Jack Four (Polity Universe)
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-20 07:51:40
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Neal Asher
- ISBN：1529049970
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Created to die - determined to live 。 。 。Jack Four - one of twenty human clones - has been created to be sold。 His purchasers are the alien prador and they only want him for their experimentation program。 But there is something different about Jack。 No clone should possess the knowledge that's been loaded into his mind。 And no normal citizen of humanity's Polity worlds would have this information。 The prador's king has been mutated by the Spatterjay virus into a creature even more monstrous than the prador themselves。 And his children， the King's Guard， have undergone similar changes。 They were infected by the virus during the last humans-versus-prador war， now lapsed into an uneasy truce。 But the prador are always looking for new weapons - and their experimentation program might give them the edge they seek。 Suzeal trades human slaves out of the Stratogaster Space Station， re-engineering them to serve the prador。 She thinks the rewards are worth the risks， but all that is about to change。 The Station was once a zoo， containing monsters from across known space。 All the monsters now dwell on the planet below， but they aren't as contained as they seem。 And a vengeful clone may be the worst danger of all。
Reviews
Dave Snowdon
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Decent action science fiction with an interesting initial premise but it felt a "by the numbers" book as if Asher's running on autopilot Decent action science fiction with an interesting initial premise but it felt a "by the numbers" book as if Asher's running on autopilot 。。。more
Richard Henderson
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Should be a movieSo good。 Simple premise with the usual flair and classical underdog caught among demi-gods stylings。 We really need a Neil Asher zero through four running on the usual substrates。
Tim Mcgregor
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Be patient for the first 20% or so as he carefully builds his character。 It is a fascinating take on a coming of age novel on steroids。 After that point he cuts the character loose and there are all of the wonderful NA tropes， Polity agents， Prador scum， Hoopers， thralled humans， and of course， staggeringly powerful weapons。 NA has done it again and I was thrilled with Jack Four。 I am also happy that he has a pricing strategy so we readers can support him properly。
Benjamin
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Ravening。
Ann Marie cheetham
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Loved itWhat's not to like pradror，holders and two jacks ！ even thew in a gabble duck loved every page！！ Classic Neal Asher。 Carn t wait for the next book！ Loved itWhat's not to like pradror，holders and two jacks ！ even thew in a gabble duck loved every page！！ Classic Neal Asher。 Carn t wait for the next book！ 。。。more
Steve Hayes
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It's great that Asher can write a personal， small scale drama using all the background of the Polity universe， but I'm just a sucker for a space opera， so I hope this is a digression rather than a new direction。 It's great that Asher can write a personal， small scale drama using all the background of the Polity universe， but I'm just a sucker for a space opera， so I hope this is a digression rather than a new direction。 。。。more
Nigel Frankcom
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Enjoyed it。。 a lot！Another great tale from （arguably） one of the best Sci-fi authors around。 A stand alone Polity tale that sits up there with the best of them with Prador and Polity coming to blows over Hooders。NA’s ability to paint intricate pictures with his words is front and centre creating another explosion of anarchy and chaos。
Tim Jonhston
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Good， butI’ve read all of Ashers books - whilst it’s still great sci-fi ， I’m partial to the space operas -
John
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Like a really long， really awesome popcorn action moviePreordered this and glad I did， absolute page turner with just endless， endless action， adventure and really wild things。 If you have read Neal Asher books before， you know what to expect。 Thoroughly enjoyed every bit， even the gross bits。
David Stevenson
