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Owner Trilogy #2
Zero Point
Earth’s Zero Asset citizens no longer face extermination from orbit. Thanks to Alan Saul, the Committee’s network of control is a smoking ruin and its robotic enforcers lie dormant. But power abhors a vacuum and, scrambling from the wreckage, comes the ruthless Serene Galahad. She must act while the last vestiges of Committee infrastructure remain intact – and she has the means to ensure command is hers. On Mars, Var Delex fights for the survival of Antares Base, while the Argus Space Station hurls towards the red planet. And she knows whomever, or whatever, trashed Earth is still aboard. Var must save the base, while also dealing with the first signs of rebellion. And aboard Argus Station, Alan Saul’s mind has expanded into the local computer network. In the process, he uncovers the ghastly experiments of the Humanoid Unit Development, the possibility of eternal life, and a madman who may hold the keys to interstellar flight. But Earth’s agents are closer than Saul thinks, and the killing will soon begin.
573 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 24, 2012
132 people are currently reading
1250 people want to read
About the author
Neal Asher
148 books3,042 followersI’ve been an engineer, barman, skip lorry driver, coalman, boat window manufacturer, contract grass cutter and builder. Now I write science fiction books, and am slowly getting over the feeling that someone is going to find me out, and can call myself a writer without wincing and ducking my head. As professions go, I prefer this one: I don’t have to clock-in, change my clothes after work, nor scrub sensitive parts of my body with detergent. I think I’ll hang around.
Source: http://www.blogger.com/profile/139339...
Source: http://www.blogger.com/profile/139339...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
May 5, 2018
Asher delivers yet again. I found this much darker than his other books but no less fun. Great characters, huge story, and I love the way he layers his battle scenes. You'll have close quarters combat, large scale space battles, and cyberwarfare all happening at the same time. Asher is never boring and has become one of the authors I trust the most to bring multiple storylines together for epic finales. I love this shit.
March 3, 2015
So here we are at part two of Neal Asher’s ‘Owner’ trilogy and it’s fair to say that this volume takes a while to get going. Whereas the first book was an exciting rush of adrenalin pumping events, racing along as if believing that every one of its readers was addicted to high-octane videogames, this one opens slower, consolidating the ideas raised thus far. This makes (for the first half at least) a much less exciting and riveting book. But it also gives the reader time to ponder the politics of all of this. It does seem that the world government here, the one which terrorises most of the Earth, grew out of the European Union. Now I’m a bit sceptical of the European project myself, but to suggest that it will inevitably evolve into a global dictatorship which lets most of the world starve and uses tactical nuclear strikes against inconvenient territories, seems a hell of a stretch. It’s like science fiction for UKIP members. There’s also a rabid strain of libertarianism, but its libertarianism combined with mile-wide misanthropy: misanthropy which suggests the ‘man-spawn’ breeds far too fast and needs to be curtailed, and that people will generally make the worst and most heinous choice in any situation. The book therefore posits that everybody should be free to make their own choices, but people being people, those choices will inevitably be bad. It’s a distinctly weird message. Fortunately the action ramps up again in the second half, and the sensitive-minded reader can stop worrying about the politics and just enjoy the tension and the explosions. It isn’t as good as ‘The Departure’, but it still knows how to stage a set piece and keep its audience gripped. Okay, it also doesn’t go for deep characterisation, has a villain who a James Bond movie bad-guy would think was over the top in her sheer unrepentant evilness, and occasionally throws in clunky metaphors like “wrapping a warp bubble around himself like someone burrowing into a duvet”. But, as I said last time, this is junk food for your mind – and like all junk food you shouldn’t have it too regularly and shouldn’t worry too much about what’s actually in it, but just try to enjoy it as best you can.
October 14, 2013
A 3.5 Rating.
Zero point is the second novel in the Owner trilogy and the supporting cast take centre stage as Alan Saul is badly injured in a failed assassination attempt.
On Earth the Committee’s rule has been decimated by Saul’s attack leaving them leaderless and in total disarray, the Zero asset population now threaten the planet and the remaining Committee members are immediately under threat. Out of the ashes rises a new dictator, Serene Galahad who takes the position of evil antagonist with a barbaric flourish, she has not a shred of conscience and kills everything in her way. Victims include the entire Zero asset population, all with id implants, anyone who disappoints the new leader including her own father and all other major rivals, after all she has the perfect person to blame.
The introduction of Galahad goes some way to making up for the inactivity of the unconscious Alan Saul for the majority of the book but he lays plans that bear fruition as he recovers. The Argos space station that Saul now runs hosts the vitally important genebank, the chance to recreate and replenish earths fading existence and Galahad sends the only resources available to capture both Alan Saul and the genebank seeds.
Life on Mars is about to get very uncomfortable for Saul’s sister Var, earths reach is far indeed, Galahad sows the seeds and Var’s role as base leader is under threat, she knows nothing of her brothers journey but that is certainly about to change.
The story flows well amid Ashers usual flawless tech descriptions and destructive violence, Saul is a likeable protagonist but as the story progresses he struggles to maintain his grip on humanity as his mind functions with the methodical precision of a supercomputer. Galahad is almost the perfect villain, a dictator who is dead set on saving the planet by killing as many as she can in this overpopulated world. I enjoyed Zero point but just not as much as the first novel in the Owner trilogy The Departure but I shall definitely read the last book Jupiter War.
