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Dark Diamond

Series: Time's Shadow
Brief Description
Doomed to die. And die again. Dark Diamond is the first in a high-octane space opera trilogy, Time's Shadow. From Neal Asher, creator of the Polity universe. 'Infinitely entertaining' - Locus Magazine Somebody is trying to kill Captain Blite, but each attempt ends in unexpected failure.... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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Captain Blite owns a death-defying device that’s coveted by powerful factions across space and time. Join the adventure in the first instalment of this thrilling new trilogy from sci-fi’s most explosive author, Neal Asher.

Captain Blite owns a death-defying device that's coveted by powerful factions across space and time. Join the adventure in the first instalment of this thrilling new trilogy from sci-fi's most explosive author, Neal Asher.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Doomed to die. And die again.

Dark Diamond is the first in a high-octane space opera trilogy, Time's Shadow. From Neal Asher, creator of the Polity universe.

'Infinitely entertaining' - Locus Magazine

Somebody is trying to kill Captain Blite, but each attempt ends in unexpected failure. All Blite knows is that a black diamondβ€”left to him by the dark AI Penny Royalβ€”is the cause of his unlikely survival.

Each failed attempt on Blite's life generates temporal anomalies, drawing the scrutiny of the ruthless Mobius AI Straeger, who craves the power and possibilities the diamond holds. But they also draw the attention of the legendary Polity agent Ian Cormac, whose skills and destructive reputation may make him Blite's only hope. Caught in the crossfire of galactic forces, Blite must uncover the true nature of the dark diamond before it causes his destruction...

Praise for Neal Asher

'Neal Asher's books are like an adrenaline shot targeted directly for the brain' - John Scalzi, author of Old Man's War

'Non-stop action and unimaginable stakes' - Yoon Ha Lee on The Soldier

'Imaginative, energetic and insane' - SFX on Brass Man

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781035037957

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 30 June 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Tor

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 44.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 470g

Pages: 704

About the Author

Neal Asher divides his time between Essex and Crete, mostly at a keyboard and mentally light years away. His full-length novels are as follows. First is the Agent Cormac series: Gridlinked, The Line of Polity, Brass Man, Polity Agent and Line War. Next comes the Spatterjay series: The Skinner, The Voyage of the Sable Keech and Orbus. Also set in the same world of the Polity are these standalone novels: Prador Moon, Hilldiggers, Shadow of the Scorpion, The Technician, Jack Four, Weaponized, and War Bodies. His Transformation trilogy comprises Dark Intelligence, War Factory and Infinity Engine. The Departure, Zero Point and Jupiter War are set in a dystopian future and connect to the World Walkers standalone, while Cowl transports us across time. The Rise of the Jain trilogy is made up of The Soldier, The Warship and The Human. Dark Diamond is the first novel in the Time's Shadow trilogy, also part of the Polity universe.

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  • Dark Diamond
    Doomed to die. And die again. Dark Diamond is the first in a high-octane space opera trilogy from Neal Asher, creator of the Polity universe. Captain Blite knows that someone, or something, is trying to kill him. But a device he possesses, known only as the dark diamond, won't let that happen. After surviving a series of catastrophic accidents and...
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  • World Walkers
    He can jump between worlds. But can he save his own? As the totalitarian Inspectorate tightens its grip, one man discovers the power to slip through the gaps and traverse alternate universes. World Walkers by Neal Asher is an exhilarating standalone novel set within the Owner universe. World Walkers is Neal Asher in his prime - FanFiAddict Ottanger is a...
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  • Pre-order
    Dark Agent
    Balls-to-the-walls levels of exuberance and inventivenessLocus Magazine on Dark Diamond FORGE A NEW FUTURE. OR BE CONSUMED BY THE PAST. Captain Blite and Agent Cormac thought they had defeated the malevolent AI Straeger. But Straeger's mission to plunge the galaxy into a devastating war is far from over. With a twisted p-prador army bred from the Spatterjay virus, Straeger sets...
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    He can jump between worlds. But can he save his own? As a totalitarian Inspectorate tightens its grip, one man discovers the power to slip through the gaps and traverse alternate universes. World Walkers by Neal Asher is an exhilarating standalone novel set within the Owner Trilogy. Ottanger is a rebel and mutant on an Earth governed by a ruthless...
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  • War Bodies
    Long ago, the Cyberat left Earth to co-evolve with machines. Now, led by the powerful dictator Castron, their Old Guard believe that machines should replace the physical body. But these beliefs are upended with the arrival of the human Polity β€” and their presence ignites rebellion. Piper was raised as a weapon against the Cyberat, implanted with secretive hardware. When...
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  • The Skinner
    Is immortality worth the price? The savage ocean planet of Spatterjay draws visitors with very different agendas. Erlin is immortal and seeks a reason to keep living. Janer hosts a hive mind, which paid him to find this planet. And Keech is an agent of Earth who has been dead for seven hundred years - but still hunts a notorious...
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  • Jack Four
    This high-octane adventure is set in the same world as Neal Asher's acclaimed Polity universe. It's a thrilling, fast-paced standalone novel, perfect for fans of Alastair Reynolds and Stephen Baxter. Created to die - determined to live... Jack Four - one of twenty human clones - has been created to be sold. His purchasers are the alien prador, and they...
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  • Weaponized
    Weaponized is a thrilling far-future space opera by acclaimed science fiction author Neal Asher, a standalone adventure set in the expansive Polity universe. A bright new future for humanity - or a dark and inescapable past. Ursula has lived twice the normal human lifespan, courtesy of the latest technology. But now she's struggling to find excitement and purpose, so she...
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