Difference between revisions of "Altered Carbon"

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'''''Altered Carbon''''' is a hardboiled science fiction crime novel by [[Richard Morgan]], published in 2002. The story takes place 500 years in the future where human consciousness can be stored permanently on a stack, and placed into new bodies referred to unceremoniously as "sleeves." While killing a body won't result in real death, destroying the stack in a person's neck will. However, those who are extremely wealthy can afford to have their stack backed up remotely on a regular basis, and have their bodies cloned, effectively making them immortal.
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{{Book
 +
| Title            = Altered Carbon
 +
| Image            = Altered Carbon - Hardcover - USA.jpg
 +
| ImageDescription = Hardcover - USA - 1st edition.
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| Author          = {{BookAuthor|Richard Morgan}}
 +
| PublishedYear    = 2002
 +
| PublishedMonth  = 02
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| PublishedDay    = 28
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| Type            = {{BookType|Fiction}}
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| Genre            = {{BookGenre|Science Fiction}}, {{BookGenre|Mystery}}
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| Themes          = {{MediaTheme|Cyberpunk}}, {{MediaTheme|Hard-Boiled}}, {{MediaTheme|Mystery}}, {{MediaTheme|Science Fiction}}, {{MediaTheme|Techno-Thriller}}
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| AgeGroup        = Adult
 +
}}
  
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One of these rich immortals, Laurens Bancroft, has apparently committed suicide, at least that is the local police's official position on the matter. Though, since he has remote storage that automatically restores his consciousness to a clone when he dies, suicide is entirely pointless, leading Bancroft to believe he was murdered. However, since his consciousness is only backed up every 48-hours, he has no memory of what happened. So, he hires Takeshi Kovacs, a convict serving time, and places him in the sleeve of a corrupt police officer. Kovacs is told his prison sentence will be eliminated and he will be paid extremely well if he can solve the mystery, a offer he can't refuse.
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'''''Altered Carbon''''' is a science fiction hard-boiled crime novel by [[Richard Morgan]], published in 2002-02-28. The story takes place 500 years in the future where human consciousness can be stored permanently on a transplantable piece of hardware called a stack, and placed into new bodies referred to unceremoniously as "sleeves." While killing a body won't result in real death, destroying the stack in a person's neck will. However, those who are extremely wealthy can afford to have their stack backed up remotely on a regular basis, and have their bodies cloned, effectively making them immortal.
  
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Upon searching for clues, Kovacs uncovers various unsettling problems, all of which is made more difficult by various people that want him to leave well-enough alone, or that just want him dead.
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One of these rich immortals, Laurens Bancroft, has apparently committed suicide, at least that is the local police's official position on the matter. Though, since he has remote storage that automatically restores his consciousness to a clone when he dies, suicide is entirely pointless, leading Bancroft to believe he was murdered. However, since his consciousness is only backed up every 48-hours, he has no memory of what happened. So, he hires Takeshi Kovacs, a convict serving time, and places him in the sleeve of a corrupt police officer. Kovacs is told his prison sentence will be eliminated and he will be paid extremely well if he can solve the mystery, an offer he can't refuse.
 +
 
 +
Upon searching for clues, Kovacs uncovers various unsettling problems, all of which is made more difficult by various people that want him to leave well-enough alone, or that just want to kill the body he's wearing.
 +
 
 +
==Personal==
 +
{{BookStatus
 +
| Own      =
 +
| Read    = Audiobook read by [[Todd McLaren]].
 +
| Finished = 2016.
 +
}}
 +
 
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I read this book because it was ranked high on a list of best science fiction. I thought it was pretty good, but not exceptional.
  
 
==Review==
 
==Review==
 +
{{BookRating|6}}
 +
 +
{{Spoilers}}
 +
 
===Good===
 
===Good===
 
* Overall, I found the story interesting and fun, and the characters quite likable.
 
* Overall, I found the story interesting and fun, and the characters quite likable.
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* Using a created terminology (stack, sleeve, etc.) rather than generic terms was a nice touch.
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* Using a set of created terminology (stack, sleeve, Meths, etc.), rather than generic terms, was a nice touch.
 
