Reviews

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

maudalorian's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

A murder mystery in a macho cyberpunk sleeve. The concept is cool, but I feel like the novel would've confused and/or frustrated me if I hadn't already seen the Netflix series. I couldn't help but compare them all the way through and the adaptation definitely comes out on top for me. It's impressive how they managed to streamline the story, cutting out superfluous characters and a random trip to Spain(?!). Their take on the whole Envoy thing made more sense and characters were better fleshed out, too. Changing the Hendrix to Edgar Allen Poe was genius.

knitasgonnaknit's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

guppyur's review against another edition

3.0

Fun, pretty pulp. Don't think this deserves the hype it gets. Its central conceit isn't especially interesting if you're well-read in science fiction.

austex_93's review against another edition

4.0

I remember briefly skimming through this book, and before I knew it, I was halfway done. It hits the ground running from the start. It felt a bit rushed towards the end, but I enjoyed it very much!

richter10's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

kodyp97's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

jsdrown's review against another edition

2.0

Utterly disappointed in this one. I have read the hype for this cyberpunk novel for years. The new netflix series getting rave reviews finally motivated me to read it. I found both the science fiction and mystery aspects of the book to be super underwhelming. It also tries to have similar philosophical questions comparable to other cyberpunk works like Neuromancer, Ghost in the Shell, or Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? but there just isn't much to chew on here. No, the cyberpunk elements felt like window dressing for the action sequences and sex scenes. I actually can't figure which of those two were more juvenile. There is a moment in a sex scene that actually made me gag in the real world. I wrote my wife and she was pretty revolted. The sexual stuff in this is at a constant stream. Our main character is constantly talking about his swelling penis, masturbating, the figures of every woman he meets(which always happens to be a 5/5 knock out)As far as the action goes? Probably the best thing on display here. That's not to say the action isn't cliche. Richard K. Morgan also loves his guns. He goes into great detail about every single weapon in the book. In fact I think the page or so has our main character playing around with guns. When it's not guns it's samurai swords.

The point is that this book reads like bad Ghost in the Shell fan fiction. I'm sure the show is great. The cinematography and music look phenomenal. This book was all around a bad read for me. I never felt like Takeshi Kovacs came to life for me. I likely wont read any further into the series.

aceinit's review against another edition

3.0

For such a short little novel, there is an awfully lot going on in Altered Carbon, so much that there were times when I felt like I should to be taking notes. There are almost no details in this book that don’t turn out to be relevant somewhere down the line, no matter how many ages ago or worlds away they happened, or how insignificant they seem at the time.

I will admit to being a little disappointed by the ending (I will never understand they the long-lived, cold, calculating, smooth as silk villains suddenly turn into loose-lipped megalomaniacs and irrational hotheads at the end of a story), and I am still perplexed regarding the change of heart in Trepp’s character, who had no discernable reason to change loyalties the way she does. Or, if she does, I certainly didn’t catch it. And I was disappointed that, after such an intricate and complex story, the solution to the murder mystery was really as simple as…well, I won’t give that part away.

down_legends_and_lore's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

pragmapack's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5