Zero point is the second novel in the Owner trilogy and the supporting cast take centre stage as Alan Saul is badly injured in a failed assassination attempt.
On Earth the Committee’s rule has been decimated by Saul’s attack leaving them leaderless and in total disarray, the Zero asset population now threaten the planet and the remaining Committee members are immediately under threat. Out of the ashes rises a new dictator, Serene Galahad who takes the position of evil antagonist with a barbaric flourish, she has not a shred of conscience and kills everything in her way. Victims include the entire Zero asset population, all with id implants, anyone who disappoints the new leader including her own father and all other major rivals, after all she has the perfect person to blame.
The introduction of Galahad goes some way to making up for the inactivity of the unconscious Alan Saul for the majority of the book but he lays plans that bear fruition as he recovers. The Argos space station that Saul now runs hosts the vitally important genebank, the chance to recreate and replenish earths fading existence and Galahad sends the only resources available to capture both Alan Saul and the genebank seeds.
Life on Mars is about to get very uncomfortable for Saul’s sister Var, earths reach is far indeed, Galahad sows the seeds and Var’s role as base leader is under threat, she knows nothing of her brothers journey but that is certainly about to change.
The story flows well amid Ashers usual flawless tech descriptions and destructive violence, Saul is a likeable protagonist but as the story progresses he struggles to maintain his grip on humanity as his mind functions with the methodical precision of a supercomputer. Galahad is almost the perfect villain, a dictator who is dead set on saving the planet by killing as many as she can in this overpopulated world. I enjoyed Zero point but just not as much as the first novel in the Owner trilogy The Departure but I shall definitely read the last book Jupiter War.
January 23, 2013
Zero Point is the second Owner novel from Neal Asher, following on from The Departure. While I enjoyed the opening novel in the Owner series, The Departure didn't work quite as much as I would have hoped - it was more a novel of setting things up, establishing the setting, and moving pawns in to place. My closing sentence in my review of The Departure was:
"Now the setting up is done I expect much more from the sequel, Zero Point, and I won't be as forgiving if it doesn't meet the expectations I have."
So, the only question that really matters is whether it met those expectations, or did it fall flat in the attempt? Fortunately Zero Point built on the foundation laid out in the series opener, adding plenty to the story that kept me turning the pages to find out what happens next.
Zero Point picks up events immediately following the ending of The Departure. Alan Saul, the Owner, has captured Argus Station and controls it in its entirety, has wiped out a large proportion of the Committee's ruling Delegates on Earth, and is now looking ahead as Argus travels towards Mars. Var Delex is now in charge at the Antares Base on Mars, trying to use everything at her disposal to ensure the long term survival of the base, though not everyone agrees with her views. Earth is in the throws of change with Serene Galahad taking control of the Committee, setting her targets on a reduced population that cannot bode well for the zero assets. And when she discovers what the Owner is up to on Argus Station her focus to eliminate him only increases...
Following on from an action packed finale to The Departure, Zero Point doesn't wait around to get its breath, instead jumping straight into the meat of the story. We see the Owner investigate Argus Station further, digging up some very interesting hidden research that Messina, former head of the Committee, was working on. The research ranges from android/cyborg experimentation through to zero point energy of the title. It's a very interesting and enjoyable read while this is ongoing, with some rather intriguing possibilities from this research.
Zero Point carries the story along at a good pace early on, with the above mentioned happenings on the Argus Station making for the most engrossing. The Mars colony is another important aspect of the story, one that moves along at a slower pace, but always relevant and adding to the whole. As for Serene Galahad and her movements on Earth - that's on another level again. Seeing someone rise from the ashes of the Committee to assert control and begin a ruthless and focused re-build of the planet raises many questions in itself over the outcome, but it's an aspect of the story that I wouldn't have missed a second of.
I had one minor issue with Zero Point, and it was more one of pacing than anything else. A short way into the story an event happens that puts the brakes on the momentum that had been built up, essentially putting many of the most interesting aspects on hold for a good portion of the novel. It does allow other aspects to come to the fore and Asher adds more depth to the story, but it changes the pacing of the book and slowing down the events.
On the plus side, Zero Point is a thoroughly enjoyable novel with some very interesting ideas. Asher doesn't fail in making this second volume of the Owner trilogy a step up from The Departure, adding in plenty to keep the pages turning. For those familiar with his Owner short stories there are some nice treats in store, and for those that haven't.... well, what are you waiting for? In short, Zero Point is well worth reading, and I will be very much looking forward to Jupiter War!
"Now the setting up is done I expect much more from the sequel, Zero Point, and I won't be as forgiving if it doesn't meet the expectations I have."
So, the only question that really matters is whether it met those expectations, or did it fall flat in the attempt? Fortunately Zero Point built on the foundation laid out in the series opener, adding plenty to the story that kept me turning the pages to find out what happens next.
Zero Point picks up events immediately following the ending of The Departure. Alan Saul, the Owner, has captured Argus Station and controls it in its entirety, has wiped out a large proportion of the Committee's ruling Delegates on Earth, and is now looking ahead as Argus travels towards Mars. Var Delex is now in charge at the Antares Base on Mars, trying to use everything at her disposal to ensure the long term survival of the base, though not everyone agrees with her views. Earth is in the throws of change with Serene Galahad taking control of the Committee, setting her targets on a reduced population that cannot bode well for the zero assets. And when she discovers what the Owner is up to on Argus Station her focus to eliminate him only increases...
