Book Review – Altered Carbon
Author: Richard K. Morgan
Cover Artist: Chris Moore
Publisher: Gollancz
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: September 2002
Altered Carbon is the debut novel of British SF writer Richard Morgan. Set in a universe in which the UN (United Nations) Protectorate oversees a number of extrasolar planets settled by human beings, the hard-boiled science fiction novel features protagonist Takeshi Kovacs for the first time. He is a former United Nations Envoy (a futuristic super-commando). Envoys are trained to adapt quickly to new bodies (“sleeves”) and new environments. Kovacs is half-Japanese (Caucasian), half-East European.
The novel is set in a cyberpunk, somewhat dystopian world that has noir feeling to it. Human life on Earth as we know it has been digitalized nothing has been drastically changed 5 centuries fast forward from our own modern age. Crime runs loose on the streets, the police are still trying to bust the bad guys and humans still have their needs – whorehouses to be found all around. Even more, with virtual realities developed the way they were, it opens a realm full of other possibilities. Humans have mastered ‘mind-uploading’, by implanting a so-called cordial stack (which records all brain activity) at the base of the skull. If the person was to die, the cordial stack could be implanted in a new body (resleeved) and he or she would live on in the new body. Only if the cordial stack were to be blown out of someone’s skull, the person in question would suffer a RD (real death). And I can assure you: the protagonist is not averse of blowing stacks out skulls, trained as he is as an Envoy.
Other than digitalized life, the novel presents a few ideas. The neurachem, a system that enhances the neurological reactions and the Envoy conditioning were especially fascinating to read about. I am looking forward to read more about that in the ‘sequels’ to Altered Carbon, Woken Furies and Broken Angels. The concept of the ‘Patchwork Man’ in a virtual reality also managed to capture my interest and this citation illustrates how Morgan incorporated the technological ideas in his science fiction work.
In this case, the system seemed to have scrambled a myriad different perceptions from Kadmin’s long list of sleeves. [..]
Kadmin had freed himself from conventional perceptions of the physical. In an earlier age, he would have been a shaman; here, the centuries of technology had made him more. An electric demon, a malignant spirit that dwelled in altered carbon and emerged only to posses flesh and wreak havoc. He would have made a fine Envoy. (p. 205)
Altered Carbon also contains some science-fiction conventions, like using flying airships as a means for transport and machines having their own AI (in this case the Hendrix Hotel talking to its customers). The novel is gritty and realistic enough though, to be quite accessible even for non-science fiction readers. Personally, I enjoyed it all. It was the perfect backdrop for Takeshi Kovacs to shine – he’s one of the allstars.
In this Takeshi Kovacs casebook, he is resleeved on Earth to solve the mystery of Laurens Bancroft his death. Bancroft is the owner of an influential company on Earth, has connections with the UN Protectorate and is a Meth (someone who is wealthy enough to acquire replacement bodies on continual basis over the centuries). He apparently committed suicide and destroyed his stack in the effort. When he is resleeved from a back up, he has no memories of what happened to him so he calls in Takeshi Kovacs (who is doing some years in a digital prison). The Bay City police have already done research on the event and have confirmed that Bancroft committed suicide, but Bancroft himself does not believe that. Takeshi Kovacs has to discover the truth, but as he edges closer to the true story, things get increasingly more complicated.
Takeshi Kovacs is a great character. The plot unfolds through Kovac’s narrative and it is a good thing because he is a great realized, fully fleshed-out personality. His former teacher and fellow soldier make frequent appearances, giving us some clues on Kovacs’ past. His attitude and behavior bear some resemblances to Charlie Huston’s Joe Pitt, same tough-guy indifference, the same ability to rack up a nice body count. The same big-mouthed talk that makes me grin like a madman when reading.
‘You already are involved. You’ve abducted and tortured an Envoy. You got any idea what the Corps will do to you for that. They’ll hunt you down and feed your stacks to the EMP. All of you. Then your families, then your business associates, then their families and then anyone else who gets in the way. By the time they’ve finished you won’t even be a memory. You don’t fuck with the Corps and live to write songs about it. They’ll eradicate you. It was colossal bluff. (p. 157)
For most of the novel, the pace was excellent as well, a brisk pace to keep you on the edge of your seat. There is plenty of action, some gratuitous sex scenes and hints are dropped here and there for you to puzzle over. Only in the latter parts of the novel, the parts in which the whole mystery is revealed, I felt that the novel started dragging a bit too much. This may be because of the fact that Morgan wanted the reader to completely understand what was going on. It left me with the impression that he was spelling it out for the reader, but in the end, it was a minor inconvenience compared to the overall quality of the novel. The prose was decent, in a stylistic sense it was not too innovative but it did its job of the supporting the story just fine.
Wrapping up, Altered Carbon is great and extremely enjoyable novel. It presents some interesting technological ideas, has a realized, fully fleshed-out protagonist and excellent pacing for most parts. It is gritty and realistic enough to be accessible and thus comes highly recommended to every fan of the genre. Go pick it up now (if you haven’t already).
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