Far-future thriller in which Earth Central Security agent Ian Cormac has to track down a ruthless terrorist in command of a psychopathic android, and pit his wits against a cryptic alien entity known as Dragon to find out the real cause of the destruction of an interplanetary transport facility.

The future universe Asher outlines is nicely detailed, full of wonder, and dangerous around the edges. The adventure story is tense and well plotted, building up to an explosive climax. The last few pages move very fast and feel a bit muddled (I had to re-read them to catch what really happened), but on the strength of the rest of the book I bought the other two in Asher’s Polity series, and I’ve not been disappointed in the slightest.