Following on from an action packed finale to The Departure, Zero Point doesn't wait around to get its breath, instead jumping straight into the meat of the story. We see the Owner investigate Argus Station further, digging up some very interesting hidden research that Messina, former head of the Committee, was working on. The research ranges from android/cyborg experimentation through to zero point energy of the title. It's a very interesting and enjoyable read while this is ongoing, with some rather intriguing possibilities from this research.
Zero Point carries the story along at a good pace early on, with the above mentioned happenings on the Argus Station making for the most engrossing. The Mars colony is another important aspect of the story, one that moves along at a slower pace, but always relevant and adding to the whole. As for Serene Galahad and her movements on Earth - that's on another level again. Seeing someone rise from the ashes of the Committee to assert control and begin a ruthless and focused re-build of the planet raises many questions in itself over the outcome, but it's an aspect of the story that I wouldn't have missed a second of.
I had one minor issue with Zero Point, and it was more one of pacing than anything else. A short way into the story an event happens that puts the brakes on the momentum that had been built up, essentially putting many of the most interesting aspects on hold for a good portion of the novel. It does allow other aspects to come to the fore and Asher adds more depth to the story, but it changes the pacing of the book and slowing down the events.
On the plus side, Zero Point is a thoroughly enjoyable novel with some very interesting ideas. Asher doesn't fail in making this second volume of the Owner trilogy a step up from The Departure, adding in plenty to keep the pages turning. For those familiar with his Owner short stories there are some nice treats in store, and for those that haven't.... well, what are you waiting for? In short, Zero Point is well worth reading, and I will be very much looking forward to Jupiter War!
August 23, 2019
Ugh, finally I'm finished with this one.
My biggest complaint from the first Owner book was how unlikeable several of the main characters was. That continues and even doubles down in this book.
First of all, Alan Saul, has become so powerful and outrageous that he has seemed to transcend sociopathy and gone right to weird and random. Also, as a character his abilities are ridiculously overpowered when compared to anyone else in the story. So much so, that for the entire first half of the book he had to be in a coma so that other characters could do something. But he finally awakens and instantly resumes being overpowered, to the point of engaging in hand to hand combat with a specially trained, equipped and programmed assassin and he won. I don't care how amazing you are, laying in a bed, in a coma, for three or four months will have inevitable impact to muscle tone and physical ability. His mental processes are similarly overpowered making the brilliant scientists around him redundant.
The remaining characters in the book are also mostly unlikeable. Var on Mars becomes paranoid and self doubting. Hannah on Argus becomes distant and unemotional. The new head of the totalitarian regime becomes Vlad the Impaler just to prove that she is bad, I guess. None of the characters really felt interesting and I didn't care about what happened to any of them.
So why did I keep reading. Well, for one, I still don't know if this is Polity pre-history. It may be. Some of the attitudes that Saul is displaying of letting the poor humans muddle along is semi-reminiscent of the AI Earth Central. But on the other hand, I don't see how what is happening fits into the tidbits of the Quiet War spoken of in the Polity novels.
Second of all, Neal Asher is terrific at writing action scenes and while I didn't care who lived or died his depiction of the base assaults, and firefights remains a tremendous strength. In fact the action scenes are completely responsible for making this a two star review instead of a one.
Will I read the next, and hopefully final one. Yes, but only because I'm a sucker for the sunk cost fallacy, and I am curious enough to want to know if this is Polity pre-history.
My biggest complaint from the first Owner book was how unlikeable several of the main characters was. That continues and even doubles down in this book.
First of all, Alan Saul, has become so powerful and outrageous that he has seemed to transcend sociopathy and gone right to weird and random. Also, as a character his abilities are ridiculously overpowered when compared to anyone else in the story. So much so, that for the entire first half of the book he had to be in a coma so that other characters could do something. But he finally awakens and instantly resumes being overpowered, to the point of engaging in hand to hand combat with a specially trained, equipped and programmed assassin and he won. I don't care how amazing you are, laying in a bed, in a coma, for three or four months will have inevitable impact to muscle tone and physical ability. His mental processes are similarly overpowered making the brilliant scientists around him redundant.
The remaining characters in the book are also mostly unlikeable. Var on Mars becomes paranoid and self doubting. Hannah on Argus becomes distant and unemotional. The new head of the totalitarian regime becomes Vlad the Impaler just to prove that she is bad, I guess. None of the characters really felt interesting and I didn't care about what happened to any of them.
So why did I keep reading. Well, for one, I still don't know if this is Polity pre-history. It may be. Some of the attitudes that Saul is displaying of letting the poor humans muddle along is semi-reminiscent of the AI Earth Central. But on the other hand, I don't see how what is happening fits into the tidbits of the Quiet War spoken of in the Polity novels.
Second of all, Neal Asher is terrific at writing action scenes and while I didn't care who lived or died his depiction of the base assaults, and firefights remains a tremendous strength. In fact the action scenes are completely responsible for making this a two star review instead of a one.
Will I read the next, and hopefully final one. Yes, but only because I'm a sucker for the sunk cost fallacy, and I am curious enough to want to know if this is Polity pre-history.
