Her mission is vital. Her failure is unthinkable.
A hidden corner of space is swarming with lethal alien technology, a danger to all sentient life. It's guarded by Orlandine, who must keep it contained at any cost – as it has the power to destroy entire civilizations. She schemes from her state-of-the-art weapons station, with only an alien intelligence to share her vigil. But she doesn't share everything with Dragon . . .
Orlandine is hatching a plan to obliterate this technology, removing its threat forever. For some will do anything to exploit this ancient weaponry, created by a long-dead race called the Jain. This includes activating a Jain super-soldier, which may breach even Orlandine's defences.
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. However, things are about to change. The Jain might not be as dead as they seemed – and interstellar war is just a heartbeat away.
The Soldier is the first novel in the Rise of the Jain series, by bestselling science fiction author Neal Asher. Neal Asher divides his time between Essex and Crete, mostly at a keyboard and mentally light-years away. His full-length novels are the Agent Cormac series: Gridlinked, The Line of Polity, Brass Man, Polity Agent and Line War. The Spatterjay series: The Skinner The Voyage of the Sable Keech and Orbus. Set in the same Polity are: Hilldiggers, PradorMoon, Shadow of the Scorpion, The Technician, and also the Transformation trilogy: Dark Intelligence, War Factory and Infinity Engine. In a dystopian future are: The Departure, Zero Point and Jupiter War, while Cowl takes us across time. The Soldier, the first book in the Rise of the Jain series, returns to the Polity. A gripping space opera, from the bestselling author of the Agent Cormac series
