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Brass Man (Agent Cormac #3)
by
Neal Asher (Goodreads Author)
On the primitive Out-Polity world of Cull, a latter-day knight errant called Anderson is hunting a dragon.
He little knows that, far away, another man - though now more technology than human flesh - has resurrected a brass killing machine called `Mr Crane' to assist in a similar hunt, but one that encompasses star systems. When agent Cormac realizes that this old enemy stil...more
He little knows that, far away, another man - though now more technology than human flesh - has resurrected a brass killing machine called `Mr Crane' to assist in a similar hunt, but one that encompasses star systems. When agent Cormac realizes that this old enemy stil...more
Paperback, 528 pages
Published
July 31st 2006
by Tor
(first published January 1st 2005)
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Brass Man continues my reading (and catch-up) of Neal Asher's Ian Cormac series. I'm a big fan of Neal's work and my one reading resolution for this year was to get up-to-date on his releases. I'm in the fortunate position of having the whole series sitting on my shelf ready for back-to-back reads so I can fully appreciate the overall story he's telling, and after recently reading both the second in the series, The Line of Polity, and now Brass Man I'm still gobsmacked that I haven't read them s...more
Oct 01, 2007
Jadon
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sciencefiction-space,
sciencefiction-future
Very good and solid science fiction, though the writing style distracted me. Too many jumps between interweaving plots allowed me to put the book down several times. However, Asher has created a rich universe with interesting characters and all the elements you need to keep a series going. A Galactic super-agent with special mental abilities, omniscient artificial intelligence controls everything, threats to civilization (both from the past and outside the known galaxy,) and plenty of enemies to...more
Brass Man is Neal Asher's third book in his "Ian Cormac" series and I enjoyed it more than its predecessors. These books are part Iain Banks' Culture novels, part Ian Fleming's James Bond and then a varied mix of ultra-tech, ultra-violence and beyond-the-pale bio-engineering.
Mr. Asher's greatest strength is in creating interesting creatures and technologies, more often than not of a sort to kill humans in many and varied ways. Brass Man and the other Asher books I've read could only be turned in...more
Mr. Asher's greatest strength is in creating interesting creatures and technologies, more often than not of a sort to kill humans in many and varied ways. Brass Man and the other Asher books I've read could only be turned in...more
Sep 11, 2011
Kristin
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
e-book,
science-fiction
The thing with Neal's books are, they bounce along in this fantastic universe with really cool concepts, ships, worlds, aliens, then the plot comes and smacks you upside the head leaving one a bit breathless as the reader realizes that "da-yum, now I have to read the next book."
The downside of Neal's books, in my humble opinion, is I have a dreadful time keeping the characters straight. Just as I get comfortable with one set, we've switched to someone from about twenty-five action filled pages a...more
The downside of Neal's books, in my humble opinion, is I have a dreadful time keeping the characters straight. Just as I get comfortable with one set, we've switched to someone from about twenty-five action filled pages a...more
Ahh, the perils of 5-star rating systems. There's a wide gulf between the 3-star "liked it" and the 4-star "really liked it".
I enjoyed this book of the Agent Cormac series much more than the previous two Cormac novels. I reviewed (If you can call a few sentences a review) the first novel, Gridlinked, here, and the second novel The Line of Polity here.
To be clear, the logical inconsistencies involved with what a fully general AI would really be capable of are still here. However, the characters y...more
I enjoyed this book of the Agent Cormac series much more than the previous two Cormac novels. I reviewed (If you can call a few sentences a review) the first novel, Gridlinked, here, and the second novel The Line of Polity here.
To be clear, the logical inconsistencies involved with what a fully general AI would really be capable of are still here. However, the characters y...more
An utterly brilliant book from an astonishingly talented writer. Another tale in the Polity Universe, this novel revolves around the AI empire of the Polity, the humans it governs and the enemies that will see it thwarted. Ian Cormac the 007 agent of this sci fi yarn, is back and hunting down Skellor, a vicious criminal and the horrigyingly powerful alien technology he possesses on the world of Cull. Again, Asher involves a set of worthy supporting characters, some old, some new and he also incl...more
Beautifully detailed world with characters who actually have some depth to them! Really enjoyed what went on with Mr. Crane and the Jack Ketch. Who would have thought an author could have made me care what happens to a robot and a ship. My only (very minor) criticism is there was a lot of switching between plot lines and I would occasionally have to pause and be like "wait...who was Anderson again?" Found this in Line of Polity as well.