February 22, 2017
Simply amazing. If you are into Leviathan Wakes and Altered Carbon, you will feel right at home. Shocking, violent, noir, and simply stunning space opera, this book is a must for hardcore scifi fans.
September 27, 2014
Impressively, Neal Asher has managed to up both the quantity as well as quality of the violence in this second installment to his near-future dystopian ‘Owner’ trilogy. Like a hydra, the ruthless ‘Committee’ of Earth’s rulers, quickly sprouts new leadership in the wake of anti-hero Alan Saul’s one-man revolution in ’The Departure’. Chief among these is Serene Galahad, whose Committee bloodletting efficiently secures her role as supreme ruler of Earth. For a genocidal tyrant, this character is surprisingly understandable in Asher’s hands. His first person segments taken from her POV connect the dots of her atrocities believably, while illustrating the progression of her stomach for violence. In order to level the playing field and restore dramatic parity, Asher contrives to incapacitate and diminish Saul’s abilities, which also allows some of his satellite characters to step out from his shadow a bit. Three or four other narratives alternate with these, and all of them overflow with yet more gruesome death. Delightfully, adolescent wish fulfillment comes via some new techno-tricks Saul has learned, and almost everyone gets their comeuppance, although enough loose threads remain to provide ample material for a third installment.
September 23, 2013
An entertaining read but has a few flaws. The book jumps between the viewpoints of several characters, some of which do not bring a lot to the story and seem almost like filler detracting from more interesting plot points. The main antagonist is also a weakness in the book, she doesn't just do terrible things and be evil but she does so repeatedly and at times it almost feels like the book is descending into torture porn.
July 27, 2020
This didn't fascinate me as much as the first one, now the primary antagonist is just certifiably, irrationally unhinged and doesn't seem nuanced or reasonable anymore. Half of the book involves an unusual twist, which was a bold decision by the author, but it makes the book less fun for that portion. The technology was not a sci-fi concept I'm familiar with, had to do some reading up on it, but it was somewhat interesting. The brutality of the whole world is still pretty nauseating, not enjoying that. Overall, I'm curious to see where it goes, so I'll finish the series, but it's not a favorite.
June 9, 2022
An entertaining, if overlong, oppressive dystopian nightmare where *errbody* dies.
Asher's second book in his "Owners" trilogy has augmented Alan Saul occupying the oppressive "Committee's" orbital Argus Station while simultaneously cutting off several heads of said Committee. What springs forth from that is an even more demented adversary, Serene Galahad -- who is basically a Malthusian misanthropist who engineers a plot that ends up killing 9 BILLION "Zero Asset" people on earth because hey, omelets and eggs and whatnot.
The back and forth as Galahad tries to attack Saul/Argus is somewhat enjoyable, but the sheer evilness of Galahad's action on earth beggar belief. At one point we've got multiple floating islands of corpses in the oceans that, because of so much despoilation of the Earth's biosphere, aren't exactly decomposing as fast as they otherwise would (far fewer bugs to help out). It's so extreme at points that the authorial disconnect is palpable -- i.e. you expect there to be more of a REACTION from the remaining 7 billion people -- even if they have been largely oppressed into compliance.
While Asher's interstitial bits about how individuality, privacy, science, et al all came to become subservient to the state and its "elites" is interesting, the bang-bang shooty shooty action sequences as we battle over Argus station, Mars, and other bits of real estate leave much to be desired and other than Saul and Galahad, none of the characters are terribly memorable or interesting. There's some chatter about FTL drives and secret space warships and a little tease about Saul's mysterious history, but otherwise, the book is a little too bloated for its own good and slogs rather than drives along.
Asher's second book in his "Owners" trilogy has augmented Alan Saul occupying the oppressive "Committee's" orbital Argus Station while simultaneously cutting off several heads of said Committee. What springs forth from that is an even more demented adversary, Serene Galahad -- who is basically a Malthusian misanthropist who engineers a plot that ends up killing 9 BILLION "Zero Asset" people on earth because hey, omelets and eggs and whatnot.
The back and forth as Galahad tries to attack Saul/Argus is somewhat enjoyable, but the sheer evilness of Galahad's action on earth beggar belief. At one point we've got multiple floating islands of corpses in the oceans that, because of so much despoilation of the Earth's biosphere, aren't exactly decomposing as fast as they otherwise would (far fewer bugs to help out). It's so extreme at points that the authorial disconnect is palpable -- i.e. you expect there to be more of a REACTION from the remaining 7 billion people -- even if they have been largely oppressed into compliance.
While Asher's interstitial bits about how individuality, privacy, science, et al all came to become subservient to the state and its "elites" is interesting, the bang-bang shooty shooty action sequences as we battle over Argus station, Mars, and other bits of real estate leave much to be desired and other than Saul and Galahad, none of the characters are terribly memorable or interesting. There's some chatter about FTL drives and secret space warships and a little tease about Saul's mysterious history, but otherwise, the book is a little too bloated for its own good and slogs rather than drives along.
October 7, 2023
Ummm Wow!
The Owner Trilogy is different- on one hand it’s a rip roaring dystopian space opera sand on the other a fairly clinical analysis of why we are so capable (and likely to) of wiping ourselves out of existence.
