Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

23 reviews

loedai's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Sexual content

Moderate: Rape and Animal cruelty

fahyhallowell's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

My favorite character is the lonely A.I. hotel inclined to violence and subterfuge.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Drug use, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, and Blood

Minor: Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, War, and Animal death

ajediprincess's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

In an unusual move for me, I actually watched the series on SyFi before I read this book (mostly because I didn't know it was a book to begin with), and while I loved the series, I felt that the book certainly added a new layer of understanding to the character of Kovacs for me. This book was so interesting, so captivating, and I had such a great time with it from start to finish.

This world is so dark and harsh, but Takeshi Kovacs is a good guy in a world of scum, yet he's not too good that he himself doesn't have flaws. Ortegas is also a fantastic supporting character and they make a great detective duo, being at first skeptical of one another and somewhat antagonistic, but eventually learning to trust each other and work together. It was a really intriguing tension and despite covering so many ugly, distasteful topics, this book manages to emphasize the depravity of its setting without rubbing the reader's face in it.

This being said, I actually think I prefer the changes they made to the story in the television series over the book. This review would be impossible to write without spoilers, so I apologize for spoiling things in advance, but I will keep them brief.

The difference between the hotel personified and colored as The Raven and manned by an AI of Edgar Allan Poe himself was so delightful in the show, and I was very disappointed to see that the hotel Kovacs stays at is not called The Raven, but rather The Hendrix and it doesn't even really have a characterized AI to befriend Kovacs. This was just not as fun in the book as it was in the show. Poe was one of the best supporting characters.

Another huge change the show made that is absent from the book is the relationship between Rei and Kovacs.

I thought it was such a cool dynamic for them to be siblings, extremely close and protective siblings, in the show. In the book they aren't related at all,

which loses an interesting and at times toxic and unnerving layer to their relationship as protagonist and antagonist. I personally feel the show did it better.

These small gripes aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this gritty sci-fi, cyberpunk novel set in the far future of our Earth and I hope that others will too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Cursing, Child abuse, Violence, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Classism, and Gore

Minor: Suicide, Stalking, Torture, Sexual violence, Murder, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Drug use, and Slavery

mar's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

terminal case of "she breasted boobily down the stairs" writing :| honestly if u ever think abt reading this book just watch the Netflix show instead i promise you won't miss out on anything and you'll have more fun too

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Misogyny, Police brutality, Violence, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Torture

Minor: Child abuse

violence against sex workers in particular is a major recurring theme in the book

jamesbsmith's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Violence

abby_reads_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Murder, War, Addiction, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Drug abuse, Death, Cursing, Death of parent, Blood, Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual violence

kerttuli's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Gun violence

Moderate: Child death, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Medical trauma, and Medical content

Minor: Infidelity and Alcohol

nightingale's review against another edition

So dark. So messed up. Just way too dark.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Gore, Cursing, Child death, Body horror, Blood, Rape, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Slavery, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Death

The sci-fi is really good. The world is really well designed and created but it's hectic it's a 18+ not for sensitive readers.

noonjinx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A great mash up of hard boiled detective and science fiction, set in a future where human minds are digitised and can be uploaded to different bodies. The book is well written and full of great ideas. Be warned; it does contain an unpleasant torture scene

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture

Moderate: Sexual violence and Violence

sillyduckie's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Addiction, Alcohol, Colonisation, Death, Grief, and Infidelity