davidlz1's review
4.0
Really enjoyed this read...I felt the book could have been shorter, however. Too much time spent writing fight scenes and describing too much gory detail...that's what a reader's mind is for. And then there's the sex scenes...repeat what I said about the fight scenes. The concept was brilliant. Very forward thinking. Looking forward to the next installment!
wkalb's review against another edition
1.0
I hate this book. Hate, hate, hate it. I hate the characters, I hate the plot, I hate the cover, I hate the way it smells, and I hate the way it knocked over a lamp when I frisbeed it across the room in a fit of literary angst. It came to me highly recommended by a number of friends, good friends, caring, kind, and well-read friends who share with me a love of speculative fiction. We all love Snow Crash and Neuromancer and Babylon 5, and we all hate football and direct sunlight. We are all science or engineering majors, and therefore we spent our socially-awkward, bespectacled childhoods sitting in the back of French class, surreptitiously reading The Lord of the Rings under our desks while Monsieur Charpentier tried to teach us the subjunctive mood. What I'm trying to say is that yes, I have a certain amount of nerd cred, and come from a background well-suited to an appreciation of cyberpunk. So when I heard about Altered Carbon, I didn’t hesitate to pick it up.
My main problem with this book can be summed up as everything.
Seriously, everything. Every single aspect of this book conspired together to instill in me a strange mixture of despair, anger, and boredom. To call the characters one-dimensional would be an insult to the number line. The plot is convoluted and nonsensical. The protagonist, Takeshi Kovacs, is an Envoy, a sort of highly-trained, elite interstellar soldier, and one of the most blitheringly stupid morons I’ve had the displeasure of reading about. New technologies are condensed out of thin air to arbitrarily move the plot along. Every character to whom the reader is supposed to be sympathetic is either an unlikable asshole, an idiot, or both.
Choose two: Incompetent, unlikable, cliché. Bam, you’ve described a character in Altered Carbon.
And then there’s the violence. Now, I thoroughly enjoyed The Repossession Mambo (renamed Repo Men after the movie came out), a book so blood-soaked that it’s practically a biohazard. Somehow, Morgan has managed to craft a work of prose so exquisitely brutish that it made me uncomfortable. That’s actually kind of impressive. Good job.
Morgan also seems to have a fascination with the word “enzyme.” It gets a little weird.
At the end of the day, I ended up putting this book down six-sevenths of the way through because I found out there was a sequel, dashing my hopes that Kovacs would permanently die in a horrible way on the last page. By around the halfway point, I was literally reading Altered Carbon out of pure spite. I hate this book, I hate Richard Morgan, and I hate you. Not because you deserve it -- you are probably a perfectly fine human being, or a reasonable facsimile thereof -- but because any time I think about Altered Carbon I am unable to experience any emotion but unending, bitter, sobbing hatred. I read (most of) Altered Carbon and came out the other side a changed man, and not for the better. Please, for the love of all that you hold dear, don’t read this book. And if you do, don’t tell me that you enjoyed it or I might just vomit all over you and/or punch you in the solar plexus before you have a chance to say “postmodern.”
Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to hug a cat and watch a Pixar movie. If that doesn’t cheer me up, I’ll probably be forced to check out every copy of Altered Carbon from a library, light them on fire, throw the ashes into a river, and listen to Smile Empty Soul songs until I can’t feel emotions anymore.
My main problem with this book can be summed up as everything.
Seriously, everything. Every single aspect of this book conspired together to instill in me a strange mixture of despair, anger, and boredom. To call the characters one-dimensional would be an insult to the number line. The plot is convoluted and nonsensical. The protagonist, Takeshi Kovacs, is an Envoy, a sort of highly-trained, elite interstellar soldier, and one of the most blitheringly stupid morons I’ve had the displeasure of reading about. New technologies are condensed out of thin air to arbitrarily move the plot along. Every character to whom the reader is supposed to be sympathetic is either an unlikable asshole, an idiot, or both.
Choose two: Incompetent, unlikable, cliché. Bam, you’ve described a character in Altered Carbon.
