About a month ago, I reviewed the first book in Neal Asher’s POLITY series, Prador Moon. Neal Asher writes Space Opera with plenty of action and intrigue. In Prador Moon Asher introduced the evil aliens that looked like giant crabs: the Prador. They have a star empire and sophisticated skills with metals. Asher also introduced the Polity: a human and Artificial Intelligence union that tries to defend itself against the brutal Prador attacks. In Shadow of the Scorpion Asher shows how his lead character, Ian Cormac, became an Agent of the Polity. There are plenty of battle scenes. Thrown into this galactic war is another wild card: the Separatists. The Separatists are a secret movement who hate the Artificial Intelligences so much they’re willing to work with the Prador to destroy the Polity. That’s where all the intrigue comes into play: who’s a Polity Agent and who’s a secret Separatist? If you enjoy Space Opera written with intelligence and verve, I urge you to try Neal Asher’s work. GRADE: B