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A review by sheldonqueens
The Engineer Reconditioned by Neal Asher
4.0
This is probably my first foray into 'proper' space-opera style format, and these being short stories of already established 'worlds' that the author has built and expanded on, it tends to throw you right into the thick of things.
For a newcomer like me, it's not always a smooth shift between these worlds/universes, and there were a few occasions when things were so alien from the get-go that I almost gave up on particular stories, only to eventually find myself immersed in every single one not long after.
I can now attest that Neal Asher has a very unique and imaginative mind, with a writing style that is able to complement his worlds and alien narrative in a fairly compelling manner.
And what's more, he doesn't hold back and doesn't play it safe, making this pure adult entertainment that's free of the fluff often found in YA yarns.
On a side note, this specific paperback edition is a bit of a mess.
Only half the stories are mentioned in the Contents page, with new stories simply beginning a couple of line breaks after one of the main stories, and with no title to signify these are indeed, different stories.
It was very confusing, until I looked into this online and discovered that others noticed this gaffe as well.
There were also many typos to be found.
And yet, none of these things truly spoiled my enjoyment of this collection. And that's saying a lot.
For a newcomer like me, it's not always a smooth shift between these worlds/universes, and there were a few occasions when things were so alien from the get-go that I almost gave up on particular stories, only to eventually find myself immersed in every single one not long after.
I can now attest that Neal Asher has a very unique and imaginative mind, with a writing style that is able to complement his worlds and alien narrative in a fairly compelling manner.
And what's more, he doesn't hold back and doesn't play it safe, making this pure adult entertainment that's free of the fluff often found in YA yarns.
On a side note, this specific paperback edition is a bit of a mess.
Only half the stories are mentioned in the Contents page, with new stories simply beginning a couple of line breaks after one of the main stories, and with no title to signify these are indeed, different stories.
It was very confusing, until I looked into this online and discovered that others noticed this gaffe as well.
There were also many typos to be found.
And yet, none of these things truly spoiled my enjoyment of this collection. And that's saying a lot.