.hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { font-size: 10pt; font-family:Verdana } Bob Lock’s Mr Crane.
Hi Neal,
Here’s a collage I’ve done of Mr.Crane. I can’t draw for the life of me
but enjoy messing around in Photoshop so took bits and pieces from
around the web and voilà here he is.
Best,
Bob
Here’s another one:
Please accept this as a submission for your drawing contest. My father and I are great fans of your books and between us we own just about all of them with the exception of The Gabble, Orbus and Shadow of the Scorpion. I have a hunch that your depiction of AI will influence some young reader, somewhere, to actually set about making such things possible some day! Hurray!
Consider yourself held responsible for our collective fates.
HA HA HA………(only partially joking…….)
KEEP WRITING!
Here’s another one from Carlos Mendez. Comments please! Incidentally, I’ll put the picture title and artist’s name in the titles of these posts from now on.
Artist’s Comments
This is another piece inspired on Neal Asher’s books. It’s a mad Golem Android called Mr. Crane…
The words “Golem Android” evoke to me something technologically very advanced (an android with an AI) but at the same time something classic-old fashioned (something with a medieval air…a Golem…). That’s why I tried to give it a “mechanic look”…with those clockwork-like wheels and all…
I have to admit it…Jack Kirby was one of my greatest influences…and Jim Steranko (who was clearly inspired by Kirby…) and Mike Mignola (who is also influenced by Kirby) …and Paul Gulacy (who was very influenced by Steranko…ok, ok, ….Steranko was influenced by…Kirby…!)
Here’s a couple of sketches of the gabbleduck from Pekka Jonsson who, incidentally, started off the bookshelf craze here. Definitely getting there with the shape of the head (though the eyes need to be more integrated) and the ‘feel’ of the things, though too anthropomorphic, especially about the back legs.
v:* { BEHAVIOR: url(#default#VML) } o:* { BEHAVIOR: url(#default#VML) } w:* { BEHAVIOR: url(#default#VML) } .shape { BEHAVIOR: url(#default#VML) } @font-face{ font-display:swap; font-family: Cambria Math; } @font-face{ font-display:swap; font-family: Calibri; } @font-face{ font-display:swap; font-family: Tahoma; } @page Section1 {size: 612.0pt 792.0pt; margin: 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt; } P.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 11pt; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: “Calibri”,”sans-serif” } LI.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 11pt; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: “Calibri”,”sans-serif” } DIV.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE: 11pt; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: “Calibri”,”sans-serif” } A:link { COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; mso-style-priority: 99 } SPAN.MsoHyperlink { COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; mso-style-priority: 99 } A:visited { COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; mso-style-priority: 99 } SPAN.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { COLOR: purple; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; mso-style-priority: 99 } P.MsoAcetate { FONT-SIZE: 8pt; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: “Tahoma”,”sans-serif”; mso-style-priority: 99; mso-style-link: “Balloon Text Char” } LI.MsoAcetate { FONT-SIZE: 8pt; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: “Tahoma”,”sans-serif”; mso-style-priority: 99; mso-style-link: “Balloon Text Char” } DIV.MsoAcetate { FONT-SIZE: 8pt; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: “Tahoma”,”sans-serif”; mso-style-priority: 99; mso-style-link: “Balloon Text Char” } SPAN.EmailStyle17 { COLOR: windowtext; FONT-FAMILY: “Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-style-type: personal-compose } SPAN.BalloonTextChar { FONT-FAMILY: “Tahoma”,”sans-serif”; mso-style-priority: 99; mso-style-link: “Balloon Text”; mso-style-name: “Balloon Text Char” } .MsoChpDefault { mso-style-type: export-only } DIV.Section1 { page: Section1 } I just got an email from someone who was reading Hilldiggers and wanted to know which books precede it. I often get asked about which book fits where so here, so I can copy a link rather than type out the list each time, is the chronology and order of the books in each series:
Prador Moon
The Shadow of the Scorpion (young Cormac)
The Cormac Series:
1) Gridlinked
2) The Line of Polity
3) Brass Man
4) Polity Agent
5) Line War
The Spatterjay Series:
1) The Skinner
2) The Voyage of the Sable Keech
3) Orbus
Hilldiggers
The Gabble — a collection of short stories set throughout the above chronology.
