Altered Carbon
Jan 2003 · Takeshi Kovacs Book 1 · Sold by Del Rey
4.5star
447 reviews
Ebook
384
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About this ebook
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW AN EXCITING SERIES FROM NETFLIX • The shell that blew a hole in his chest was only the beginning in this “tour de force of genre-bending, a brilliantly realized exercise in science fiction.”—The New York Times Book Review
In the twenty-fifth century, humankind has spread throughout the galaxy, monitored by the watchful eye of the U.N. While divisions in race, religion, and class still exist, advances in technology have redefined life itself. Now, assuming one can afford the expensive procedure, a person’s consciousness can be stored in a cortical stack at the base of the brain and easily downloaded into a new body (or “sleeve”) making death nothing more than a minor blip on a screen.
Ex-U.N. envoy Takeshi Kovacs has been killed before, but his last death was particularly painful. Dispatched one hundred eighty light-years from home, re-sleeved into a body in Bay City (formerly San Francisco, now with a rusted, dilapidated Golden Gate Bridge), Kovacs is thrown into the dark heart of a shady, far-reaching conspiracy that is vicious even by the standards of a society that treats “existence” as something that can be bought and sold.
In the twenty-fifth century, humankind has spread throughout the galaxy, monitored by the watchful eye of the U.N. While divisions in race, religion, and class still exist, advances in technology have redefined life itself. Now, assuming one can afford the expensive procedure, a person’s consciousness can be stored in a cortical stack at the base of the brain and easily downloaded into a new body (or “sleeve”) making death nothing more than a minor blip on a screen.
Ex-U.N. envoy Takeshi Kovacs has been killed before, but his last death was particularly painful. Dispatched one hundred eighty light-years from home, re-sleeved into a body in Bay City (formerly San Francisco, now with a rusted, dilapidated Golden Gate Bridge), Kovacs is thrown into the dark heart of a shady, far-reaching conspiracy that is vicious even by the standards of a society that treats “existence” as something that can be bought and sold.
Ratings and reviews
4.5
447 reviews
Michael Shanks
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December 19, 2012
The 1st in the Takeshi Kovacs series, a noir mystery thriller, set in the day after tomorrow, bodies a grown, minds are transfered to new bodies, minds (digitized) are sent across the universe. Takes current tech and discoveries down a road, where it might go. Very interesting, an original at the time. Would still like to see the long promised movie.
Gerry B
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May 10, 2020
Unfortunately I saw the Netflix production first so I had some preconceived notions to put to rest. This is a very good read and an excellent first novel. Tough, gritty and imaginative with well developed characters and an anti-hero I want to see more of. If you're an SF fan and enjoy a good mystery that will keep you up reading don't miss this book.
Michael Heinz
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June 22, 2016
I read this in hardback when it first came out and I loved it. The idea of a murder mystery in a world where true death is nearly impossible and the client was also the victim was a great take on a classic genre. Add to that an exploration of what it means to be a person in a world where minds can be copied as easily as a pirate movie and every lover of hard science fiction is in for a treat.
26 people found this review helpful
About the author
Richard K. Morgan is the acclaimed author of The Cold Commands, The Steel Remains, Thirteen, Woken Furies, Market Forces, Broken Angels, and Altered Carbon, a New York Times Notable Book that also won the Philip K. Dick Award in 2003. The movie rights to Altered Carbon were optioned by Joel Silver and Warner Bros on publication, and a film version is currently in development with Mythology Entertainment. Market Forces was also optioned to Warner Bros, before it was even published, and it won the John W. Campbell Award in 2005. Thirteen won the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2007 and is currently under movie option to Straight Up films. The Steel Remains won the Gaylactic Spectrum Award in 2010, and its sequel, The Cold Commands, appeared in both Kirkus Reviews’ and NPR’s Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Books of the Year lists. Morgan is a fluent Spanish speaker and has lived and worked in Madrid, Istanbul, Ankara, and London, as well as having traveled extensively in the Americas, Africa, and Australia. He now lives in Scotland with his wife, Virginia, and son, Daniel.
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