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Not up to his usual standard。 Warning， spoilers ahead for both this and for The Voyage of the Sable Keech （VOTSK）。Let's look at two major conceits in the Polity universe - autodocs （basically magic boxes which can repair any amount of damage）， and Spatterjay virus （magic virus which makes you extremely strong， and oh， can repair any amount of damage）。 These have real potential to spoil any story， but they also have an edge of necessity。 We're all happy to watch a Tom Cruise film， and we have no Not up to his usual standard。 Warning， spoilers ahead for both this and for The Voyage of the Sable Keech （VOTSK）。Let's look at two major conceits in the Polity universe - autodocs （basically magic boxes which can repair any amount of damage）， and Spatterjay virus （magic virus which makes you extremely strong， and oh， can repair any amount of damage）。 These have real potential to spoil any story， but they also have an edge of necessity。 We're all happy to watch a Tom Cruise film， and we have no problems with Tom getting seven shades beaten out of him and then being involved in a explosion， but miraculously being healthy and ready for action in the very next scene。 No broken bones， no bruises。 Since the alternative is to spend half the film watching him getting physiotherapy， which wouldn't make for good entertainment， we all accept this。 Similarly in computer games， we're all quite happy to have a "medkit" which will bring us back to full health。 We're meant to be having fun， after all， it's not a documentary。The Voyage of the Sable Keech was the first Neal Asher book I read。 It had both of the above elements in it， but they were not overused。 Most of the story takes place in the arse end of nowhere， so civilisation and magic bone repairing technology is a long way distant and isn't going to ruin the story。 We have an explicit example of how powerful this technology is - an actual dead person who is still running around thanks to technological intervention - but he's also stuck in the arse end of nowhere， and his situation becomes gradually more and more dire and bits fall off， his autodoc gets sand in it， etc， etc。TVOTSK also had humans infected with a virus which is to all intents and purposes， magic。 But， they're in an environment where everything else has the same advantage。 Conflict is evenly matched。 Injuries take time to heal， there is a feeling of real risk to the characters。The story of TVOTSK is a good one。 We all know how it's going to end， in the sense that we know how every action film is going to end - there will be a fight， and the protagonist will likely triumph， but it's difficult to predict how we're going to get there。 There are numerous factions， all going in different directions， and there is a real sense of suspense and wanting to find out what happens next。Right， sorry for the lengthy pre-amble， let's get to this book:Firstly， there is basically no story。 There is *a* story， but I could retell it in a single paragraph and not miss out any details （there are none）， or plot twists （there are none）。***further warning - more spoilers coming***The technology mentioned above is employed liberally and with no restrictions whatsoever。 Big fight？ Yes。 Massive， life threatening injuries？ Yes。 All damage immediately repaired， with no consequences whatsoever on the next page？ Yes。You can perhaps do this once in a book。 Oooh！ Plot twist！ but it's a one shot device。 If you've got any sense you then have the autodoc explode or run out of power or whatever， and *you don't bring it back*。 Otherwise， we read the next chapter and we get to the next big fight， next collection of life threatening injuries， and the next repair job and we think "so what？"。 Since this ENTIRE book is basically a collection of such fights， one after the other， there isn't much left。There are at least three different main characters who get basically killed in comprehensively violent ways， but immediately spring back to life， and for two of them this happens time and time again。 What's the point？The entire book is basically one scene。 Sure， there are technically lots of different scenes - the bit on the space ship - the bit where he's levelling up on the space station - the bit where he's on the planet， etc - but the scene changes are entirely arbitrary。 Would it have changed the story at all if he'd gone down to the planet one chapter earlier？ Nope。 If he had done his "Die Hard" impression in a giant supermarket rather than a space station would it have changed the plot in the slightest？ Nope。There is a massive Deus Ex Machina right at the start。 It's pretty much literal "Deus" since it involves a character who is basically a god in this universe。 Towards the end， literally in the last few pages， we find out heroes in a dire situation。 However will they escape？ Oh， a Deus Ex Machina？ Well， that's disappointing， but I guess it happens。 Oh， wait a minute， exactly the same Deus Ex Machina， involving the same character， and with the same motivation （none， as far as I can see） that we got at the first part of the book？？ Really？If you like Neal Asher books， and you have a 4 hour train journey to make then this is as good a way as any as passing the time。 However， if you already own any of his older books and haven't re-read them in a while， then take one of them instead。 。。。more
Rags
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