War Factory by Neal Asher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think I have finally become a card-carrying fan of Asher. Before, it was all about the awesome tech and the cool reveals that usually surrounded the cool tech, but then I was getting into the wide range of messed up characters being transformed from normal baddies to nearly godlike baddies... while the rest of the Polity goes nuts with godlike AIs of every flavor and disposition ruling us poor fools however they liked. Often to some very strange results.

Fast forward to the current novel. It continues on with the story of Pennyroyal not from his POV but from all his Faustian victims. After the results and cool as shit reveals from Dark Transformation, we still don’t get the ubergodlike AI’s POV but he has suddenly become my absolute favorite AI character of all time. Talk about a backstory!

This novel is both a fantastic backstory and a great adventure bringing the most fascinating creatures and monsters from the previous and throwing them together in a truly awesome way....

At the whims of a dark god with truly crazy motives and crazier abilities.

Think of a Lovecraftian nightmare with hyperspace, superintelligence, and even time travel capabilities. Have him apparently bring about the most elaborate scheme to enact revenge upon himself by creating paradigm shifting creatures capable of busting planets, and then make him look like a king slumming it in a local bar.

Too freaking awesome.

View all my reviews