And then there’s the violence. Now, I thoroughly enjoyed The Repossession Mambo (renamed Repo Men after the movie came out), a book so blood-soaked that it’s practically a biohazard. Somehow, Morgan has managed to craft a work of prose so exquisitely brutish that it made me uncomfortable. That’s actually kind of impressive. Good job.
Morgan also seems to have a fascination with the word “enzyme.” It gets a little weird.
At the end of the day, I ended up putting this book down six-sevenths of the way through because I found out there was a sequel, dashing my hopes that Kovacs would permanently die in a horrible way on the last page. By around the halfway point, I was literally reading Altered Carbon out of pure spite. I hate this book, I hate Richard Morgan, and I hate you. Not because you deserve it -- you are probably a perfectly fine human being, or a reasonable facsimile thereof -- but because any time I think about Altered Carbon I am unable to experience any emotion but unending, bitter, sobbing hatred. I read (most of) Altered Carbon and came out the other side a changed man, and not for the better. Please, for the love of all that you hold dear, don’t read this book. And if you do, don’t tell me that you enjoyed it or I might just vomit all over you and/or punch you in the solar plexus before you have a chance to say “postmodern.”
Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to hug a cat and watch a Pixar movie. If that doesn’t cheer me up, I’ll probably be forced to check out every copy of Altered Carbon from a library, light them on fire, throw the ashes into a river, and listen to Smile Empty Soul songs until I can’t feel emotions anymore.
spensaaa's review against another edition
dnf'ed at 28%. i decided this book is not for me and i was not enjoying it.
misterwil's review against another edition
3.0
I had a little trouble getting in to this book. It was good, don't get me wrong, but I just don't think it's the type of book I really get in to.
valjeanval's review against another edition
3.0
I ended up with very mixed feelings on this book. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the idea of "re-sleeving" and the transfer of consciousness across worlds. The ways society has made use of this technology, the way not everyone can afford it, the use in military form, all that was interesting, thoughtful and often just downright cool.
A lot of the rest of the book got on my nerves though. It's written in noir style, and there seems to be an inherent sexism in the genre. Morgan uses the "I'm so angry with you, let's have sex!" trope that I hate more than anything. The sex scenes themselves were way more graphic than I was anticipating and honestly pretty awkward. Some on the S&L forums described the book as "harem anime" and that isn't too far off. Still not sure what Trepp's deal is, which is a shame because she was the most interesting character for me.
I'm leaving it at three stars because it's not badly written. It just makes use of a few tropes and tricks that do nothing for me. If you're very into noir sci-fi and don't mind the occasional X-rated incident, give this book a try. I think I've just read a bit too much in that style lately to really enjoy this one.
A lot of the rest of the book got on my nerves though. It's written in noir style, and there seems to be an inherent sexism in the genre. Morgan uses the "I'm so angry with you, let's have sex!" trope that I hate more than anything. The sex scenes themselves were way more graphic than I was anticipating and honestly pretty awkward. Some on the S&L forums described the book as "harem anime" and that isn't too far off. Still not sure what Trepp's deal is, which is a shame because she was the most interesting character for me.
I'm leaving it at three stars because it's not badly written. It just makes use of a few tropes and tricks that do nothing for me. If you're very into noir sci-fi and don't mind the occasional X-rated incident, give this book a try. I think I've just read a bit too much in that style lately to really enjoy this one.
btmarino84's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
Listen...this book is dated as hell and has a lot of "Takeshi is a Cool Dude Who Fucks" moments. But you know I'm a sucker for a Blade Runner/Neuromancer rip off, and the writing was propulsive (the action scenes are well choreagraphed and described). And there were actually interesting and complex women characters both villainous, heroic and in between...which I have to be honest I was not expecting from this. Anyway, I enjoyed it enough that I want to read the other two books and watch the show.
Listen...this book is dated as hell and has a lot of "Takeshi is a Cool Dude Who Fucks" moments. But you know I'm a sucker for a Blade Runner/Neuromancer rip off, and the writing was propulsive (the action scenes are well choreagraphed and described). And there were actually interesting and complex women characters both villainous, heroic and in between...which I have to be honest I was not expecting from this. Anyway, I enjoyed it enough that I want to read the other two books and watch the show.
krakentamer's review against another edition
4.0
I'll be honest here - I almost threw in the towel at about the 25% mark. I'm far from being a prude, but I was just not in the mood for the amount of explicit sex and torture in this book. I felt that it was gratuitious and not essential to the plot; that the author was just showing off. But I stuck with it, and looking back, I realized that the characters' motivations later in the book would've seemed lacking or false if I hadn't experienced it with them.