Beyond that - amazing. Will continue the series.
Beyond that - amazing. Will continue the series.
I read this on a plane trip. Tried to like it, but a quarter of the way in it didn't blow my mind with ideas, despite the technically dense prose and intensely alien settings, and there were too many characters involved for me to get drawn into the story. Most of the SF ideas have been done in ways that I found more original and appealing: the recording of consciousness for a virtual life after death is better done by Richard K. Morgan. Artificial Intelligence as the "guardians" of humanity, bet...more
Tempted to give this 5 stars, for one of the great lines in SF 'guess again...........' Just great. Having stuck with the series this far you might be forgiven for thinking that the pace might start to slack. Frankly I'm beginning to wonder where Asher finds the energy, he is full on and this is a massive follow up to the Line of Polity. I have had to take a break and read something else, but looking forward to the next book.
The third book about agent Cormac, and it shows. Asher is getting into pace and this book, set immediately after its predecessor (which should be read first) but improves on it.
We get to see epic struggles, dangerous technologies, exotic worlds, world shattering weapons and battles.
Mr Crane (the titular brass man) is shown to have a surprising depth.
Also, Asher's villains seem to end in an oddly familiar way...
We get to see epic struggles, dangerous technologies, exotic worlds, world shattering weapons and battles.
Mr Crane (the titular brass man) is shown to have a surprising depth.
Also, Asher's villains seem to end in an oddly familiar way...
It's always nice when authors balance superhuman powers for their characters with appropriately epic shortcomings. This book conveys more of the grand vision, but, slightly irritatingly, also spends time on plot arcs that are small-scale, distant, and of seemingly little relevance to the big picture. Nonetheless, still enjoyable both for the story and the broader world that is opened up.
Another Polity book by Asher. A sequel of sorts to two previous Asher books, only one of which I’ve read. Features Polity super agent Ian Cormac, running around trying to save the Polity from some nastiness. Again, lots of action and violence. If you like SF, check out some of Asher’s books.
I actually read this book before the first in the series, Gridlinked, so I was often confused by some of the jargon, like "augs" versus "gridlinked." But by about 80 pages in, I was totally enthralled. Mr. Crane is one of the most fascinating villians I have ever encountered in literature of any sort. Sympathetic and terrifying at the same time. Broken and invincible, very interesting to say the least. I liked the main character and enjoyed his interaction with his allies, including the Jack Ket...more
The main character of the title is an android whose mind and motivations have coerced by the villain of the book. Agent Cormac must track them both down. This is book 3 of the Polity novels, which can be read standalone but better read starting with 'Gridlinked', the first in the series.
I liked Gridlinked, and this book takes place within the same universe. I enjoyed the book, despite it taking a while to put the various storylines together along with digesting the universe-specific technical aspects. I generally like authors that don't spoonfeed you info, but there is an art to letting it unfold.
What I love about these books is that set in a space faring universe, civilization uncovers artifacts from a few different ancient and extremely technological advanced races that myste...more
What I love about these books is that set in a space faring universe, civilization uncovers artifacts from a few different ancient and extremely technological advanced races that myste...more
Aug 22, 2007
Ren the Unclean
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Sci-fi fans
Shelves:
sci-fi
Crane is one of Asher's coolest and most interesting characters, and this book explores the workings of his android mind even further. It also heavily features the Jack Ketch, as well as the main protagonist, Cormac, both of whom are extremely well written and intriguing characters.
The main story is interrupted by a series of Retroacts, that serve to explore the background to the events portrayed. This is a very unique way to give you more insight into the universe of the Polity Worlds, as you a...more
The main story is interrupted by a series of Retroacts, that serve to explore the background to the events portrayed. This is a very unique way to give you more insight into the universe of the Polity Worlds, as you a...more
Exciting space action/adventure. Apparently this is the third book featuring this character in a series. It was new to me, and it took me a little while to muddle through. It's full of really high concept ideas (none of which I'll even claim to understand), in addition to highly scripted action sequences that wouldn't be out of place in a Bond film.
