Altered Carbon - Richard K. Morgan
Where Did I Get This Book?: Found this one in a local book store looking for an excuse to buy a book. It had the shiniest cover.
Why Did I Choose This Book?: First-person narrative is fairly rare – and well-done first person narrative is even less common; this, combined with the incredible setting and illustrative writing style makes it one of my favorites.
The Story’s Strengths: Morgan’s devised somewhat of a less-well-known side of sci-fi here, a sci-fi noir. Altered Carbon is a detective novel, at its core, set against a technological background that actually doesn’t interfere with the story one bit. The main character, Takeshi Kovacs, is so intense reading the book nearly makes my eyes bleed – but in a good way. Also, this is the first in a trilogy of totally stand-alone stories for Kovacs, and I sincerely hope there are more to come.
The Story’s Weaknesses: Unfortunately one of the places this book falls apart is the plot line. Morgan does a superb job of action writing – most of my tricks I’ve learned from reading his writing among others – and the characterisation is great… But sometimes the book is too gritty for its own good, and the final twist comes at such a sharp angle it sort of seems like a wizard of Oz ending desparately trying to be the Kaiser Soze of literature. It’s not that it doesn’t make sense. It’s just that it’s too sharp.
Why I’m Recommending This Book: Morgan’s written a few books since this one, but it’s the first which caught my eye. The idea that sci-fi and film noir style detective books can be combined was a big stepping stone for my own style, and it’s rare that this kind of shift comes from one book. Kovacs, the narrator, is compelling, and the conversational voice he uses as narrator is driving. There’s not a dull page to be found in the entire book.
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