- Paperback
- Publisher: Del Rey (2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0345457684
- ISBN-13: 978-0345457684
- Product Dimensions: 15.5 x 2.2 x 23.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 363 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
This fast-paced, densely textured, impressive first novel is an intriguing hybrid of William Gibson's Neuromancer and Norman Spinrad's Deus X. In the 25th century, it's difficult to die a final death. Humans are issued a cortical stack, implanted into their bodies, into which consciousness is "digitized" and from which-unless the stack is hopelessly damaged-their consciousness can be downloaded ("resleeved") with its memory intact, into a new body. While the Vatican is trying to make resleeving (at least of Catholics) illegal, centuries-old aristocrat Laurens Bancroft brings Takeshi Kovacs (an Envoy, a specially trained soldier used to being resleeved and trained to soak up clues from new environments) to Earth, where Kovacs is resleeved into a cop's body to investigate Bancroft's first mysterious, stack-damaging death. To solve the case, Kovacs must destroy his former Envoy enemies; outwit Bancroft's seductive, wily wife; dabble in United Nations politics; trust an AI that projects itself in the form of Jimi Hendrix; and deal with his growing physical and emotional attachment to Kristin Ortega, the police lieutenant who used to love the body he's been given. Kovacs rockets from the seediest hellholes on Earth, through virtual reality torture, into several gory firefights, and on to some exotic sexual escapades. Morgan's 25th-century Earth is convincing, while the questions he poses about how much Self is tied to body chemistry and how the rich believe themselves above the law are especially timely.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
In a society in which death has been rendered practically obsolete, suicide and murder take on different significances. After a particularly brutal offing, former UN envoy Takeshi Kovacs finds himself "resleeved"--that is, his consciousness has been put in a new body--and hired as a private investigator by Laurens Bancroft, one of twenty-fifth-century society's old rich in Bay City (formerly San Francisco). Bancroft claims he was murdered, but the police say it was a suicide. After Kovacs gets hit at his hotel within hours of being resleeved, he sees the possibility that Bancroft was, in fact, murdered, and that someone wants to keep it very hush-hush. As he investigates, he uncovers a far-reaching conspiracy with ties to the most unsavory characters in his generally unsavory military and criminal past. This far-future hard-boiled detective story is a lovely virtual-reality romp distinguished by a conspiracy whose strands have the potential to generate several successful sequels, which is just what its publicity promises. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellence,
By lzim "LZIM" (Montreal PQ Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Altered Carbon (Paperback)
I read through this novel faster than any I've ever owned. What makes it easy is the overabundance of action and humour.
The reason I finally decided to buy this book was that I'd quoted the sleeving and needlecasting process and wanted a clearer idea of what Morgan actually meant by those terms, in Sci-Fi they are not uncommon but his working implementation of the principles of colony Sci-Fi, though familiar are highly pecimistic. As a source of inspiration it was disappointing, but for entertainment value it is unparalleled. I'm recommend Chris Moriarty to anyone who reads Altered Carbon because the styles are near mirror images of each other. As well as the Kevin Anderson Saga of the Seven Stars simply because there are so many of those books that any fan of the genre should find something satisfying within.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My 100-word book review,
By A. J. Cull (London, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Altered Carbon (Paperback)
Richard Morgan's debut novel is a fast-moving, stylish, violent detective thriller set in the distant future. I greatly enjoyed the dry, noir-ish humour and the stack/sleeve technology, which is a pretty slick new package for an existing concept (digitised personalities.) The violence may put off some readers, also the general unpleasantness of Morgan's future society; that world is certainly a cold, hard, ruthless place, ruled by soulless corporations and a monolithic and power-hungry United Nations. However, if you are looking for an action-filled yet thoughtful and well-conceived science fiction novel, look no further. Morgan's newer books are very good too!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent read,
By
This review is from: Altered Carbon (Hardcover)
I can't go on enough about how much I enjoyed this novel. My definition of a good book is one that is well written, entertains/enlightens, and is thought provoking...Morgan's latest meets all these criteria. I won't go into about the plot--that's already been done here. Just let me say as someone who has read science fiction for at least 30 years it's rare that I run across a novel this good.
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