into the wider world, apparently alone but actually with secret protection. When the Tidy Squad becomes aware of this and sets out to eliminate Tombs, things start to get interesting.
As a final ingredient, throw in an ancient alien something that appears unexpectedly at the edge of Polity space and then makes a beeline for Masada and you have the makings of a major story climax.
OA Relevance: Moderate to high
Asher’s Polity universe shares a number of similarities with the OA setting, including superhuman AI and advanced biotechnologies although it is less hard science oriented. Most of Asher’s stories could take place in the OA universe with minor to moderate tweaking.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly:
Asher is a talented writer who has grown in his craft over time and The Technician reflects this. I found it engaging and detailed, with well-drawn characters while also having a plot that moved along at a satisfying pace.
About the only thing I could find to complain (mildly) about is that for all their superhuman abilities, Asher’s AIs sometimes seem to be depicted as rather less capable than their abilities would seem to imply, usually so as to allow the human characters (both good guys and bad) to be able to play some role in the story. Even in this regard, Asher handles this issue better, and with a defter touch, than he has in earlier works.
Overall Rating: Very Good
A solid example of the space opera genre that is both engaging and interesting, and which manages to tackle venerable themes in ways that make it all feel fresh and new. Recommended.
More about the reviewer, Todd Drashner, here.