Exploring the intersection of Lovecraftian monstrosity and techno-body horror in  selected works of Neal Asher: an examination  of (post-)humanity

Indrajit Patra

doi:10.31893/multirev.2023009

Keywords:

Abstract

This scholarly investigation aims to meticulously examine the various mechanisms employed by British science fiction writer Neal Asher in his works, including the Transformation trilogy (2015–17), Lockdown Tales (2020), and Lockdown Tales 2 (2023), to convey the erosion of humanity following profound physiological and cognitive changes. This research highlights how Asher skillfully combines elements of Lovecraftian grotesqueness with intricate portrayals of physical horror, thereby challenging conventional categorizations. These narratives feature a diverse ensemble of human and non-human protagonists, each subjected to transformative biotechnological, computational, and psychological enhancements. These processes raise questions about the feasibility of preserving even a semblance of humanity in an overwhelmingly advanced, distinctly post-human cosmological environment. While both biotechnological and Lovecraftian modes of horror explore humanity’s insignificance within a vast, indifferent, and often malevolent universe, Asher’s body of work consistently delves into the theme of how humans can retain their inherent humanity in the face of monstrous metamorphosis. Additionally, this investigation elucidates how such transformations give rise to the emergence of the “other” within oneself and the monstrous “Other” that takes center stage in the narrative. By exploring these themes, this study contributes to the scholarly discourse on the intersection of horror, transformation, and the preservation of humanity in science fiction literature.
References
1. Asher N (2002) The Skinner. Macmillan Publishers.
2. Asher N (2006) The Voyage of the Sable Keech. Tor Publication.
3. Asher N (2008) Shadow of the Scorpion. Tor Books.
4. Asher N (2008) The Gabble and Other Stories. Night Shade Books.
5. Asher N (2009) U.K. Orbus. Tor Books.
6. Asher N (2010) The Technician (Main Market Ed., Kindle E-Book). Tor.
7. Asher N (2015) Dark Intelligence. Pan Macmillan.
8. Asher N (2016) War Factory. Pan Macmillan.
9. Asher N (2017) Infinity Engine. Pan Macmillan.
10. Asher N (2019) The Warship. Tor Books.
11. Asher N (2020) Lockdown Tales. NewCon Press.
12. Asher N (2020) The Human. Pan Macmillan.
13. Asher N (2023) Lockdown Tales 2 (Kindle Ed.).
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15. Baudrillard J (2005) Cool Memories V: 2000–2004. Galilée.
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17. Braidotti R (2013) The Post-human. Polity Press.
18. Brid-Aine P (2015) Hardboiled, Fast-Paced, Mind-Bending Fun–Dark Intelligence I.S. Sci-Fi. Theregister.com. https://www.theregister.com/2015/02/01/dark_intelligence_book_review
19. Bundock C, Effinger E (2018) William Blake’s Gothic Imagination: Bodies of Horror. Manchester University Press.
20. Callaghan G (2013) H.P. Lovecraft’s Dark Arcadia: The Satire, Symbology and Contradiction. McFarland & Company, Inc.
21. Carroll N (2003) The Philosophy of Horror or, Paradoxes of the Heart. Routledge, Taylor & Francis.
22. Clarke B (2008) Post-human Metamorphosis: Narrative and Systems. Fordham University Press.
23. Cohen J (1996) Monster Theory: Reading Culture. University Of Minnesota Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/book/27701
24. Filippo PD (2015) Paul Di Filippo Reviews Neal Asher. Locus Online. https://locusmag.com/2015/01/paul-di-filippo-reviews-neal-asher
25. Glavanakova A (2014) Posthuman Transformations. Bodies and Texts in Cyberspace. St. Kliment Ohridski University Press Sofia.
26. Glavanakova A (2006). Cyborg Body Politics. Bulgarian Journal of American and Transatlantic Studies, 1. http://www.jatsbulgaria.org
27. Hanegraaff WJ (2007) Fiction in the Desert of the Real: Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. Aries 7:85–109. https://doi.org/10.1163/157005906X154728
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31. Lovecraft HP (2000) Omnibus 2. Dagon and Other Macabre Tales. HarperCollins Publishers.
32. Lovecraft HP (2011) The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Tales Classics. Vintage.
33. McDonald RA, Vena D (2016) Monstrous Relationalities: The Horrors of Queer Eroticism and ‘Thingness’ in Alan Moore and Stephen Bissette’s Swamp Thing. Arcade. https://arcade.stanford.edu/content/monstrous-relationalities-horrors-queer-eroticism-and-thingness-alan-moore-and-stephen
34. Moore A, Campbell (1999) From Hell. Top Shelf Productions.
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36. Otto R (1959) The Idea of the Holy (J. W. Harvey, Trans.). Penguin.
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38. Pepperell R (2003) The Post-human Condition: Consciousness Beyond the Brain. Intellect Books.
39. Barad K (2018) Posthumanists Performativity. In C. Åsberg & R. Braidotti (Eds.), A Feminist Companion to the Posthumanities.
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42. Roden D (2010) Deconstruction and Excision in Philosophical Post-humanism. Journal of Evolution and Technology, 21(1).
43. Semel P (2018) Exclusive Interview: The Soldier Author Neal Asher. http://paulsemel.com/exclusive-interview-the-soldier-author-neal-asher/
44. Suvin D (2014) Estrangement and Cognition. Strange Horizons.
45. Yates W, Adams JL (1997) The Grotesque in Art and Literature: Theological Reflections. W.B. Eerdmans.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to cite

Patra, I. (2023). Exploring the intersection of Lovecraftian monstrosity and techno-body horror in selected works of Neal Asher: an examination of (post-)humanity. Multidisciplinary Reviews, 6(1), 2023009. https://doi.org/10.31893/multirev.2023009

[1] Asher N (2002) The Skinner. Macmillan Publishers.