I find myself really enjoying the former and, rather uncomfortably, agreeing with the latter.
It is a very good read!
The Owner Trilogy is different- on one hand it’s a rip roaring dystopian space opera sand on the other a fairly clinical analysis of why we are so capable (and likely to) of wiping ourselves out of existence.
I find myself really enjoying the former and, rather uncomfortably, agreeing with the latter.
It is a very good read!
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March 17, 2024man ekki eftir þessu
July 4, 2023
Étant la suite directe du premier livre, je ne m’étendrai pas trop sur le scénario, parce que serait dommage, celui-ci se finissant sur un gros cliffhanger (que je n’ai pas oublié alors que j’ai lu le premier il y a environ un an, j’avais oublié de mettre la suite dans ma pile oops my bad). On retrouve donc Saul, son esprit étendu dans l’ordinateur de la station Argus, et Var, tentant de sauver la base Antares sur Mars : bref, c’est la merde, et c’ets plutôt fun. Comme d'habitude chez Asher, c’est un joyeux bazar de baston, de réflexion sur le transhumanisme et l’esprit humain, de conflits plus ou moins lourdement armés et de trucs un peu plus mignons. Même si je préfère l’univers de la Polity, c’est plutôt sympathique !
July 3, 2016
The adventures of Alan Saul continue. Saul is no longer human, nor even really a cyborg. He has become, reminding me of that Johnny Depp movie Transcendence, something more. While still retaining a human body, sort of, he is able to also have a presence in the Internet and robotic beings- a sort of Hyper-AI.
Now in complete control of Argus Station, he renames himself The Owner. It seems that he has raided the Gene Bank of Earth and now has the DNA samples of almost every creature to have ever existed on Earth, many of them now extinct. With this precious cargo, Saul uses the planetary thrusters built into the Argus station and sends it towards Mars and Antares Base.
On Earth, the decapitation strike against the Committee has unforeseen consequences. While 80% of the bureaucracy of the Committee was destroyed, as well as the attached Inspectorate HQs, this has had a Darwinistic effect. The remaining Committee assets are some of the most intelligent and ruthless members. Enter Delegate Serene Gallahad. With Chairman Messina's supposed demise during the assault on Argus Station, Serene seizes control of the remaining Committee assets. Proving to be far more ruthless and genocidal than her predecessor she institutes a brutal plan to become Chairman. Once in power, having assassinated her rivals she unleashes a combination of tactical nuclear warheads and a manufactured retrovirus and slaughters 8 billion of the of the worlds population. Her goal is to bring the population of Earth down to the 9 Billion mark and then try to re-seed the Earth with agriculture and animals in order to strike a balance. She also sends the Space Battleship the Scourge towards Argus Station to retrieve the Gene Banks.
On Argus Station, two hidden operatives of the Committee attempt to kill Saul and injure him gravely. In the resulting aftermath, tensions arise between competing factions on the base. Yet, Saul is not dead since he is not really human. Slowly, as he regenerates, his plan comes into being. He knows the Battleship is coming. He begins to develop a FTL drive on Argus and finds that the Humanoid Development Unit has created androids that he can use to augment his forces. Now the trick is to create a FTL drive, somehow repel the incoming assault force and try to make contact with Mars and Antares Base.
On Mars, Antares Base is also facing problems as Var is proving that while the Committee may no longer have control over the base-trying to get people who have been programmed to follow the totalitarian system to function normally is much harder than it seems. They will run out of supplies in 5 years, unless resupplied from Earth. As Var and Saul manage to communicate they discover a common background. Now if Argus can make it to Mars then the Gene Banks can be used to feed the station. But, until that time Var must negotiate the tricky, and sometimes dangerous, post-Committee world that is now prevalent on Mars.
This second book in the series is just as exciting and interesting as the first one. It is possibly even more gruesome and violent than the first book. You have everything from mass genocide to bloody space warfare. Many of the points of the book take common liberal utopian views and turn them on their heads- from the potential effects of having a World Government, to allowing massive bureaucracies control over ordinary peoples lives, to mass overpopulation...all are fair game in this truly dystopian and bleak look at a potential future.
This is a wonderful book for any sci-fi fan, yet it is still true to it's action-thriller roots as well. So far this has been an excellent series and I am glad that I discovered this author. If you like interesting stories, that also sound warning notes for people who tend to view everything with rose-tinted utopian glasses..this is a stark reminder that the future might be something else entirely.
Now in complete control of Argus Station, he renames himself The Owner. It seems that he has raided the Gene Bank of Earth and now has the DNA samples of almost every creature to have ever existed on Earth, many of them now extinct. With this precious cargo, Saul uses the planetary thrusters built into the Argus station and sends it towards Mars and Antares Base.
On Earth, the decapitation strike against the Committee has unforeseen consequences. While 80% of the bureaucracy of the Committee was destroyed, as well as the attached Inspectorate HQs, this has had a Darwinistic effect. The remaining Committee assets are some of the most intelligent and ruthless members. Enter Delegate Serene Gallahad. With Chairman Messina's supposed demise during the assault on Argus Station, Serene seizes control of the remaining Committee assets. Proving to be far more ruthless and genocidal than her predecessor she institutes a brutal plan to become Chairman. Once in power, having assassinated her rivals she unleashes a combination of tactical nuclear warheads and a manufactured retrovirus and slaughters 8 billion of the of the worlds population. Her goal is to bring the population of Earth down to the 9 Billion mark and then try to re-seed the Earth with agriculture and animals in order to strike a balance. She also sends the Space Battleship the Scourge towards Argus Station to retrieve the Gene Banks.