Really good, even if it did take over 150 pages to get going.
Really good, even if it did take over 150 pages to get going.
Consider this novel a side trip to explore some of the characters introduced in Gridlinked.
Mr. Crane (the brass man himself) appeared mysteriously in Gridlinked, with no backstory at all - he was just a Boojum.
This novel is mainly a character development of Mr. Crane, and also a thinly veiled discussion of Nature vs. Nurture. Can Mr. Crane escape his perverted program and mistreatment? Is his evil of himself, or imposed upon him?
Mr. Crane's struggles to realize himself and come to terms with...more
Another great Ian Cormack thriller by Neal Asher. Enthralling, mysterious, hard science fiction. The only downside is that it jumps from scene to scene and character to character too often. Still a great read. Recommended.
- picked up because it is a Neal Asher novel
- picked up because it is a Neal Asher novel
Book 3 of the Polity series makes a monumental leap forward. The writing seems crisper and the characters much more interesting. The author continues to build on the interesting world he has constructed with more mind bending physics and serious questions of what "life" really is. By far the best book of the series so far...on to book 4
Nov 20, 2008
Mark
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of action-packed space opera
Shelves:
britishsci-fi
Terrific book. The first few pages left me a little bewildered, as if I were reading the second half of a story having missed the first. But, once I got into the flow, it really was, as they say, a "ripping yarn".
If you like space opera with lots of interesting characters, battles with fearsome weapons (biological and otherwise), and short, tense action scenes that end on cliff hangers, this is the book for you. Plus, Mr. Crane is an excellent character and I'm looking forward to seeing more of...more
If you like space opera with lots of interesting characters, battles with fearsome weapons (biological and otherwise), and short, tense action scenes that end on cliff hangers, this is the book for you. Plus, Mr. Crane is an excellent character and I'm looking forward to seeing more of...more
Continuing the Polity space saga with Ian Cormac, legendary Earth Central Security agent, is still hunting dragons...well, at least one of them in this absolutely stunning tale.
Meanwhile, crazed on Jain tech biophysicist, Skellor is also seeking Dragon and to help him do that, he's recruited a psychotic android called Mr. Crane...the "Brass Man" of the title.
But Mr. Crane has deeper issues and is looking for a way to escape the blood and death, probably involving a lot of blood and death along t...more
Meanwhile, crazed on Jain tech biophysicist, Skellor is also seeking Dragon and to help him do that, he's recruited a psychotic android called Mr. Crane...the "Brass Man" of the title.
But Mr. Crane has deeper issues and is looking for a way to escape the blood and death, probably involving a lot of blood and death along t...more
really enjoying this book, lots of great ideas and uniqure presentation of a sci fi universe
Neal Asher delivers consistent plot intensity. This is no exception, and I was really glad to find out more about Mr. Crane and the AIs.
Seemed a little slower-paced than the previous Cormac novel The Line of Polity but a little more insane, exploring the depths of AI virtualisation and informational attacks, Skellor's struggle with the subversive Jain technology inside him, Dragon playing the big picture chess game again and Cormac ... well, you'll have to read the book to find out what happens to him!
Possibly the best Science-fiction writer of today. amazing science-fiction mixed with good story telling and strong characters.
Loved it! Can't wait to start reading the next one.
If you're into scifi, then read it. Im too lazy to write more.
Using backstory recaps of Mr. Crane to drive story through current conflict.
aLTHOUGH i'M NOT MUCH OF A SCI-FI AFICIONADO, THIS WAS FAST-PACED ENOUGH FOR ME. USUALLY I ONLY READ ANTHOLOGIES. SO THIS IS A GOOD BOOK IN MY BOOKS. LOL!
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I’ve been an engineer, barman, skip lorry driver, coalman, boat window manufacturer, contract grass cutter and builder. Now I write science fiction books, and am slowly getting over the feeling that someone is going to find me out, and can call myself a writer without wincing and ducking my head. As professions go, I prefer this one: I don’t have to clock-in, change my clothes after work, nor scru...more
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Nov 10, 2012 09:32am