The other thing that started off negatively for me was the main reason that I put off reading the book as long as I did - the basic premise of downloading your personality to a computer bores me to death. However, the technology behind this as presented in the book was very ... interesting. I almost said "believeable", but that would be a stretch. Instead, I was treated to a view of a world (universe, really) in which there really is a complete disconnect between SELF and BODY. There were many thought-provoking avenues opened up to me from here, and I'll be thinking about the implications for quite a while.
The other thing that started off negatively for me was the main reason that I put off reading the book as long as I did - the basic premise of downloading your personality to a computer bores me to death. However, the technology behind this as presented in the book was very ... interesting. I almost said "believeable", but that would be a stretch. Instead, I was treated to a view of a world (universe, really) in which there really is a complete disconnect between SELF and BODY. There were many thought-provoking avenues opened up to me from here, and I'll be thinking about the implications for quite a while.
benjfleck's review against another edition
3.0
Altered Carbon: Or, Blood, Bullets, and Butts
Altered Carbon is the first novel in a series about a futuristic world where the subconscious mind (and soul, sure) can be uploaded into a new (or, old body). It's an amazing concept that is super cool to think about. Could this ever possibly happen in our own reality? The implications are endless.
We follow Takeshi Kovacs, who last remembers getting slaughtered in some war, now uploaded into a gruff body in the Bay Area in the future. Why is he brought out of the "storage" tank? To investigate the murder of the über rich Laurens Bancroft. What follows is a super hi-tech adventure full of action, mystery, and violence. Tons of violence. This is not a happy-go-lucky tale. It's dirty, degrading, and dark. If you love violence and guns and shooting and sex and "badassery" then you'll love this.
I wished the novel focused more on the tech and characters because that is where it shined. It was a bit too grungy for me. The mystery was somewhat overly complicated. There were a lot of players in play and some plot holes. But ultimately, the idea and the world created was very interesting. I'm considering reading the next novel in the series...
P.S. And, now this book is a Netflix Series because WHY NOT.
Altered Carbon is the first novel in a series about a futuristic world where the subconscious mind (and soul, sure) can be uploaded into a new (or, old body). It's an amazing concept that is super cool to think about. Could this ever possibly happen in our own reality? The implications are endless.
We follow Takeshi Kovacs, who last remembers getting slaughtered in some war, now uploaded into a gruff body in the Bay Area in the future. Why is he brought out of the "storage" tank? To investigate the murder of the über rich Laurens Bancroft. What follows is a super hi-tech adventure full of action, mystery, and violence. Tons of violence. This is not a happy-go-lucky tale. It's dirty, degrading, and dark. If you love violence and guns and shooting and sex and "badassery" then you'll love this.
I wished the novel focused more on the tech and characters because that is where it shined. It was a bit too grungy for me. The mystery was somewhat overly complicated. There were a lot of players in play and some plot holes. But ultimately, the idea and the world created was very interesting. I'm considering reading the next novel in the series...
P.S. And, now this book is a Netflix Series because WHY NOT.
ajediprincess's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
In an unusual move for me, I actually watched the series on SyFi before I read this book (mostly because I didn't know it was a book to begin with), and while I loved the series, I felt that the book certainly added a new layer of understanding to the character of Kovacs for me. This book was so interesting, so captivating, and I had such a great time with it from start to finish.
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. which loses an interesting and at times toxic and unnerving layer to their relationship as protagonist and antagonist. I personally feel the show did it better.
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.
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.
Spoiler
I thought it was such a cool dynamic for them to be siblings, extremely close and protective siblings, in the show. In the book they aren't related at all,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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Cursing, Child abuse, Violence, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Classism, and Gore
Minor: Suicide, Stalking, Torture, Sexual violence, Murder, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Drug use, and Slavery