On Argus Station, two hidden operatives of the Committee attempt to kill Saul and injure him gravely. In the resulting aftermath, tensions arise between competing factions on the base. Yet, Saul is not dead since he is not really human. Slowly, as he regenerates, his plan comes into being. He knows the Battleship is coming. He begins to develop a FTL drive on Argus and finds that the Humanoid Development Unit has created androids that he can use to augment his forces. Now the trick is to create a FTL drive, somehow repel the incoming assault force and try to make contact with Mars and Antares Base.
On Mars, Antares Base is also facing problems as Var is proving that while the Committee may no longer have control over the base-trying to get people who have been programmed to follow the totalitarian system to function normally is much harder than it seems. They will run out of supplies in 5 years, unless resupplied from Earth. As Var and Saul manage to communicate they discover a common background. Now if Argus can make it to Mars then the Gene Banks can be used to feed the station. But, until that time Var must negotiate the tricky, and sometimes dangerous, post-Committee world that is now prevalent on Mars.
This second book in the series is just as exciting and interesting as the first one. It is possibly even more gruesome and violent than the first book. You have everything from mass genocide to bloody space warfare. Many of the points of the book take common liberal utopian views and turn them on their heads- from the potential effects of having a World Government, to allowing massive bureaucracies control over ordinary peoples lives, to mass overpopulation...all are fair game in this truly dystopian and bleak look at a potential future.
This is a wonderful book for any sci-fi fan, yet it is still true to it's action-thriller roots as well. So far this has been an excellent series and I am glad that I discovered this author. If you like interesting stories, that also sound warning notes for people who tend to view everything with rose-tinted utopian glasses..this is a stark reminder that the future might be something else entirely.
December 6, 2014
Sure are a lot of thousand-word summaries of the plot in these reviews. Not here.
Lookit, you already KNOW that Asher's stories are written in large letters in crayon, or perhaps grease pencil, or perhaps a soldier's blown-off leg bone dipped in blood. You already know the science will range from micro-level extrapolations of modern realities to huge macro-level absurdities for which the pseudo-science is almost laughable (but still NOT over the border into silly). So you won't be surprised that the political framework of the book, and the lead character thereof, are also drawn in very large strokes. Indeed, we have here a contender for nastiest villainess ever in any field of fiction. She makes Stalin look like a sissy. But you may have to tell yourself that the right-wing politics here are just drawn the same way as everything else - a little over the top.
Like all Ashers, this is a big, roomy book with lots of room to develop multiple characters and run a story that develops in three, four or even five strands that are obviously going to collide. As always, there's gore and slaughter at the individual and mass level. But there's also strategy, suspense, some plot twists, and in the end a wild gallop for the last 200 pages or so. So if you get to within an inch of the end of the book, turn the light out and save the rest for tomorrow, or you won't get enough sleep.
There may never have been a book with so many gleaming-eyed slightly-mad boffins developing giant scientific leaps. But once you grasp that you are starting to understand Asher. Go big! Go fast!
I didn't like The Departure, but as others noted its biggest fault was that it was too obviously a framework-building job. Now here's your payoff. And there's room for a good sequel. Can't wait to see what happens with Sack.
Quibble: Saul is a super-genius, but
Lookit, you already KNOW that Asher's stories are written in large letters in crayon, or perhaps grease pencil, or perhaps a soldier's blown-off leg bone dipped in blood. You already know the science will range from micro-level extrapolations of modern realities to huge macro-level absurdities for which the pseudo-science is almost laughable (but still NOT over the border into silly). So you won't be surprised that the political framework of the book, and the lead character thereof, are also drawn in very large strokes. Indeed, we have here a contender for nastiest villainess ever in any field of fiction. She makes Stalin look like a sissy. But you may have to tell yourself that the right-wing politics here are just drawn the same way as everything else - a little over the top.
Like all Ashers, this is a big, roomy book with lots of room to develop multiple characters and run a story that develops in three, four or even five strands that are obviously going to collide. As always, there's gore and slaughter at the individual and mass level. But there's also strategy, suspense, some plot twists, and in the end a wild gallop for the last 200 pages or so. So if you get to within an inch of the end of the book, turn the light out and save the rest for tomorrow, or you won't get enough sleep.
There may never have been a book with so many gleaming-eyed slightly-mad boffins developing giant scientific leaps. But once you grasp that you are starting to understand Asher. Go big! Go fast!
I didn't like The Departure, but as others noted its biggest fault was that it was too obviously a framework-building job. Now here's your payoff. And there's room for a good sequel. Can't wait to see what happens with Sack.
Quibble: Saul is a super-genius, but
February 28, 2018
A step up form the first book of this trilogy. The main thing is that it slows down a bit, time is taken to establish more of the characters, especially the main character, Saul a.k.a the Owner. You find out more of his reasoning and logic on certain matters, why he is doing the things he is doing. Certain things of his rapid rise to the level he is at in the last book could have been saved for this book, and would have been an opportunity to learn more about him.
