Neal Asher Books In Order

Publication Order of Agent Cormac Books

Publication Order of Dark Diamond Books

Publication Order of Owner Trilogy Books

Publication Order of Polity Universe Books

Publication Order of Far Future Polity Books

Publication Order of Jack Four Books

Publication Order of Polity Collections

Publication Order of Rise of the Jain Books

Publication Order of Spatterjay Books

Publication Order of Transformation Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Year's Best SF Anthology Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Neal Asher
Neal Asher was born February 4, 1961 in Billericay, Essex. He lives sometimes in Crete, and sometimes in England but much of his time is spent at a keyboard.

Both of his parents are fans of science fiction and are educators. Even though he started writing speculative fiction during his secondary school days, he didn’t take a serious turn toward writing until the age of 25.

Neal points to fantasy works such as “The Hobbit”, “The Lord of the Rings”, and Roger Zelazny’s “The Chronicles of Amber” as important early creative influences on him.

He published his first short story in the year 1989. He was offered a three book contract by Pan Macmillan in the year 2000. Gridlinked, his first full length novel, was published in the year 2001, and is the first novel in the “Agent Cormac” novels.

Neal’s work has been published in America, the United Kingdom, Japan, Romania, Portugal, Spain, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Russia, and France.

With all of the books he’s had published, he has been accused of overproduction. That said, he still spends way too much time ranting and raving on his blog, drinking too much wine, cycling off fat, however, he has zero plans to slow down any.

Neal has worked as a barman, coalman, contract grass cutter, a builder, engineer, skip lorry driver, and boat window manufacturer. He now writes science fiction novels, and as professions go, it is one he prefers; since he doesn’t have to change his clothes after work, there’s no clocking-in he has to do, nor does he have to scrub the sensitive parts of his body with detergents.

Most of Neal’s work is set in the “Polity” universe, a future history. It encompasses a bunch of classic science fiction tropes including androids, aliens, world-ruling artificial intelligences, and hive minds. Neal’s work is characterized by violent encounters and fast-paced action. His work is frequently epic in its scope and thus is typically space opera, however, its aggressive and graphic tone is much more akin to being cyberpunk.

When this is combined with the way Asher’s main characters usually act to either improve their society or keep social order, rather than disrupt a society they are estranged from, these influences could put his work in the post-cyberpunk subgenre.

Neal was nominated for the stories “Mason’s Rats III” and “Sucker” by the British Fantasy Society Awards. SF Review Best Book designation for “The Skinner” in the year 2002. “Cowl” was nominated for a Philip K. Dick Award.

“The Soldier” is the first novel in the “Rise of the Jain” series and was released in the year 2018. Her mission is vital. Her failure is unthinkable.

One corner of space swarms with alien technology, which is a danger to all sentient life. Orlandine is guarding it and must keep all of it contained, as it could destroy whole civilizations. One alien intelligence shares her vigil. However, she doesn’t share it all with Dragon.

Orlandine hatches a plan to obliterate the tech, and remove every shred of its threat for good. Because some are willing to do anything to exploit this ancient weaponry, created by the Jain, a long dead race. This includes activating some Jain super-soldier, which might breach even Orlandine’s defences.

At the same time, the alien prador empire and humanity also are watching this sector of space, because neither are able to allow the other to claim this power. Things are about to change. The Jain may not be as dead as they once appeared and interstellar war is only a heartbeat away.

This novel moves at about a thousand miles an hour, and provides a fast read and a fun time for readers.

“The War Ship” is the second novel in the “Rise of the Jain” series and was released in the year 2019. Their nemesis lies in wait.

Orlandine has destroyed the alien Jain super-soldier with a black hole. Now that same weapon hoovers up clouds of lethal Jain tech, swarming just within the lethal accretion disc’s event horizon. It all seems just like she planned. Behind her back, forces are inciting rebellion back on her home world, and plot her assassination.

Earth Central, which is humanity’s ruling intelligence, knows that Orlandine was tricked into releasing her weapon, and fears the Jain are behind it. The prador king knows about this as well and both enemies gather fleets of warships to surround the disk.

The alien Client returns to the accretion disc in order to save the last of her kind, buried on a ship deep within it. She upgrades her vast weapons platform to prepare, and she is going to need it. Her nemesis also waits within the swirling dusts of the disc, and the Jain have committed genocide in the past.

“The Human” is the third novel in the “Rise of the Jain” series and was released in the year 2020. One Jain warship has risen up from the depths of space, emerging with a lethal grudge and a vast collection of deadly yet ancient technology. It is bound and determined to hunt down the alien Client, and is going to annihilate everything and everyone that stands in its way. So Orlandine has to prepare humanity’s defense.

Both the Prador and humanity thought the Jain, their ancient enemy, perished in a previous age. They resolve to destroy each of these outliers, no matter the cost. Orlandine’s wants the Client’s inside knowledge to act, however, the Client has got an agenda of her own. Earth Central looks to the Prador for an alliance, after the Jain has destroyed their fleet. But not everybody is happy with this, and some are willing to do anything to shatter this rather fragile coalition.

While the Jain warship is making its way across the galaxy, it appears to be unstoppable. Prador and human forces each struggle to withstand its devastating weaponry. Orlandine’s life work is to neutralize Jain technology, so if she is unable to triumph, nobody else could either. Is she going to really become what she has vowed to destroy?