Old Favorite: Altered Carbon « Books Worth Reading

Old Favorite: Altered Carbon

July 3, 2009 at 3:17 pm | In Books, Reviews | 2 Comments
Tags: Postcyberpunk, Richard Morgan, Science fiction

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Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan (2002)

Science fiction meets the hard-boiled detective story in this tale of a future in which humans have moved to other planets and practically conquered death, all by discovering how to download the human personality, memories and perhaps the soul into a microchip that can be transplanted from one body to another (the exact procedure for how this is done is never adequately explained, by the way). Sure, the plot is sometimes a little muddy and disjointed, and sometimes the science is suspect, but the premise is fascinating, and Morgan explores many aspects of it. He introduces us to Meths (short for Methuselahs): emotionless people who have lived hundreds of years in clones of their perpetually young bodies. He shows us the consequences of emerging out of prison, where the punishment is years of suspended animation in cold storage, thrust into a body that is not your own. How much of love is physical or chemical, and how much is mental? Morgan asks. And when death is so meaningless, how much is a life worth?

This is the first novel in a series featuring the protagonist, former special military operative, ex-prisoner and unwilling detective Takeshi Kovacs.

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okay, this sounds seriously creepy…thanks for the review…

Comment by 47whitebuffalo — July 3, 2009 #
I keep seeing this, and wondered what it was about. Thanks for the review!

Comment by rhapsodyinbooks — July 3, 2009 #