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Altered Carbon (Takeshi Kovacs) Paperback – March 4, 2003

by Richard K. Morgan (Author)

976 customer reviews

Book 1 of 3 in the Takeshi Kovacs Novels Series

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW AN EXCITING NEW 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.

Praise for Altered Carbon

“Compelling . . . immensely entertaining . . . [Richard] Morgan’s writing is vivid and his plotting inventive.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

“A fascinating trip . . . Pure high-octane science fiction mixes with the classic noir private-eye tale.”—Orlando Sentinel

“Gritty and vivid . . . looks as if we have another interstellar hero on our hands.”—USA Today

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This fast-paced, densely textured, impressive first novel is an intriguing hybrid of William Gibson's Neuromancer and Norman Spinrad's Deus X. In the 25th century, it's difficult to die a final death. Humans are issued a cortical stack, implanted into their bodies, into which consciousness is "digitized" and from which-unless the stack is hopelessly damaged-their consciousness can be downloaded ("resleeved") with its memory intact, into a new body. While the Vatican is trying to make resleeving (at least of Catholics) illegal, centuries-old aristocrat Laurens Bancroft brings Takeshi Kovacs (an Envoy, a specially trained soldier used to being resleeved and trained to soak up clues from new environments) to Earth, where Kovacs is resleeved into a cop's body to investigate Bancroft's first mysterious, stack-damaging death. To solve the case, Kovacs must destroy his former Envoy enemies; outwit Bancroft's seductive, wily wife; dabble in United Nations politics; trust an AI that projects itself in the form of Jimi Hendrix; and deal with his growing physical and emotional attachment to Kristin Ortega, the police lieutenant who used to love the body he's been given. Kovacs rockets from the seediest hellholes on Earth, through virtual reality torture, into several gory firefights, and on to some exotic sexual escapades. Morgan's 25th-century Earth is convincing, while the questions he poses about how much Self is tied to body chemistry and how the rich believe themselves above the law are especially timely.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In a society in which death has been rendered practically obsolete, suicide and murder take on different significances. After a particularly brutal offing, former UN envoy Takeshi Kovacs finds himself "resleeved"--that is, his consciousness has been put in a new body--and hired as a private investigator by Laurens Bancroft, one of twenty-fifth-century society's old rich in Bay City (formerly San Francisco). Bancroft claims he was murdered, but the police say it was a suicide. After Kovacs gets hit at his hotel within hours of being resleeved, he sees the possibility that Bancroft was, in fact, murdered, and that someone wants to keep it very hush-hush. As he investigates, he uncovers a far-reaching conspiracy with ties to the most unsavory characters in his generally unsavory military and criminal past. This far-future hard-boiled detective story is a lovely virtual-reality romp distinguished by a conspiracy whose strands have the potential to generate several successful sequels, which is just what its publicity promises. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product details

Series: Takeshi Kovacs (Book 1)
Paperback: 375 pages
Publisher: Del Rey; 1st edition (March 4, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345457684
ISBN-13: 978-0345457684
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 976 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #195 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Cyberpunk
- #250 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Genetic Engineering
- #265 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Hard Science Fiction

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Muninn

If you liked the mini-series, read the novel!

February 13, 2018

Verified Purchase

Richard K. Morgan’s mind truly is a dark place, and Altered Carbon is an impressive work of dystopian sci-fi. If you watched the mini-series, read the novel. I liked both, but there are major differences between the novel and mini-series that make each worth your time.

30 people found this helpful

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Silverstone

Speechless, Or Screaming and Running

January 31, 2017

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Not for the fainthearted. Seriously.

When someone asks me for a book recommendation, I do not recommend this book or series if the person is underage, or if the person likes fairies and fluffy dragons, or if the person has never read at least some of the Classic Science Fictions works.

When someone asks me for a book recommendation, and I think that person is smart enough and tough enough to read hardcore blindingly brilliant Science Fiction, I will recommend this book and series with the caveat: "You will either get totally sucked in and miss days of your life, OR you will run screaming.

Your mileage may vary.

