One man will transcend death to seek vengeance. One woman will transform herself to gain power. And no one will emerge unscathed...

Thorvald Spear wakes in a hospital to find he's been brought back from the dead. What's more, he died in a human vs. alien war that ended a century ago. Spear had been trapped on a world surrounded by hostile Prador forces, but Penny Royal, the AI inside the rescue ship sent to provide backup, turned rogue, annihilating friendly forces in a frenzy of destruction and killing Spear. One hundred years later the AI is still on the loose, and 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 the dark AI triggered a transformation that has been turning her into something far from human…

Spear hires Isobel to track Penny Royal across worlds to its last known whereabouts. But he cheats her in the process and quickly finds himself in her crosshairs. As Isobel continues to evolve into a monstrous predator, 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.

Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

Review

Praise for Dark Intelligence
“Beautifully paced ... does just as well as at slam-bang action scenes as at painting frightening pictures ... This is space opera at a high peak of craftsmanship.”
— Publishers Weekly , starred review

“What Asher delivers here is state-of-the-art SF on so many levels … a compelling, smart read.”
—Paul Di Filippo, Locus

“Blends large portions of horror and mystery into an SF tale of revenge and redemption ... a complex and satisfying work.”
— Library Journal , starred review

“An exciting, intricate, and unabashedly futuristic story rife with twists and turns ... Asher returns to his popular far-future series, Polity Universe, with another fast-paced space opera filled with his trademark technological marvels and elaborate world building.”
— Booklist

“Explosive sci-fi action of the best kind that will leave you anxiously awaiting the sequel.”
—Buzzfeed, “Best Science Fiction Books of 2015”

“ Dark Intelligence is a revenge story with plenty of meat on its bones. . .the multifaceted, complex storytelling rewards a dedicated reader with serious tension and mindblowing sci-fi thrills.”
— Manhattan Book Review

“Hardboiled, fast-paced space opera epic ... Asher’s books are similar to the world of Iain M. Banks’ Culture universe, but the Polity is arguably a much darker and more vicious environment—and all the better for it.”
— The Register

“Perpetually on the knife's edge, and this constant tension works wonders for creating a page-turning atmosphere. It's a damningly gripping and infecting book.”
— Upcoming4.me

“A superb novel and Asher has an amazing talent for world-building, for writing larger-than-life characters, for weaving gripping plots and for imagining exotic alien races and wonderful technologies. Huge ships! Big weapons! Space battles! Ground battles! Treason! Revenge! This is New Space Opera at its best.”
— Sense of Wonder

“One of his best works so far ... Asher is a modern master of sci-fi.”
— Starburst magazine

“[The Polity books] are SF novels that mix early cyberpunk’s insouciance with the widescreen baroque spectacle of space opera and the pacing of an airport action-thriller. But even by Neal Asher’s standards, there’s something particularly grisly about Dark Intelligence.”
— SFX

Praise for Neal Asher
“Asher rocks with XXX adrenaline while delivering a vivid future.”
—David Brin, New York Times -bestselling author of Kiln People

“What has six arms, a large beak, looks like a pyramid, has more eyes than you’d expect, and talks nonsense? If you don’t know the answer to that, then 1) you should and 2) you haven’t been reading Neal Asher (see point 1).”
—Jon Courtenay Grimwood

“Projects the terror-haunted sensibility of our time into a future of limitless brutality . . . Asher displays great virtuosity.”
— The New York Times

“Asher has lit up the sky of science fiction like a new sun.”
—Tanith Lee

About the Author

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, including Gridlinked , The Skinner , and Prador Moon. He divides his time between Essex and a home in Crete.