Book description
In the far future, the Heliothane Dominion is triumphant in the solar
system, after a bitter war with their Umbrathane progenitors. But some
of the enemy have escaped into the past, intent on wreaking havoc across
time. The worst of these is Cowl, an artificially forced advance in
human evolution but one who is no longer human. Polly, desperate to
obtain funds to support her habits, is unprepared for her involvement
with Nandru Jurgens, a Taskforce soldier, and the killers pursuing him.
Nor can she resist the the alien 'tor' which she feels impelled to
attach to her arm. But she must learn fast, as she is dragged back
through time, not least that to the denizens of some earlier eras, she
is little more than a convenience food. Initially, the fragment of tor
imbedded in Tack's wrist sums up his value to the Heliothane - a point
brought home to him with bloody abruptness. But, as a vat-grown
programmable killer employed by U-gov, he is no stranger to violence.
His long journey into the lethal world of the Heliothane is only
beginning, the extent of his mission just becoming apparent. Meanwhile,
hunting throughout time and the alternates, Cowl's pet, the tor beast,
grows vast and dangerous. And the beast continues to feed.
Born and still living in Essex, Neal Asher started writing SF at the
age of sixteen. Since then he has had numerous stories published in
magazines and book form, most recently his full-length novels
GRIDLINKED, THE SKINNER and THE LINE OF POLITY.