One of the interesting things about this book is the time Asher puts into how to make a space station and a 'warp drive' for lack of a better term. However, the unfortunate side effect of this is that a lot of time is used describing every small detail, and it gets very tedious after the forth time. Interesting to start out, but boring after a while.
The main protagonist is a good villain. Her reasons of doing things are for most logical, but the way to achieve certain goals are the reason why she is the protagonist. Also some of things she does aren't for the right reasons too. Still an interesting character and I don't want to spoil to much of the whys and wherefores of the character. I will say this, there is an unnecessary part of her backstory that didn't need to be in.
For the most part, the other characters aren't that interesting now, and I am struggling to remember who they are and what they did. And there a certain conveniences that are in the book that Asher may have had planned in the first book, but come across as just that, conveniences.
A step up form the last book, slowed down a lot and gave time for the development of the Owner and his personality. The space station building was cool at first, but tedious after a while.
One of the interesting things about this book is the time Asher puts into how to make a space station and a 'warp drive' for lack of a better term. However, the unfortunate side effect of this is that a lot of time is used describing every small detail, and it gets very tedious after the forth time. Interesting to start out, but boring after a while.
The main protagonist is a good villain. Her reasons of doing things are for most logical, but the way to achieve certain goals are the reason why she is the protagonist. Also some of things she does aren't for the right reasons too. Still an interesting character and I don't want to spoil to much of the whys and wherefores of the character. I will say this, there is an unnecessary part of her backstory that didn't need to be in.
For the most part, the other characters aren't that interesting now, and I am struggling to remember who they are and what they did. And there a certain conveniences that are in the book that Asher may have had planned in the first book, but come across as just that, conveniences.
A step up form the last book, slowed down a lot and gave time for the development of the Owner and his personality. The space station building was cool at first, but tedious after a while.
December 5, 2013
Neal Asher is the Jeremy Clarkson of the Science Fiction world: brash, somewhat juvenile and loves blowing shit up, and I imagine that - like with J.C. - I'd disagree with his views on politics, society and everything else, for that matter, on a molecular level, but I enjoy his novels and 'Zero Point' did not let me down. You don't read Asher for the depth of his characters - they're there to either squish or be squished - and if you want your Science Fiction to explore the human condition there's James S. A. Corey or Margaret Atwood who put the Literary into it; Asher has no such worries, and we spend more time examining his characters' internal organs than their metaphysical motivations, but he does it with such cynical glee and marvelous imagination that you just get dragged along into his big dark world - it's great stuff. I love the - very Asher-esque - sick twist of making earth's relentlessly murderous dictator a psychotic Green, and the subplot of Alex the clone was some of Asher's best writing, I thought. So, overall, a full-frontal, full-throttle blast that gets my inner teenager all fired up while my outer middle-aged self tuts that it's all way too loud. Onto Jupiter War now - woohoo!
June 16, 2015
The first book was... ok enough to pick up this one. The hero of the first book is pretty much out of commission in this one leaving the story's focus on the not-too-interesting supporting characters. The villain (Serene Galahad of all names) is so comically evil that, after killing most of Earth's population by pushing a button and then requiring the survivors to wear strangulation/decapitation collars that only she controls, I stopped reading a little more than halfway through.
November 4, 2013
Asher's fixation on trans-human protagonists doing their thing wouldn't shame David Eddings, but it makes for good reads. I can't quite remember the first book in the series, but this one has an admirably simple cast of largely one-dimensional characters that makes following along straight-forward. 560 pages of light-hearted fun.
April 1, 2014
Loved it pure pleasure in a book form, for somebody who lives and breaths science fiction this was an ongoing treat that I am looking to continue with the next installment.
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August 9, 2025I really enjoyed the owner trilogy. It was a refreshing break from the awesome Polity series and following masterful mind blowers. I very much liked the proximity to our 21st century time period. Although the environmental disaster messages get so old. This Zero Point continuation of Departure was a fascinating journey into the possible world politics in our near future, although the idea of government coalescence almost seems ridiculous as we view the nationalistic politics of 2025. However these books provide a clear protagonist in Alan Saul, who conveys a satisfying task of setting mankind on a new path of righteousness, with the pain of punishment for your sins along the way. Lots of action and intrigue that can turn nail biting as events become complicated by human uncertainty and treacherousness. The introduction of primitive robots is a great door to Ashers' AI world in the Polity universe and the eventual cloning and enhancement of human development with the Proctors. Asher is a special talent. I stumbled upon him reading a couple of paragraphs in a bookstore (Dark Intelligence) where the humans on board an orbiting craft considered the repercussions of dealing with Penny Royal on a planet far below. He painted a palatable fear and dread, without any action at all for the reader not even familiar with the entity.
July 7, 2024
Another Asher tale of one man up against the world who is virtually indestructible and forever fingering Serene Galahad and her plan of world peace!
The peace of a Necropolis planet.
Saul and his gang have basically stolen the Argus space station and modded it out with some neat turbo kit that enables it to cover vast distances in the blink of an eye.
Galahad is losing her sanity and seems to enjoy killing millions and billions of people as her paranoia and delusion take hold.
Anal Sore, sorry Alan Saul, dead or alive, man or machine?
Is he more machine life now?
Has he lost his humanity?
Lots of Technobabble and cool gadgets, guns and robots with well paced battles and lots of gore and guts abound.
