Altered Carbon (Takeshi Kovacs, #1) in Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library

Jan 13, 2018 Dave Johnson rated it it was ok

After hearing news of Altered Carbon coming to Netflix, and that it was a sci-fi noir, I was really excited about this book. In the end, it's not worth reading. Though I'm sure the TV show will be a LOT better.

This was obviously inspired by Blade Runner, and for good reason--it's a masterpiece of sci-fi noir. And though it really tries to be that grizzled, hard-boiled futuristic crime novel, it fall short on several key places. I won't go over all my gripes (for brevity's sake; you're welcome). After hearing news of Altered Carbon coming to Netflix, and that it was a sci-fi noir, I was really excited about this book. In the end, it's not worth reading. Though I'm sure the TV show will be a LOT better.

This was obviously inspired by Blade Runner, and for good reason--it's a masterpiece of sci-fi noir. And though it really tries to be that grizzled, hard-boiled futuristic crime novel, it fall short on several key places. I won't go over all my gripes (for brevity's sake; you're welcome). The biggest flaw in this book is that it doesn't give you a reason to care. Every story has to have a reason for the reader to care. Why do you care about what is happening to the protagonist? Why do you care about how bad the antagonist is? The author never gives you a sufficient reason to care, and thus I found myself reading hoping to find a reason to want to keep reading. It almost seems like the author is just starting the story without any sufficient context. This story is told in first person, by the "protagonist"--a real prick more like it--Takeshi Kovacs. That's one reason the story falls flat. The character is unlikable. And that's okay if given reason to care about the story, but it doesn't, so you are left with a book you don't care told from a guy you don't even like.

One smallish gripe I have with this book is a problem coming from the first person perspective. The author is definitely a competent writer of words, and has a clear style that shines on the page. But the author should have taken a backseat and let Takeshi Kovacs narrate the book as the POV character would have in that situation. For instance, a WRITER would tend to embellish and color descriptions in poetic ways, but not someone telling you their story. Someone who is telling their side of the story would tell the story simply and powerfully, eschewing poetry for punch. So while I liked the descriptive nature of the AUTHOR's perspective, it often felt jarring to hear it, knowing that this was supposed to be said from the main character.

My last big gripe I have with this book is the philosophy. I love sci-fi in general because they can (and should) convey deeper meaning than just the main story. The best science fictions contain big ideas about philosophy or current-day concerns. But the biggest takeaway from this book is a sort of nihilistic hedonism that the characters subscribe to. It's really apparent, and REALLY sickening. I don't expect every author to believe everything I believe, but reading this book made me want to go wash my mind out with soap.

Some people will like this book. It has strong characters, lots of action, and a great setting and world-building. The author is good, but not great. My time with this author and this book series is ending with book one. But I am still very interested in the Netflix original. I think the show has a chance of taking the story and lifting it and making it better overall. ...more

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