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The Departure

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About this listen

The Departure is the first gripping book in Neal Asher's near-future, science fiction Owner series.

The Argus Space Station looks down on a nightmarish Earth. And from this safe distance, the Committee enforces its despotic rule. There are too many people and too few resources, and they need twelve billion to die before Earth can be stabilized. So corruption is rife, people starve, and the poor are policed by mechanized overseers and identity-reader guns. Citizens already fear the brutal Inspectorate with its pain inducers. But to reach its goals, the Committee will unleash satellite laser weaponry, taking carnage to a new level.

This is the world Alan Saul wakes to, travelling in a crate destined for the Calais incinerator. How he got there he doesn’t know, but he remembers pain and his tormentor’s face. He also has company: Janus, a rogue intelligence inhabiting forbidden hardware in his skull. As Janus shows Saul an Earth stripped of hope, he resolves to annihilate the Committee and their regime. Once he’s discovered who he was, and killed his interrogator . . .

 Adventure Cyberpunk Hard Science Fiction Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Space Opera Fiction Scary Robotics Technology Computer Science Artificial Intelligence

Critic reviews

Fast, furious, violent, slightly tongue-in-cheek (I think), and a whole lot of fun that makes 1984 seem like a children’s tea party . . . the start of another promising series from Asher. Go on, dive in, you won’t be disappointed.
Delivers plenty of thrills, and the climax also sets up a very intriguing status quo for the second volume.
Action packed and thrilling, The Departure is a must for all fans of contemporary science fiction who haven’t experienced Asher’s visceral novels before.
The Orwellian intro had me utterly hooked right from the start. I simply couldn’t stop reading until I reached the end.
Fast, dramatic stuff . . . this is a book with lots of Asher trademarks: rapid pace, great action, messy consequences.
I had an absolute blast with this book . . . his work really does get better and better.
All stars
Most relevant
I have just finished the whole trilogy in about 10 days. It's been a while since I had a story as well written and as well narrated as this was. And having said that, I'm not going to pick holes in either as some reviewers do. I just enjoyed the concept, the continuity, the characters and the excellent narration. Best sifi writing I have experienced in a long time. Thanks.

Excellent trilogy of quality writing and narration

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I bought this as an audible deal of the day and did not know what to expect. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am not used to the "series" style of books, so need to find the next book to listen to. However not sure it's available.

Not heard of this author before

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Lot of death and oppressive goverment this and that in these series, but books are surprising and enjoyable to follow.

Somewhat different Asher than Polity

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Took a little of effort to get into, possibly because it seemed to get lost in the technicalities in some parts, which I have to confess to fast forwarding.

However, once I arrived, it was a good listen.

No going Back

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A modern well thought out dystopian future with strong and believable characters you quickly want to back or see fail.
The technology is around the corner in most aspects which adds to the story.
I'm off to read the second book in the series.
I

Asher at his best

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