false 279561 19 Critics have compared Richard Morgan's first novel, <I>Altered Carbon</I>, to the classic hardboiled fiction of Raymond Chandler. The comparison doesn't accurately describe Morgan's second novel, <I>Broken Angels</I>. Morgan's prose never approaches Chandler's metaphoric excess, and Morgan's antihero, Takeshi Kovacs, doesn't wisecrack nearly as often as Chandler's hero, Philip Marlowe. Also, Kovacs's far-future universe is considerably darker than Marlowe's noir world. In Kovacs's universe, high-tech implants called "stacks" record memory and personality; this means soldiers can be sent to their deaths, have their stacks implanted in new bodies, and be sent to their deaths again, and again, and again. Generals needn't quibble about wasting lives in massacres or nuclear explosions. The slaughtered soldiers will soon be back in action--unless their stacks aren't recovered. Then their consciousness will go mad, isolated in an indestructible, inescapable virtual reality. The proper term for the Takeshi Kovacs novels isn't "hardboiled." It's "brutal."<p> The Martians disappeared long ago, but they left behind their star gates, which have allowed humanity to spread across the galaxy--and bring warfare to the stars. As <I>Broken Angels</I> opens, Takeshi Kovacs is a lieutenant in humankind's most feared mercenary company, but rumors of an astonishing archaelogical discovery inspire his desertion. Humans have never found a Martian starship until, perhaps, now. If the rumors are true, and the ruthless Kovacs can take possession of the unprecedented relic, he will make his fortune. But if he fails in his quest, he may find himself imprisoned in high-tech hell for eternity. <I>--Cynthia Ward</I> 1775843 2003 Broken Angels total:1122|5:266|4:504|3:294|2:48|1:9| 1122 4337 1426 90 3 1 false false Tue Jul 22 20:13:54 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 22 21:18:44 -0700 2008
OK, there, I said it. And I mean it.

I can only imagine that writing a follow up to critically acclaimed novel has got to be a bummer. Think about it. You got this big awesome first story with all these great ingredients and an amazi...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Oct 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 18:09:54 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 22:16:07 -0700 2009 Altered Carbon. And not nearly as good. Is this one of those cases where a successful author isn't subject to as much editorial control?

A difference that doesn't bother me is that Broken Angels is more SF and less murder mystery than Altered Carbon. But then...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jun 05 23:16:31 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 23:16:47 -0700 2009
Altered Carbon was the beginning of "this world". In Broken Angels, we continue with "the world" and the sa...more...]]> 4 0 false true Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 20 20:31:59 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 20 20:38:40 -0800 2009
This one revolves around a future world where governments on different planets hire outside mercenary groups to help fight their w...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Mar 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 05 20:30:21 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 09 21:43:19 -0700 2009 Broken Angels takes Richard K. Morgan's badass hero and places him on a new planet with all new problems to deal with. Admirably, Morgan doesn't rely too heavily on the intriguing idea he came up with in his first book, Altered Carbon--that people can be killed ...more...]]> 3 0 false true Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 28 08:45:12 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 03 15:36:51 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Fri Mar 30 18:07:14 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 04 11:26:56 -0700 2007
Morgan's writing about Kovacs is a bit mo...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 06 09:28:14 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 22 13:31:04 -0700 2009 Altered Carbon: it's one of my favourite novels of the last few years, and I suppose that has something to do with the disappointment I felt on finishing this semi-sequel. It's not that I don't like Broken Angels. I do - in places, I like it a lot - but it isn't w...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun Jul 08 17:03:36 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 08 17:07:55 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Sun Jun 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat May 30 14:32:21 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 21 08:18:28 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 21:57:15 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 26 19:23:11 -0700 2009
The first book made references to the Martians, and this one expands on the theme. The violence was less graphic, and the sex at first seemed a bit more grafted on to the story. In the ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jul 27 17:30:21 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 17:43:25 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 1 false false Thu Aug 02 10:53:44 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 02 17:59:05 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Tue Jun 16 23:28:09 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 16 23:28:38 -0700 2009
This review refers to the series (Altered Carbon, Broken Angels and Woken Furies). Great detective thriller, a film noir tone, and pretty good sci-fi thrown in as well. The books are well written and if you like good detective no...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Dec 13 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 13 10:37:39 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 13 10:49:48 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Feb 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 28 22:41:05 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 29 10:15:25 -0800 2008
Star Wars must be generally a good read, then, thoug...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jun 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Feb 23 19:12:53 -0800 2008 Mon Jun 09 20:17:32 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Tue Nov 27 22:49:00 -0800 2007 Tue Nov 27 23:44:22 -0800 2007
The Martians, as they were introduced in Altered Carbon, were a race of sentient birdlike creatures, that have, apparently, been long extinct by the time their relics were dis...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Sep 27 22:19:50 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 27 22:19:54 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false true Sun May 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun May 04 22:57:09 -0700 2008 Tue May 27 12:45:20 -0700 2008
Its not because it wasn't the same as Altered Carbon , I am not looking for a carbon copy. Its because I love archeology and the thought of finding out more about the Martians was wonderful, b...more...]]>