We flit between Argus station, Mars, Earth and The Scourge, the ship sent from Earth to take back the station. Lots of plotting and one upmanship takes place as power switches from character to character.
Enjoyable if somewhat bloody dystopian SF fare.
Hey the future can't all be tinfoil uniforms and immaculate white suits.
The peace of a Necropolis planet.
Saul and his gang have basically stolen the Argus space station and modded it out with some neat turbo kit that enables it to cover vast distances in the blink of an eye.
Galahad is losing her sanity and seems to enjoy killing millions and billions of people as her paranoia and delusion take hold.
Anal Sore, sorry Alan Saul, dead or alive, man or machine?
Is he more machine life now?
Has he lost his humanity?
Lots of Technobabble and cool gadgets, guns and robots with well paced battles and lots of gore and guts abound.
We flit between Argus station, Mars, Earth and The Scourge, the ship sent from Earth to take back the station. Lots of plotting and one upmanship takes place as power switches from character to character.
Enjoyable if somewhat bloody dystopian SF fare.
Hey the future can't all be tinfoil uniforms and immaculate white suits.
March 22, 2025
I liked it more than book 1, The Departure. Asher knows how to write a rollicking story with multiple busy plots - each with their own cliffhangers. I wont introduce spoilers but out hero seems to be a bit more human in this one, not quite the infallible superhero of Book 1.
Still lots of gore and violence so if that's not you then read elsewhere. It is also the same chaotic rollercoaster of a ride. This time the author introduces some quite clever twists and some tropes that are 'oldies; but 'goodies' that work well with the plot.
Asher left me wondering about his ending. Call me cynical, but for me it was predictable a few hundred pages out. Not that I didn't enjoy the journey to get there but the likelihoods, relationships and odds were a bit hard to take.
Still lots of gore and violence so if that's not you then read elsewhere. It is also the same chaotic rollercoaster of a ride. This time the author introduces some quite clever twists and some tropes that are 'oldies; but 'goodies' that work well with the plot.
Asher left me wondering about his ending. Call me cynical, but for me it was predictable a few hundred pages out. Not that I didn't enjoy the journey to get there but the likelihoods, relationships and odds were a bit hard to take.
August 16, 2025
The regime looked like it was going to fail, but there's always one that survives and comes back even worse and more despotic than the previous leaders. Alan become more post human and spread his collective processes between human brain and computers, effectively controlling a station whilst recovering from an assassination attempt - and during this finds his sister, Var, is actually on Mars - but had also survived being killed too.
The plot lines twist and turn and really kept me hooked - it's been a while since I last read this one, but it's so easy to read, keeps you on the edge of the seat. Looking forward to the last of the trilogy now.
The plot lines twist and turn and really kept me hooked - it's been a while since I last read this one, but it's so easy to read, keeps you on the edge of the seat. Looking forward to the last of the trilogy now.
June 23, 2017
This was at least as good as the first in the series. There is plenty of action going on with chapter switches between Earth, Mars and the Argoss satellite, serious baddies and the balancing heroes. This is well written, but when I pick up what the author is doing to keep me engaged, it is a slight drawback. You want to be totally imersed and never stop to figure how. A good SF read. I can't wait to get to the third. Some nasties still remain to be resolved.
September 21, 2021
A study of when mass killing may be the only hope of saving the human race.
Earth is dying from over population, a time for a major change in paradigm. Excellent character development especially in the context involving human / artificial intelligence. Good science too, the Alcoubrie drive is incorporated into the story. A bit gory and to many close calls dropped it from five to four stars, but what the hey... It's good science fiction.
Earth is dying from over population, a time for a major change in paradigm. Excellent character development especially in the context involving human / artificial intelligence. Good science too, the Alcoubrie drive is incorporated into the story. A bit gory and to many close calls dropped it from five to four stars, but what the hey... It's good science fiction.
July 31, 2022
Way too much "And then suddenly, as if by magic" nonsense at the start of this book.
Magically hidden space battleships, magically hidden assassin, magically loyal... Morons.
The first book was outstanding and a real thriller. This book got abandoned half way through as it just became disinteresting due to the sheer amount of nonsense plot-points pulled out of the air to satisfy the "sci-fi" genre.
Really disappointing.
Magically hidden space battleships, magically hidden assassin, magically loyal... Morons.
The first book was outstanding and a real thriller. This book got abandoned half way through as it just became disinteresting due to the sheer amount of nonsense plot-points pulled out of the air to satisfy the "sci-fi" genre.
Really disappointing.
January 5, 2017
I found this book at my local library, so I bought it and read it, even though I knew it was the second book in the trilogy. I wasn't expecting much, but Asher surprised me with vivid details, realistic characters, and a clear plotline.
January 8, 2018
Published 2013. Asher her fleshes out some short stories on The Owner in a three part series (The Departure, Zero Point and Jupiter War). The first is good, the second stronger the third somewhat a little weaker than the first two - at least to me. I would consider the "Polity" series much stronger overall.
July 14, 2018
I've just found Neal Asher on Goodreads. I'm not going to leave a review, except to say that I own every. single. one. of his books in paperback. Books are expensive in South Africa, and I *really* don't have a lot of money. I buy them anyway, and cut back on other costs for the month. He's that good.
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