[Disclaimer: I got this book via LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program]
Neal Asher loves to write very long short stories (sorry for the pun). Thay are not my cup of tea, mainly because I find that he indulges too much in lenghty explanations which quickly became boring. Moreover sometimes I found it difficult to follow the plot: maybe it's the fault of the electronic version I read, but there are many changes of the narrating voice without any advice. A quick look at the stories:

◆ Xenovore: The middle section is interesting, but the introduction is way too long (and difficult to follow) and the end is quite forced. 2/5
◆ An Alien on Crete: Well built. I daresay that Asher likes superhuman, or in that case people beyond human. 4/5
◆ The Translator: It reminds me too much of the previous one to be interesting. 3/5
◆ Skin: It's scary, therefore I don't like it. But I must admit it goes on well. 4/5
◆ Eels: A classic space opera. I got lost in several points, however, and that's no good. 2/5
◆ The Host: An alien biology is depicted in an interesting way. 4/5
◆ Antique Battlefields: The best of the lot. A good explanation of how the Quiet War started; moreover, the ending is a bit unexpected at least for me. 5/5
◆ Moral Biology: another attempt at describing alien biology, but too lenghty and with at least a subplot which went nowhere. 3/5
◆ Longevity Averaging: Not very remarkable. All what's around the longevity treatment is lame. 3/5 ( )

I’ve read a number of Neal Asher’s books including the first Lockdown Tales. Asher is a unique sci-fi writer. He’s strangely imaginative in his writing of short stories that take place in an advanced AI-controlled universe known as the polity. Most short story writers struggle to hold their reader’s attention at the beginning of a story when developing their story’s background and characters. Asher ties his books and stories to a common universe so he only needs to work on character development and the story’s action. So, his stories are not laborious and flow from start to finish.

I enjoyed each of the stories in Lockdown Tales 2, some more than others, but found all of them worth the read. Hopefully, Neal Asher has another book in him. I haven’t tired of the polity universe and am looking forward to reading another of his inventive novels. ( )

Received as Early Reviewer.
Another set of short stories mostly set in Asher's Polity universe. I thought the first story, Xenovore, was the most interesting one to me while I really didn't care for the interactions between the main character and his love interest in Eels and I felt the story would have been stronger without most of it. A half-dozen editing errors in the book took a little of the shine off it, but overall enjoyed the tales. ( )

Got this as part of the Early Reviewer scheme, so happy to review it here.

Having read many of Neal Asher's novels this collection of short stories was both familiar and novel. It starts with a crash, Xenovore drops us on an unfamiliar, bleak and hostile world where the struggle for survival is all-consuming. Unsurpisingly, for an Asher story, there are several surprises on what turns out to be an epic journey

Another highlight is a trio of interlinked stories about a translator who is, himself, translated. Moral Biology also considers some tricky philosophical issues about the, almost, unavoidable impact of our existance on those around us.

Eels was another change of tone, into an almost chivalric world with a batle of good against evil, although Asher never lets us forget the larger world in which this small war is being fought.

The collection ends with a couple of stories about aging, and two very different ways of dealing with it.

All in all, an excellent collection that almost makes the second lockdown worth while. ( )

advanced reading copy received for review.

Great set of short stories mostly related to the Polity story universe. All of them were well worth reading, showing Asher's typical imaginative style and content. ( )