Altered Carbon

[thebitterguy]

When I was visiting uniquecrash5 for Cheese Weasel day he loaned me a copy of Altered Carbon, a noir SF novel about body swapping, dysfunctional marriages and functional immortality.

The story follows an ex UN Envoy (i.e. shock trooper), Takeshi Kovacs, as he gets involved in investigating a suicide.

Of course, in this setting, the human consciousness can be backed up, so he's hired to investigate the suicide by the perpetrator/victim.

It's an interesting book. The narrator/protagonist comes across as just a little too competent, and the plot gets a bit too convoluted, but overall it's enjoyable if you're willing to invest into the story. And flip back a few times.

There were enough references to previously undisclosed facts that I kept wondering if this might be the second or third book in a series, but it is indeed the first. The story is definitely hard-boiled, with pheromone spewing femme fatales and cybered up mob torpedoes threatening our hero at every opportunity.

It does make me want to go back to the Chandler & Hammett books I have from my university English courses.

Oddly enough, I don't think it ever explains what the title alludes to, even though it mentions it on several occasions.

Comments

[sixteenbynine.livejournal.com]

The name alone, Takeshi Kovacs ...

The mere idea of the bastard child of Kitano (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeshi_Kitano) and Ernie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Kovacs) makes my flesh leap off my body in big sheets.

[newnumber6.livejournal.com]

I read that fairly reason, and liked it enough to get the rest of the series. Second one is okay, Third one is better than second, not sure if it's as good as the first though. The third's the one they go more in depth on the backstory (since it's set back on his home world).

[thebitterguy]

Cool. I kept feeling like I was missing something, so it would be good to see him fill in the details.

[skaiser.livejournal.com]

The next two in the series are less hardboiled style detective sci-fi and a lot more of a military sf feel.

[thebitterguy]

Oh. Hmmm. I'm not a huge fan of MilSF. Especially in the clumsy sort of political structure that the universe seems to possess.

[skaiser.livejournal.com]

Actually I prefered them to the original. I felt with the original book it felt too much like the author just really liked blade runner and wanted to make his own version. The later titles were much better, the third especially. That all being said, I would qualify this statement by pointing out that these books fall squarely within the guilty pleasure area of reading.

[uniquecrash5.livejournal.com]

They're worthwhile IMO. I ripped through them...

Feel free to lend that to anyone else you feel might like it.