The Soldier

By Neal Asher

The Soldier is the first novel in the no-holds barred Rise of the Jain series, by bestselling science fiction author Neal Asher.

Her mission is vital. Her failure is unthinkable.

A corner of space swarms with alien technology, a danger to all sentient life. It’s guarded by Orlandine, who must keep it contained – as it could destroy entire civilizations. An alien intelligence shares her vigil. But she doesn’t share everything with Dragon . . .

Orlandine is hatching a plan to obliterate this technology, removing its threat forever. For some will do anything to exploit this ancient weaponry, created by a long-dead race called the Jain. This includes activating a Jain super-soldier, which may breach even Orlandine’s defences.

Meanwhile, humanity and the alien prador empire also watch this sector of space, as neither can allow the other to claim its power. However, things are about to change. The Jain might not be as dead as they seemed and interstellar war is just a heartbeat away.

The action continues in The Warship.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Release date: May 17, 2018
• ISBN: 9781509862382

Neal Asher

Neal Asher divides his time between Essex and Crete, mostly at a keyboard and mentally light years away. His full-length novels are as follows. First is the Agent Cormac series: Gridlinked, The Line of Polity, Brass Man, Polity Agent and Line War. Next comes the Spatterjay series: The Skinner, The Voyage of the Sable Keech and Orbus. Also set in the same world of the Polity are these standalone novels: Hilldiggers, Prador Moon, Shadow of the Scorpion, The Technician, Jack Four and Weaponized. The Transformation trilogy is also based in the Polity: Dark Intelligence, War Factory and Infinity Engine. Set in a dystopian future are The Departure, Zero Point and Jupiter War, while Cowl takes us across time. The Rise of the Jain trilogy is comprised of The Soldier, The Warship and The Human, and is also set in the Polity universe.

Reviews for The Soldier

[nmele_4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Initially, I felt the absence of truly human characters in Asher's latest thickly plotted space opera. By the time I finished the book, I felt very differently. Despite their amazing technologies and resilient bodies, his characters are quite human and this book, like some of his other more recent novels, struck me as a bit mystical; as always, I marvel at his mysterious, all destroying alien species called Jain, the most peaceful and life-treasuring faith tradition in this world.

[shrike58 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If Asher's previous trilogy was equally about wrapping up the loose ends of the Polity-Prador War and Asher working through some of his own personal issues one suspects that this novel might be the launch of a whole new cycle, as the menace of an ancient and lethal race has been reanimated with an impact yet to be seen. I'm certainly along for the ride but it remains to be seen whether Asher achieves in any of the PoV characters in this epic the emotional depth he reached with Thorvold Spear. If nothing else things continue to blow up real good in Asher's narratives.

[malcrf · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent multi-threaded space opera. Fascinating characters, evocative prose, but the tech was a little over the top for me. Enjoyed it so much I immediately ordered the next book in the series!