Polity Universe Books
It’s first contact… Polity style! The Polity Collective is the pinnacle of space-faring civilization. Academic and insightful, its dominion stretches from Earth Central into the unfathomable reaches of the galactic void. But when the Polity finally encounters alien life in the form of massive, hostile, crablike carnivores known as the Prador, there can be only one outcome… total warfare. Chaos reigns as the Polity, caught unawares, struggles to regain its foothold and transition itself into a military society. Starships clash, planets fall, and space stations are overrun, but for Jebel Krong and Moria Salem, two unlikely heroes trapped at the center of the action, this war is far more than a mere clash of cultures, far more than technology versus brute force… this war is personal. Epic in scope, unrelenting in action, Prador Moon delivers the blistering battles and astounding literary pyrotechnics that fans of Neal Asher, author of Gridlinked, The Line of Polity, and The Skinner, have come to expect. Prador Moon is Asher’s latest and most shocking excursion into the Polity’s universe of over-the-top violence and explosive action. Asher delivers a vivid, visceral, brilliantly intense space opera that you won’t soon forget.
An exciting stand-alone novel set in Neal Asher’s Polity universe. A terrible war once raged between the two rival planets within a distant solar system. In the midst of this merciless conflict, one side encountered a bizarre object suspected of being a cosmic superstring. When cut, the object collapsed into four parts, each found to be packed either with alien technology or some unknown form of life. Pending further study, the parts were quickly encased inside four separate storage containers, and sent to a massively secure space station in orbit. Sometime later, while conducting research on one of the alien entities they now call the Worm,” a female scientist becomes pregnant and subsequently gives birth to quadruplets. She then inexplicably commits suicide by walking directly out into space. The war was finally brought to an end by use of new weapons arising as a result of research of the Worm. These were employed by giant space dreadnoughts nicknamed hilldiggers,” and their destructive power created new mountain ranges out of the vanquished planet’s terrain. Twenty years after the dust has settled, those four exceptionally talented orphaned quadruplets have grown up to assume varying degrees of power and influence within a postwar society. But one of them now seems determined to gain total control over the deadly hilldiggers, to potentially devastating effect. An independent novel based in Neal Asher’s Polity universe, Hilldiggers is Asher in top form, with incredibly detailed and complex world-building, thought-provoking political undertones, and unabashedly intense action. Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
Raised to adulthood during the end of the war between the human Polity and a vicious alien race, the Prador, Ian Cormac is haunted by childhood memories of a sinister scorpion-shaped war drone and the burden of losses he doesn’t remember. Cormac signs up with Earth Central Security and is sent out to help restore and maintain order on worlds devastated by the war. There he discovers that though the Prador remain as murderous as ever, they are not anywhere near as treacherous or dangerous as some of his fellow humans, some closer to him than he would like. Amidst the ruins left by wartime genocides, Cormac will discover in himself a cold capacity for violence and learn some horrible truths about his own past while trying to stay alive on his course of vengeance. Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
A stirring stand-alone novel set in Neal Asher’s Polity universe Set in the world of A Royal Shade of Blue , Soldier , and Gridlinked Ideal for fans of Asher’s Rise of the Jain series This space opera is set in the well-designed Polity universe with a rich backstory. Now available in the US, The Technician will delight old and new fans with Asher’s grand, complex, and dark story. The Theocracy died 20 years ago, and the Polity rules on Masada. But there is a group of rebels, called the Tidy Squad, who cannot accept the new order. They hate the surviving theocrats, and the iconic Jeremiah Tombs is at the top of their hit list. After breaking out of his sanatorium, Tombs is pushed into painful confrontations with all that he has avoided since the rebellion. Many years ago, an almost mythical hooder called the Technician attacked him and did something to his mind. Tombs’s insanity needs to be cured, because he might have knowledge about the suicide of an entire alien race. The war drone Amistad, who has the task of bringing this information to light, recruits Leif Grant, a former rebel Commander, to protects tombs. Penny Royal and Chanter are recruited as well. Meanwhile, far off in deep space, the device that Atheter used to reduce them animals awakens and begins to power its weapons. Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.
Rebellion could be their salvation—or their doom. Long ago, the Cyberat left Earth to co-evolve with machines. Now, led by the powerful dictator Castron, their Old Guard believe that machines should replace the physical body. But these beliefs are upended with the arrival of the human Polity—and their presence ignites rebellion. Piper was raised as a weapon against the Cyberat, implanted with secretive hardware. When his parents are captured by the Old Guard, the Polity offer him unexpected aid. Piper knows the Polity want more from him, but at what cost? The rebellion also attracts the deadly prador, placing an entire world in peril. As war rages across the planet, Piper must battle with the unknown technology implanted in his bones. It may be the Polity’s answer to their relentless fight against the prador. It could also be civilization-ending Jain tech—or something far more extraordinary. War Bodies by Neal Asher is a gripping, high-octane standalone set in his expansive Polity world.