Reviews tagging 'Death'

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

14 reviews

btlitell's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this book but feel it could have been better in a few ways. As far as cyberpunk/sci-fi it's pretty interesting and the concept felt new enough rather than simply a fresh spin on something that previously existed. I really liked the execution of the transferable personality and a body that can change (in some cases) and thought it brought a nice approach to sci-fi's canon.

The biggest reason for this being a 4-star instead of 5 is the very graphically detailed sex scenes that not only seemed gratuitous but also too "technical" or "textbook" in their nature. Not really interested in that, but it's definitely better than if those scenes were filled with horrible and cliche euphemisms (or worse new attempts at euphemisms that are just ick lol). This is absolutely a me thing and not really anything against the writing or the story itself.

I am looking forward to eventually reading books 2 and 3 as well as watching the show.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Death

Minor: Colonisation, Trafficking, War, Self harm, Suicide, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ceeess's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

Engaging, creative, kept me guessing. Don't always enjoy mysteries but this was a good one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Gore, Murder, Police brutality, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Addiction

lilifane's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

After watching the TV Show I wanted to read the books it was based on, because I thought the book would give me additional information and world building and character development and make the plot less confusing. Unfortunately, I waited a few years and so the book was still confusing at this point. I still loved the world building and the twisty plot, liked the characters and enjoyed the reading overall… when I ignored the protagonist’s cringy thoughts and sex scenes at least. Luckily they were mostly in the first half and the second half was more plot and action focused.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Drug use, Gore, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Sexual content, and Torture

voxvenati's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Please take a look at content warnings before reading this if you have any things you’re even iffy on. It’s pretty graphic on several fronts. 

There isn’t exactly a specific content warning tag for this, but it’s going in spoilers for anyone who doesn’t want to know:

It doesn’t get extremely graphic, but there’s moderate depiction of bestiality toward the end of the book. It was disturbing and took me by surprise so I wanted to add that in here. It is not endorsed by the main character, it’s about how fucked up a no-name character is, but still relevant for content warnings beyond just the “animal cruelty” tag.

After all that, I did enjoy the rest of the book. The Netflix show deviated from the book in a lot of respects, but they’re both just as engaging, and I had a good time with both. The world building is phenomenal. I’m obsessed. I enjoyed the characters, especially Kovacs. The plot was solid. I found myself thinking about this book almost constantly when I wasn’t reading it. People hate on the sex scenes, but I found them better written than most of the romance and erotica I’ve read this year. 

The most fascinating thing in the book is, of course, the altered carbon. The way Morgan discusses the implications of such a technology - how resleeving affects people psychologically, how the government takes advantage of it, what happens when you can’t afford to bring a loved one back, how organized religion would react to this, how class disparities become so great that the 1% virtually become gods. Really good shit. Chef kiss. 

Even so, there were a few negatives for me. First, the above spoiler/content warning was really unexpected. It made its point but the amount of time spent on it hurt me. Second, I’m not sure how I feel about the treatment of sex work in this world. Takeshi seems neutral toward it, but Ortega makes several disparaging comments about the “whorehouses” and people working there. Last, the treatment of the Sharya culture and peoples was distasteful at times.

This book certainly has its issues, but the writing, characters, concepts, and plot really made up for it in my opinion. If none of the content warnings are a dealbreaker, it’s worth a read. Just don’t expect it to be the Netflix show.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Excrement, and Violence

catsy2022's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Alcoholism, Body horror, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Suicide and Police brutality

Minor: War, Abortion, and Child death

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

mccluskyn's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Murder, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence

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

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 against another edition

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