- Paperback: 496 pages
- Publisher: Tor; First THUS edition (3 April 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 033044154X
- ISBN-13: 978-0330441544
- Product Dimensions: 3.2 x 11.4 x 17.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 221,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Line War (Ian Cormac)
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Product Description
SFX Magazine
'Asher is brilliant at conveying the vastness of space, the strangeness of alien life and the sweep of planetary horizons.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
High-octane action in outer space -- the fifth novel in his increasingly popular Agent Cormac series
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I love space opera and this series, the Agent Cormac novels, has delivered in spades. Line war is billed as it's conclusion, my thoughts on that later, and contains the usual rip roaring multi threaded action we have come to expect as Cormac uncovers a very nasty conspiracy which takes him from fighting on the frontiers to the very heart of the Polity.
On the way we have gigantic space weapons, vast battle sequences, mahyem on a planetary scale, conversations with the makers of ancient booby traps and many other gripping sequences.
A great end to the series, neatly typing up nearly all the threads laid out during the previous four books but I can't see Neal Asher leaving a character as good as Cormac on the shelf for long, I wager he'll be back elsewhere in the polity metaverse, even if just as a Deus ex machina plot device.
On the way we have gigantic space weapons, vast battle sequences, mahyem on a planetary scale, conversations with the makers of ancient booby traps and many other gripping sequences.
A great end to the series, neatly typing up nearly all the threads laid out during the previous four books but I can't see Neal Asher leaving a character as good as Cormac on the shelf for long, I wager he'll be back elsewhere in the polity metaverse, even if just as a Deus ex machina plot device.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Backing off the prior emphasis of big battles and baddie beasties, Asher takes a more direct, traditional approach to a novel- a plot. Similar in standard to Gridlink, where he first created his Ian Cormac series, Asher has decided once again to put his one-trick pony show off to the side while actually trying to wrap up the series once and for all. Granted, there must be blood and blasts somewhere in the novel for Asher-sake, but it's definitely toned down.
Whereas the last three books have seen a cavalcade of enemies, horrific animals and flora and a slow evolution of the Polity's relationship with Dragon, only now in Book Five does the Dragon/Polity relationship, the Jain/Dragon relationship and the Cormac/Earth Central relationship come into play. These three pillars of the plot foundation assure the long-term Asher reader (this being my eleventh to-date) a solid good read with many glimpses of truth in the relationships stated above.
My once hitch is my once held notion that the Jain technology was one with a ferocious appetite for submission and destruction; now in Book Five we see much of dead or hibernating Jain tech. All of this Jain is repeatedly described as coral-like structures, ad nauseum. Even the live Jain tech is always portrayed as silver tendrils. It would have been nice to see a change of vocabulary regarding these adjectives but Asher does ramp up the vocab throughout the novel, though not enough for having me reach for my dictionary.
Through all the wonderful things Jain tech can do, during the trials Cormac finds himself in with his new capabilities and at the all the points where the AIs bestow their wisdom and humor to the cast is where Asher finds his niche in Book Five here. From one toehold to the next, the reader to taken casually through the well-structured, well-plotted and well-defined novel which isn't too flashy or too blasé. Not quite a re-read but well worth it for any Asher fan following the series!
Whereas the last three books have seen a cavalcade of enemies, horrific animals and flora and a slow evolution of the Polity's relationship with Dragon, only now in Book Five does the Dragon/Polity relationship, the Jain/Dragon relationship and the Cormac/Earth Central relationship come into play. These three pillars of the plot foundation assure the long-term Asher reader (this being my eleventh to-date) a solid good read with many glimpses of truth in the relationships stated above.
My once hitch is my once held notion that the Jain technology was one with a ferocious appetite for submission and destruction; now in Book Five we see much of dead or hibernating Jain tech. All of this Jain is repeatedly described as coral-like structures, ad nauseum. Even the live Jain tech is always portrayed as silver tendrils. It would have been nice to see a change of vocabulary regarding these adjectives but Asher does ramp up the vocab throughout the novel, though not enough for having me reach for my dictionary.
