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has3000's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The premise is that hundreds of years from now, human consciousness can be stored in a device in one’s neck, so if you can afford it you can be downloaded into a new body.
There are so many interesting philosophical and technological facets to this, and Morgan does a good job of at least mentioning them, sometimes fleshing them out.
As far as the…”unsavory” things that often crop up in a noir book: The book definitely has a fair bit of sexual content, but it’s not the focus. Drugs, sex, etc. are mostly shown as things that matter less when a body is impermanent. I thought that it was being racist until I realized that “Mohican” was another term for “Mohawk”, and not a reference to Native Americans. Otherwise, the references to race are mostly to describe a characters new body, and callbacks to the MCs involvement in a brutal assault on a Muslim(?) planet. And on sexism, I felt (as a man) that the book did okay. The MC was definitely male, and definitely attracted to women, and there were several women with altered bodies, as well as whorehouses, etc. But there was also a brief aside about the MC having been in female bodies, and how women have a higher pain tolerance than men. Most of it felt like an attempt to accurately display how humanity acts, rather than sexism for sexism’s sake.
There was no LGBTQ representation, which could have fit in super well here, but in a book from 23 years ago that isn’t super surprising.
Overall, having watched the show first I still really enjoyed this book, with my main genre being Sci-fi but hardly ever reading crime novels.
Graphic: Drug use, Gun violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty
fahyhallowell's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Drug use, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Gore, Blood, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual violence, and War
ajediprincess's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This world is so dark and harsh, but Takeshi Kovacs is a good guy in a world of scum, yet he's not too good that he himself doesn't have flaws. Ortegas is also a fantastic supporting character and they make a great detective duo, being at first skeptical of one another and somewhat antagonistic, but eventually learning to trust each other and work together. It was a really intriguing tension and despite covering so many ugly, distasteful topics, this book manages to emphasize the depravity of its setting without rubbing the reader's face in it.
This being said, I actually think I prefer the changes they made to the story in the television series over the book. This review would be impossible to write without spoilers, so I apologize for spoiling things in advance, but I will keep them brief.
The difference between the hotel personified and colored as The Raven and manned by an AI of Edgar Allan Poe himself was so delightful in the show, and I was very disappointed to see that the hotel Kovacs stays at is not called The Raven, but rather The Hendrix and it doesn't even really have a characterized AI to befriend Kovacs. This was just not as fun in the book as it was in the show. Poe was one of the best supporting characters.
Another huge change the show made that is absent from the book is the relationship between Rei and Kovacs.
These small gripes aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this gritty sci-fi, cyberpunk novel set in the far future of our Earth and I hope that others will too.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Classism
Minor: Drug use, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Stalking, and Murder
kerttuli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation
Minor: Infidelity and Alcohol
nightingale's review against another edition
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
The sci-fi is really good. The world is really well designed and created but it's hectic it's a 18+ not for sensitive readers.