61 people found this helpful

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The Choosy MooseTop Contributor: Photography

Amazing Sci-Fi Noir Story

July 31, 2016

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Wow, I was not expecting the book to be this good when I bought it. I typically have lower standards for books on Kindle Daily Deals due to the some of the offerings I see and the lower prices, but this book was amazing sci-fi/noir mystery. The writing was great and the whole story flowed very well to an exciting conclusion. This is a pretty long book in a very good way, I couldn't believe how much the author managed to fit in. The sci-fi concepts behind the book were also very interesting, had never read about concepts like this before. Definitely seems like a very realistic dystopian future in some ways and really makes you appreciate something as simple as human mortality.

Background: I typically buy my Kindle books as part of the Kindle Daily Deals and plan them for airplane reading or times when I am away from home and cannot do more exciting or responsible tasks. This means that my standards are not too high and I am looking for books in the beach read category under the fantasy/sci-fi genres. I try to rate fairly on the star scale and personally consider anything 3 stars and up to be fine.

21 people found this helpful

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Robert R.

I only wish Richard K. Morgan would write more "Takeshi" novels

July 29, 2016

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This is the opening volume of one of my favorite trilogies in all of Science Fiction - if by some chance you haven't read this, get it!
Of course, that is only if you want an amazingly well-constructed SF work done as futuristic detective "noir" - it's got the plot, the thoughtful working out of how the particular tech referenced by the title affects society, a tough and resourceful protagonist, good/bad male/female cops/perps/vics - you name it.
Finally, it passes a crucial test for me - it holds up quite well over multiple re-reads. Along with the other two books in the "Takeshi Kovacs" series ("Broken Angels" and "Woken Furies"), the author has carved out a universe that is great fun to experience - time and again.

10 people found this helpful

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Shermanation

Excellent Story, Great Writing. Skip The Audible Version

April 19, 2016

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I half read & half listened to this novel because of time constraints (and the excellent deal kindle offered for the Audible content via whispernet). It's an excellently crafted piece of fiction that, while staying within the noir cyberpunk style of the first two novels, answers many lingering questions about Takeshi Kovacs and the mythology of his universe. The writing is superb and the story is top notch.

However, I'd suggest that you read this novel and not listen to it via Audible. First of all, it's a different actor reading & a different director than used for the first two novels, which is in itself a little bit disconcerting. You can get past it, if it's done right, but they didn't do a good job.

The actor, director and production team clearly never read the first two novels on the series and no one bothered to do some cursory research on simple things like name & location pronunciations. For instance, the actor pronounced the title character's name wrong (Takashi Kovacs' last name is pronounced "kovatch" which is pointed out by the protagonist in the first chapters of Altered Carbon and throughout the first two novels) and so the actor and production team never bothered to do a shred of research on the characters of the series. Secondly, they used a very annoying device to indicate flashbacks & memories. Instead of articulating a reference to a memory or flashback, they employed a ridiculous type of echoing sound. That is, all memories and flashbacks (and there are many throughout the novel) are recorded as if muffled. Or to try and describe a real world example, these parts of the story sounded like when your local newscast anchor loses his mic and you hear him in echo off of background audio, video as if from a distance & in a chamber. It's horrible and really annoying. Read this one & skip the Audible.

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mlg

Very much enjoyed this. Fairly grim

September 11, 2016

Verified Purchase

Very much enjoyed this. Fairly grim, somewhat dystopian future setting...which isn't a bad thing, I just have to be in the mood for that. The most thought provoking thing for me was how thoroughly the "resleeving" of one's consciousness in another body is ingrained in the society/culture of the setting. I think I expected that capability to be something more overtly central to the story..."Hey wow I'm in a new body!". Instead, it is woven throughout as a common part of life in this time, fundamental to the story but not THE story. It was fascinating to see how the author integrated that capability, and its consequences, into so much of what it means to live in this time. I would recommend this book on exploring those things alone.

The story itself was very good and drew me in. It was not a casual read; I recognized early on I needed to pay attention :) Character development is an interesting thing in a world where some can attain near-immortality (by sleeving into a new body) and one must adjust to and is influenced by sleeving into the body of another (ex: a non-smoker 'inheriting' the urges and habits once sleeved into the body of a smoker). I look forward to reading the second book!

5 people found this helpful

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