Polity Agent: The Fourth Agent Cormac Novel (4) Mass Market Paperback – January 1, 2019

The story definitely thickens at this point. I'm not sure how it would read to someone who has not read the other previous books up to this point, but Asher does a masterful job at weaving them all together into one big story. I'm not sure how much he actually planned before he wrote, but it very well though out.Aside from a few minor grips here and there I thoroughly enjoy how he weaves themes of eugenics, determinism, and the whole thing had an existential feel to it as well (but I may have read that into it, I think a lot of science fiction has elements of existentialism... at a base level anyway.) And I probably missed a few themes but I'm not a scholar or an academic.Over all it's sort of an apocalyptic story about the dangers of humanity maintaining a healthy tension between taking evolution in our own hands and and destroying ourselves, or keeping a steady pace of change and progress so thus staving off destruction from various ways and means. But also relates to our immediate world where people are glued to their phones, computers, or whatever deice they now depend upon.He has a very colorful and fun cast of characters. They tend to be a bit one dimensional, but I think in this case it works great since it would take away from the overall storytelling aspect.I did find this book to feature Ian Cormac a lot less than the previous books.

I couldn't wait for this to be published in the US, so I ordered it from an Amazon seller in the UK.This is a great book that continues to explore a number of themes that recur in Asher's Polity novels.In Polity Agent, we finally understand the connection between the Maker (from Gridlinked), Jain technology, the Dragon spheres, and the rogue AI's.Along the way, we explore the history of Horace Blegg and learn who and what he really is.Ian Cormac doesn't play as big a part in this novel. We first meet up with him as he recovers from the injuries he sustained at the end of Brassman. He also gains a girlfriend, although that subplot is rather thin.If you are familiar with Asher's earlier books, you'll be happy to see a Gabbleduck making a brief appearance. Even Mr. Crane has a cameo.As well, if you've read any of Asher's Spatterjay novels and enjoyed the cantankerous war drone Sniper, you'll enjoy Cormac's new sidekick - a spider-like drone left over from the Prador war who is bored and looking for action.One thing I enjoy about Asher's books is that he is meticulous about continuity. The timelines of each of the characters is consistent from book to book. My only suggestion is to read the books in order: Gridlinked, Line of Polity, Brassman and Polity Agent.

In Polity agent, Asher reunites us with the leading characters of his masterworks of science fiction which constitute the polity universe, Ian Cormack,Horace Blegg, the A.I. Jerusalem and ECS et al. The gang is all back once again trying to analyze and somehow contain the Jain nanotechnology, which threatens to destroy all sentient life in the known galaxy.Once again Asher's storytelling is wonderful, fast moving, great characters and plausible,little riffs on quantum mechanics and a grand vision of Space Opera as it should be.We finally find out who Horace Blegg actually is, what ultimately became of the Brass Man and Dragon.I love the way Asher narrates his Polity A.I.,'s which rule the known human galaxy. Ashers gift for description and invention make this book well worth reading. I would highly recommend you read the novels in order to make sense of the entire wonderful over arch of the story and Polity mythopoeia. Well worth the time and money if you love the best of current space opera.

Started reading the Polity series as a filler while waiting for other favorite authors. Turned out to be an excellent choice! Good mix of straight SF, military SF, some SF adventure and just plain fast paced action - all in all great entertainment. Also well written, good prose and very few grammatical errors and typos - which isn’t always the norm in these days of electronically distributed books. Hope Asher keeps it up!