Neal Asher was born in Billericay, Essex, and divides his time between here and Crete. His previous full-length novels include Gridlinked, The Skinner, The Line of Polity, Cowl, Brass Man, The Voyage of the Sable Keech, Hilldiggers, Prador Moon, Line War, Shadow of the Scorpion, Orbus and The Technician, The Departure, Zero Point and Jupiter War, and the Transformation trilogy, Dark Intelligence, War Factory and Infinity Engine.