Through all the wonderful things Jain tech can do, during the trials Cormac finds himself in with his new capabilities and at the all the points where the AIs bestow their wisdom and humor to the cast is where Asher finds his niche in Book Five here. From one toehold to the next, the reader to taken casually through the well-structured, well-plotted and well-defined novel which isn't too flashy or too blasé. Not quite a re-read but well worth it for any Asher fan following the series!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The conclusion to the Cormac series is good, but not brilliant. It ties everything together nicely and explains the background to many plot threads sufficiently to leave the reader feeling satisfying.
I must admit however that I was rarely gripped in the manner of earlier Polity books. Perhaps it is the ennui that begins to infect all overblown space opera, a law of deminishing returns on the next mega-super-ultraweapon that comes along, or the ultimately mundane explanation of the origins of Jain technology and the behavior of Dragon. Compare and contrast the ultimately naff threat posed by Erebus with the Blight of A Fire Upon The Deep (Gollancz S.F.)...
Still, overall I am big Asher Fan and look forward to many other books in the Polity Universe. Not a bad ending for now.
I must admit however that I was rarely gripped in the manner of earlier Polity books. Perhaps it is the ennui that begins to infect all overblown space opera, a law of deminishing returns on the next mega-super-ultraweapon that comes along, or the ultimately mundane explanation of the origins of Jain technology and the behavior of Dragon. Compare and contrast the ultimately naff threat posed by Erebus with the Blight of A Fire Upon The Deep (Gollancz S.F.)...
Still, overall I am big Asher Fan and look forward to many other books in the Polity Universe. Not a bad ending for now.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Interesting read, trys to be too clever with pseudo science
I like this series of books, bit of a plod to read sometimes as the author waxes lyrical with reams of pseudo science; which as a scientist, is pure bunkum. Read more
Published 10 months ago by CjW
Ending the series with a bang! Excellent!
Finally I've come to the last Agent Cormac book, Line War, and up to now it's been a ride of ups and downs. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mark Chitty
Is this the end of Ian Cormac.....
I hope not.
But after this VERY good story, where do you go with him?
He is invincible......so where do you take a character like that. Read more
But after this VERY good story, where do you go with him?
He is invincible......so where do you take a character like that. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Bear Brain
Good but it assumes you have read the previous books
Another Ian Cormac book and I have the feeling that this should be the last for the character. Simply put it feels like this character has been taken as far as it can. Read more
Published on 29 Oct 2009 by Russell G. Pottinger
End of the line
Overall I really enjoyed the book, nice to see the wrap of the Ian Cormac saga, as ever lots of BIG space opera. Read more
Published on 12 Oct 2009 by Dr. Stephen Culshaw
Line War by Neil Asher
Ther is no doubt that Neil Asher is a talented writer and the Ian Cormac/Polity stories are epic in their scale. Read more
Published on 13 Sep 2009 by A. J. Ward
Entertaining and as engrossing as anticipated.
If you like his books you will know whats coming. Mid-way and enjoying this latest romp with old friends and enemies back in unwinable situations on far flung remote destinations... Read more
Published on 31 July 2009 by ANDY
One of the best Polity books!
This is one of Asher's best- hope its not the end of the line for the Polity series though.
Published on 29 Jun 2009 by Jhan M Rushton
Great read!!!
This was a very good read, managed to keep me away from watching movies on my PSP. The action is fast and straight to the point, the build-up was in some places wordy, but all... Read more
Published on 13 Jun 2009 by H. Onyeka
Cracking offering
As regular readers of my reviews know, I've been a big fan of Neal's work for quite some time. Its gripping, its action packed and above all you get value for money as it's a... Read more
Published on 19 May 2009 by Gareth Wilson - Falcata Times Blog
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