Dark Agent (Time's Shadow, #2)

‘Balls-to-the-walls levels of exuberance and inventiveness’Locus 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 his plans in motion.

Meanwhile, on the war-struck world of Yossander’s Hold, Blite and Cormac are trapped in a maelstrom of betrayal and violence. They must fight their way through the chaos as they seek to repair Blite’s damaged ship. But their escape requires resources from the Bracken, and aboard that ship, a terrifying transformation is underway . . .

Recognizing the threat posed by the p-prador, the Prador Kingdom and the human Polity’s ruling AI form an uneasy alliance. But with Straeger’s plans unfolding and reality itself under threat, the galaxy is poised on the brink of destruction. Can Blite and Cormac survive the escalating war and the collapse of time itself?

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Praise for the series

‘The stakes are high, the pacing relentless, and the scale immense . . . Asher delivers again’ – 5* Goodreads Review, May 2025

‘Filled with action, suspense, and mind-wrenching twists. You’ll love it!’ – 5* Goodreads Review, June 2025

‘What the cosmos really needs is more megalomaniac artificial intelligences, belligerent alien crustaceans, and protagonists who treat death like a minor inconvenience’ – 5* Goodreads Review, July 2025