I know that my reading, mostly sci-fi/fantasy, over the years has had its influence. It’s a truth that writers start out imitating the things they love, be those books, other writers, films, or whatever, but in time find their own voices. In this case I would define it more as the former.Īre there any writers or specific stories that had a big influence on The Soldier, in terms of both what you wrote and how you wrote it, but are not things you’d consider big influences on your earlier work? My stuff has been described as space opera, biotech, and post cyber-punk, whatever that means.

The Soldier is a science fiction novel, but is there a subgenre of sci-fi, or maybe a combination of them, that you think describes the book best? In my Agent Cormac series, there were two characters who headed off to do something “numinous.” I simply decided to continue their story and take a closer look at the Jain, which I and my readers find interesting. Where did you get the idea for The Soldier, and how different is the finished version from that original idea? The Jain might not be as dead as they seemed - and interstellar war is just a heartbeat away. Meanwhile, humanity and the alien prador empire keep a careful watch over this sector of space, as neither can allow the other to claim its power. This includes activating a Jain super-soldier, which may breach even Orlandine’s defences. For some will do anything to exploit this ancient weaponry, created by a long-dead race called The Jain. Orlandine is hatching a plan to obliterate this technology, removing its threat forever. But she doesn’t share everything with Dragon…

She schemes from her state-of-the-art weapons station, with only an alien intelligence to share her vigil. It’s guarded by Orlandine, who must keep it contained at any cost, as it has the power to destroy entire civilizations. So, what is The Soldier about?Ī hidden corner of space is swarming with lethal alien technology, a danger to all sentient life. I always like to start with a quick plot recap. In the following email interview, he discusses The Soldier ( hardcover, Kindle), the first book in a new connected trilogy he’s calling Rise Of The Jain. Salvatore and other authors, sci-fi writer Neal Asher has set many of his novels in the same fictional universe, one that encompasses the Splatterjay trilogy, his Agent Cormac tetralogy, and the three books in his Transformation series.

Polity Agent by Neal Asher