Dark Intelligence

Thorvald Spear wakes in a hospital to find he’s been resurrected, having died in a human-versus-alien war that ended a century earlier. Penny Royal, the AI sent to save a group of besieged human soldiers, turned rogue and annihilated friendly forces, including Spear, in a frenzy of destruction and killing. One hundred years later the AI is still on the loose, and the reanimated Spear vows for revenge at any cost.

Isobel Satomi ran a successful crime syndicate, but after competitors attacked, she needed power and protection. Negotiating with Penny Royal, she got more than she bargained for: turning part-AI herself gave Isobel frightening power, but the upgrades hid a horrifying secret, and Penny Royal triggered a transformation that has been turning her into something far from human . . .

Spear hires Isobel to track Penny Royal across the galaxy to its last known whereabouts, but their alliance may only be one of convenience. As Isobel continues to evolve into something monstrous, it’s clear her rage will eventually win out over reason. Will Spear finish his hunt before he himself becomes the hunted?

Dark Intelligence is the explosive first novel in a brand-new trilogy from military SF master Neal Asher and a new chapter in his epic Polity universe.

Neal Asher is a science-fiction writer whose work has been nominated for both the Philip K. Dick and the British Fantasy Society awards. He has published more than fifteen books, many set within his Polity universe, includingGridlinked, The Skinner, and Prador Moon. He divides his time between Essex and a home in Crete.