Reviews

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

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songwind's review against another edition

4.0

Morgan has created a compelling blend of traditional cyberpunk tropes with far future, interstellar sci-fi.

Many familiar cyperpunk elements are present - criminal and/or underclass protagonists, manipulation by the wealthy and corporate, technological body modification, and VR.

At the same time, this book gives us a vision of a highly advanced terran sphere, rather than the "day after tomorrow" feeling from much of cyberpunk. Interstellar colonization, flying cars, extreme anti-aging medicine, and others.

The story premise itself is classic cyberpunk - Takeshi Kovachs, former soldier turned criminal, is given a furlough from storage (more or less jail) at the request of a wealthy patron. He's supposed to find out who killed this man's body (but not his data back ups or clones). The police have already investigated, and pronounced it suicide.

It doesn't take long for Kovachs to realize he's gotten in a lot deeper than he realized.

mplumm1322's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark 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

Excellent! I enjoyed the Netflix series but the book blew it out of the park. The Netflix plot swing from the book now seems completely unnecessary, the book’s story line was less chaotic and had a solid foundation.
The investigation into the death of Bancroft along with the interconnectedness of Kovac’s sleeve was masterful. Everything seemed random at first but all tied together by the end.
Lots of reviews complain about the graphic sex scenes… if you’ve ever watched HBO then this is nothing new.
I will say this was a more challenging read because it was so complex and detailed but taking some extra time to think things through was so worth it.

ethanses's review against another edition

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adventurous

3.5

clarktheshark's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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

4.0

chowdz's review against another edition

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5.0

I’ve been struggling to get back into reading this year, but this novel was the perfect thing to get me going. An amazing and interesting world which delves into what it means to be human all while having incredible pacing where not a word is wasted! So much better than the Netflix series!