And here’s where they all fit in the dateline:
2050 – 2250 Expansion into the solar system. Corporate wars and many generation ships, or early U-space drive ships sent on their way. Also the AI takeover of human affairs, in the ‘Quiet War’. Colony ship to Cull in this time.2130 – Hoop and crew arrive on Spatterjay (mutiny – stolen ship)
2150 – Establishing of Golem series and Cybercorp.
2151 – Algin Tenkian born on Mars.
2190 – Skaidon interfaces with AI and invents the technology leading to the runcible and more efficient U-space engines. Humanity expands into the galaxy.
2260 – First runcible goes online.
2260 – 2350 Massive human expansion into the galaxy.
2348 – Beginning of the Prador Third Kingdom
2339 – Ian Cormac born
2310 – Prador Moon
2310 – 2350 Prador/Human war (Prador Moon)
2350 – Polity police action on Spatterjay.
2356 – Keech is killed hunting Alphed Rimsc
2407 – Disappearance of Dragon from Aster Colora.
2432 – Destruction of the Samarkand runcible.
2434 – Arrival of Hubris at Samarkand (Gridlinked)
2437 – Destruction of Outlink station Miranda (The Line of Polity)
2441 – Pursuit of Skellor (Brass Man)
2443 – Tracing the cource of Jain nodes (Polity Agent)
2444 – Attack of melded entity Erebus (Line War)
2450 – Gosk Balem (Ambel) thrown into the sea – 100 years after war.
2500 – David McGrooger born
2550 – Keech finds Corbel Frane on Viridian – 500 years before
2803 – Polity arrives at Spatterjay to establish runcible base
2853 – Frisk hands herself in (apparently). – 200 years before
2878 – Bloc murdered by Aesop and Bones
3056 – Keech Janer and Erlin arrive on Spatterjay (The Skinner)
3078 – Taylor Bloc’s ship launches (The Voyage of the Sable Keech)
3079 – Orbus sets out (Orbus)
3230 – McCrooger arrives at Bromal and Sudoria (Hilldiggers)
Hope this helps!
Here’s the last few post transferred over from my website.
7th February 2006 Just back from a few days in Berlin. The incredibly low temperatures there were an experience not to be missed in themselves (check out one picture in the gallery). Neither of us have seen a river frozen over, for real, for longer than we can remember. We also took a look at the Reichstag, the Brandenberg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie and the museum there. We rode around on the trams, U-bahn, S-bahn all of which were cheaper, more efficient and cleaner than anything found in Britain. Another impressive aspect of Berlin, which I hope applies to all of Germany, was how polite and helpful people were. We only had to stop for a few minutes to study a map before someone approached us to ask if they could be of any help — something you don’t see happening in London. Hannes Riffel, an SF bookshop owner there was a very nice guy to meet, too. He is obviously enthusiastic and knowledgeable about his trade and all things science fiction & fantasy, and keeps an excellent selection on his shelves. Go there, buy there!
19th February 2006
Well, The Voyage of the Sable Keech was launched on the 16th and of course far too much beer was consumed. Thanks to Macmillan for the hospitality. Also my thanks to the guys at the Forbidden Planet Bookshop in London for having me along for a signing session, which seemed to go very well. Now here’s you chance to win some copies of said book, and others, and to play the Sable Keech game! http://www.panmacmillan.com/sablekeech/
1st October 2006 All within two weeks and a nice start to the new year: My short story Mason’s Rats has been taken by David G Hartwell & Kathryne Cramer for their Year’s Best SF 11, and I’ve since been contacted by Gardner Dozois who wants another story published in Asimov’s — Softly Spoke the Gabbleduck — for his ‘Year’s Best’ anthology. And now I discover I’ve made it to the shortlist of the Philip K Dick Award.
Here’s some rough sketches of Sniper’s nautiloid drone body and a Prador second-child from one of the competition entrants. Suggestions please.
Update (24/2/10): Some misunderstandings arising about these. I (Neal Asher) did not sketch them. They were done by someone entering the art competition I was running.
Okay, here’s the first submission to the art competition mentioned. This is Carlos Mendez’s crack at doing a Hooper, and he promises more later.
