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.

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.

‘Balls-to-the-walls levels of exuberance and inventiveness’ – Locus Magazine

Somebody is trying to kill Captain Blite, but each attempt ends in unexpected failure. All Blite knows is that a black diamond – left to him by the dark AI Penny Royal – 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

"Balls-to-the-walls levels of exuberance and inventiveness" - Locus Magazine

"Asher’s work continues to combine the best of advanced cybertech and military SF" - Publishers Weekly