* I liked the idea of Meths slowly becoming less human.
 
* I liked the idea of Meths slowly becoming less human.
 
* The sex scenes were very erotically described without going blue.
 
* The sex scenes were very erotically described without going blue.
Line 14: Line 41:
  
 
===Bad===
 
===Bad===
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* Like Jame Bond, Takeshi seems to find himself too easily the target of sexual advances from women.
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* Like James Bond, Takeshi seems to find himself too easily the target of sexual advances from women.
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* I wasn't very invested in trying to solve the mystery beforehand as the futuristic setting made it too difficult for me to foresee solutions.
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* I wasn't very invested in trying to solve the mystery beforehand as the futuristic setting made it too difficult for me to foresee potential solutions.
  
 
===Ugly===
 
===Ugly===
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* Nothing really.
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* Nothing.
  
 
==Links==
 
==Links==
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* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered_Carbon en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered_Carbon] - Wikipedia.
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{{Link|Wikipedia|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered_Carbon}}
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{{Link|GoodReads|https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40445.Altered_Carbon}}
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[[Category: Book]]
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[[Category: Human Stasis]]
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[[Category: Fiction]]
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[[Category: Books With Unknown Bechdel Test Status]]
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[[Category: Science Fiction]]
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[[Category: Needs representation]]
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[[Category: Mystery]]
 
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[[Category: Hardboiled]]
 
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[[Category: Techno-Thriller]]
 
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[[Category: Books I've Read]]
 

Latest revision as of 15:54, 24 July 2023

Altered Carbon

Altered Carbon - Hardcover - USA.jpg

Hardcover - USA - 1st edition.
Author Richard Morgan
Published 2002-02-28
Type Fiction
Genre Science Fiction, Mystery
Themes Cyberpunk, Hard-Boiled, Mystery, Science Fiction, Techno-Thriller
Age Group Adult

Altered Carbon is a science fiction hard-boiled crime novel by Richard Morgan, published in 2002-02-28. The story takes place 500 years in the future where human consciousness can be stored permanently on a transplantable piece of hardware called a stack, and placed into new bodies referred to unceremoniously as "sleeves." While killing a body won't result in real death, destroying the stack in a person's neck will. However, those who are extremely wealthy can afford to have their stack backed up remotely on a regular basis, and have their bodies cloned, effectively making them immortal.

One of these rich immortals, Laurens Bancroft, has apparently committed suicide, at least that is the local police's official position on the matter. Though, since he has remote storage that automatically restores his consciousness to a clone when he dies, suicide is entirely pointless, leading Bancroft to believe he was murdered. However, since his consciousness is only backed up every 48-hours, he has no memory of what happened. So, he hires Takeshi Kovacs, a convict serving time, and places him in the sleeve of a corrupt police officer. Kovacs is told his prison sentence will be eliminated and he will be paid extremely well if he can solve the mystery, an offer he can't refuse.

Upon searching for clues, Kovacs uncovers various unsettling problems, all of which is made more difficult by various people that want him to leave well-enough alone, or that just want to kill the body he's wearing.

Personal

Own?No.
Read?Audiobook read by Todd McLaren.
Finished2016.

I read this book because it was ranked high on a list of best science fiction. I thought it was pretty good, but not exceptional.

Review

Overall:

Rating-6.svg

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

  • Overall, I found the story interesting and fun, and the characters quite likable.
  • Using a set of created terminology (stack, sleeve, Meths, etc.), rather than generic terms, was a nice touch.
  • I liked the idea of Meths slowly becoming less human.
  • The sex scenes were very erotically described without going blue.
  • The incorporation of the abuse of religion into the story made it mesh better with reality.

Bad

  • Like James Bond, Takeshi seems to find himself too easily the target of sexual advances from women.
  • I wasn't very invested in trying to solve the mystery beforehand as the futuristic setting made it too difficult for me to foresee potential solutions.

Ugly

  • Nothing.

Links

Link-Wikipedia.png  Link-GoodReads.png 

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