[2] Asher N (2006) The Voyage of the Sable Keech. Tor Publication.

[3] Asher N (2008) Shadow of the Scorpion. Tor Books.

[4] Asher N (2008) The Gabble and Other Stories. Night Shade Books.

[5] Asher N (2009) U.K. Orbus. Tor Books.

[6] Asher N (2010) The Technician (Main Market Ed., Kindle E-Book). Tor.

[7] Asher N (2015) Dark Intelligence. Pan Macmillan.

[8] Asher N (2016) War Factory. Pan Macmillan.

[9] Asher N (2017) Infinity Engine. Pan Macmillan.

[10] Asher N (2019) The Warship. Tor Books.

[11] Asher N (2020) Lockdown Tales. NewCon Press.

[12] Asher N (2020) The Human. Pan Macmillan.

[13] Asher N (2023) Lockdown Tales 2 (Kindle Ed.).

[14] Badmington N (2003) Theorizing Post-humanism. Cultural Critique 53:10–27.

[15] Baudrillard J (2005) Cool Memories V: 2000–2004. Galilée.

[16] Berruti M (2004) H. P. Lovercraft and the Anatomy of the Nothingness: The Cthulhu Mythos. Semiotica 150. https://doi.org/10.1515/semi.2004.052.

[17] Braidotti R (2013) The Post-human. Polity Press.

[18] Brid-Aine P (2015) Hardboiled, Fast-Paced, Mind-Bending Fun–Dark Intelligence I.S. Sci-Fi. Theregister.com. https://www.theregister.com/2015/02/01/dark_intelligence_book_review

[19] Bundock C, Effinger E (2018) William Blake’s Gothic Imagination: Bodies of Horror. Manchester University Press.

[20] Callaghan G (2013) H.P. Lovecraft’s Dark Arcadia: The Satire, Symbology and Contradiction. McFarland & Company, Inc.

[21] Carroll N (2003) The Philosophy of Horror or, Paradoxes of the Heart. Routledge, Taylor & Francis.

[22] Clarke B (2008) Post-human Metamorphosis: Narrative and Systems. Fordham University Press.

[23] Cohen J (1996) Monster Theory: Reading Culture. University Of Minnesota Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/book/27701

[24] Filippo PD (2015) Paul Di Filippo Reviews Neal Asher. Locus Online. https://locusmag.com/2015/01/paul-di-filippo-reviews-neal-asher

[25] Glavanakova A (2014) Posthuman Transformations. Bodies and Texts in Cyberspace. St. Kliment Ohridski University Press Sofia.

[26] Glavanakova A (2006). Cyborg Body Politics. Bulgarian Journal of American and Transatlantic Studies, 1. http://www.jatsbulgaria.org

[27] Hanegraaff WJ (2007) Fiction in the Desert of the Real: Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. Aries 7:85–109. https://doi.org/10.1163/157005906X154728

[28] Hurley K (2007) “Abject and Grotesque.” In C. Spooner & E. McEvoy (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Gothic. Routledge.

[29] Kass L (2001) Preventing a Brave New World. The New Republic Online.

[30] Lopez Cruz RA (2012) Mutations and Metamorphoses: Body Horror Is Biological Horror. Journal of Popular Film and Television. Taylor & Francis.

[31] Lovecraft HP (2000) Omnibus 2. Dagon and Other Macabre Tales. HarperCollins Publishers.

[32] Lovecraft HP (2011) The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Tales Classics. Vintage.

[33] McDonald RA, Vena D (2016) Monstrous Relationalities: The Horrors of Queer Eroticism and ‘Thingness’ in Alan Moore and Stephen Bissette’s Swamp Thing. Arcade. https://arcade.stanford.edu/content/monstrous-relationalities-horrors-queer-eroticism-and-thingness-alan-moore-and-stephen

[34] Moore A, Campbell (1999) From Hell. Top Shelf Productions.

[35] Nayar PK (2014) Post-human. Wiley.

[36] Otto R (1959) The Idea of the Holy (J. W. Harvey, Trans.). Penguin.

[37] Pearson KA (1997) Viroid Life: Perspectives on Nietzsche and the Transhuman Condition. Routledge.

[38] Pepperell R (2003) The Post-human Condition: Consciousness Beyond the Brain. Intellect Books.

[39] Barad K (2018) Posthumanists Performativity. In C. Åsberg & R. Braidotti (Eds.), A Feminist Companion to the Posthumanities.

[40] Ranisch R, Lorenz Sorgner S (2014) Post- and Transhumanism: An Introduction. Peter Lang Books.

[41] Roden D (2014) Post-human Life Philosophy at the Edge of the Human. Routledge.

[42] Roden D (2010) Deconstruction and Excision in Philosophical Post-humanism. Journal of Evolution and Technology, 21(1).

[43] Semel P (2018) Exclusive Interview: The Soldier Author Neal Asher. http://paulsemel.com/exclusive-interview-the-soldier-author-neal-asher/

[44] Suvin D (2014) Estrangement and Cognition. Strange Horizons.

[45] Yates W, Adams JL (1997) The Grotesque in Art and Literature: Theological Reflections. W.B. Eerdmans.

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References

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