Lockdown Tales is the latest collection from British science fiction author Neal Asher. As you can likely tell from the title, these stories were written and/or edited/expanded during the lockdown period of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. I’m a long-time fan of Asher’s work and have loved his stories set in the Polity, and all six included here share that very setting. What was even more alluring to me was the promise of some stories set after the downfall of the Polity some hundreds or thousands of years in this milieu’s future.
From the publisher:
Best-selling author Neal Asher was far from idle during the isolation of lockdown; he kept himself occupied in the best way possible: he wrote. And his imagination was clearly in overdrive. Five brand new novellas and novelettes and one novella reworked and expanded from a story first published in 2019. Together, they form Lockdown Tales, exploring the latter days of the Polity universe and beyond. What lies in wait for humanity after the Polity has gone?
Six stories, 150,000 words of fiction that crackle with energy, invention and excitement. Within their pages you will encounter prador, hoopers, sassy A.I.s, resurrected Golem, a mutated giant whelk that can ravage an island, hooders, megalomaniacs, war drones, Penny Royal, an intriguing sfnal take on High Planes Drifter and another with echoes of Robinson Crusoe… In fact, everything you might expect from concentrated Neal Asher and more.
The Relict
While not the first post-Polity story Asher has written, this is my first venture into the galaxy thousands of years down the line from the Polity novels. Here we are introduced to two warring societies on a planet that is clearly coming out of a technological regression, and we follow Rune, a relict hunter who has discovered something buried in an ancient lava flow. As it is dug out it quickly becomes clear what he’s discovered, though not what the consequences of digging it out will be, and Rune is also clearly not who he appears to be…
Monitor Logan
A story set in the post-Prador War period and on a planet close to the border between Polity and Prador Space. With political wrangling going on between the Polity and the Prador, the Polity is having to withdraw from this place, much to the satisfaction of Trader John and the miners who have enslaved to local stone people to maximise their profits. But the local Monitor has other plans despite having to leave the following day. However, all does not go to plan, and events take an unexpected turn, especially when Polity law returns along with a new Monitor…
Bad Boy
Set on the planet of Spatterjay and following the attempt of a Polity scientist to find out why a particularly aggressive giant Whelk is causing havoc to settlements. Joined by an Old Captain, Smurk, and SM17, a drone of the local AI, they discover some interesting things as they follow Bad Boy to find out why it behaves as it does…
Plenty
Another post-Polity story here. Stranded alone on an old biotech world, Ben ekes out his existence by scavenging what he can. After over a decade he is barely surviving the long days and nights, using the resources the world provides to help him, but his body is slowly failing, his nanosuite no longer up to the task. And then he makes a discovery in the form of a golem, one he thinks he can repair enough to get functional, and hopefully help him before he dies…
Dr Whip
A Penny Royal tale, showing the dark AI in the times prior to the Transformations trilogy, and when it’s at its most…creative, shall we say. Dr Whip was the lone survivor of attack by Penny Royal, and it left him different, as it does all its victims, and over the course of the story we see just what it has done to him…
Raising Moloch
Jonas Clyde has reached the ennui point in his life, unsure what to do and with little care about anything. Following some time on Masada investigating the reproduction of Hooders, after which he has a partial mind-wipe from the polity AI’s, he finds himself entering the employ of the shady Ganzen Combine located in the Graveyard. When he finds out what he needs to do, and what the repercussions are if he doesn’t do as he’s told, the ennui starts to pass, and a plan starts to form…
As I said earlier, I’m a fan of Asher’s work and his releases are always must-reads for me. However, I’ve recently found that his novels have been lacking something for me despite – and probably because of – the scale at which he’s telling them. I’ve enjoyed the huge stories he’s told, but the stakes of those stories, while massive in relation to the setting, feel underwhelming. Everything seems to be taken just a step too far.
But that’s where Lockdown Tales comes in. With a much smaller page count for each story, and focusing more on the personal level, Asher delivers in spades. Even in those post-Polity stories where there is old high-level technology left over from days of yore, there is focus not on what it can do, but the impact it can have. The narrower focus just works, and I could barely put the book down once I was engrossed in a story.
Of the stories here I must say that Bad Boy was the stand-out for me, but being set on Spatterjay – perhaps Asher’s best planetary creation, and my personal favourite – it was always going to be the case. However, there really isn’t a bad story here with all of them delivering one thing or another that fans of Asher will enjoy. And that’s perhaps the crux of the matter – this is one for Asher fans, pure and simple. While I’d love to pass it to new readers as an introduction, it just isn’t suitable – there is so much history in the Polity at this point that every new story relies on what has gone before.
Still, here’s Asher at his best, delivering interesting stories full of weird and wonderful technology, strange and horrifying creatures, and lowly humans that you can’t help but root for. Highly recommended for Asher fans.
Publisher: Newcon Press
Author: Neal Asher
December 2020, 386 Pages
Hardcover, ISBN: 9781912950
Review from purchased copy
© 2021 Mark Chitty | @chitman13
I’ve been on the fence on this one since it’s release (not much of a short story lover). Still, this looks like it could be very interesting and i’ll be sure to pick it up. Thanks for the review.
I think this is good because they are a loittle longer than normal short stories, two of them especially. But Asher manages to pack a punch at a shorter length, and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you enjoy his novels.
I read this earlier in the year and was pleasantly surprised as I found each of the stories to be pretty interesting. I’m a fan of Neal’s Polity books anyway and i found myself wanting to know more after each story.