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Let's Read: Takeshi Kovacs trilogy

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bibliophile20 bibliophile20's picture
Let's Read: Takeshi Kovacs trilogy
The Takeshi Kovacs trilogy: Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, Woken Furies, by Richard Morgan This is the big one, so far as EP goes. Here we have cortical stacks (the original source of the term), uploading, resleeving (also, as far as I know, the original source of the term), farcasting, emergency farcasters (again, likewise), forking is illegal, but it still happens, psychosurgery, simulspaces, simulspace acceleration, simulspace torture, religious objections to backups, and the relentless drum of technological progress being used both to improve things and as an instrument of oppression. Humanity can reach very, very high... but our lowest are no higher in these future worlds than they are now. What I find fascinating is that, as much as Takeshi is a badass, he's hardly a Sue; he gets in waaaay over his head, often ends up with some fairly serious enemies, and he faced with opponents to match himself or that make him look like a chump. In Real Life and modern fiction, he'd be absurdly overpowered--by the standards of his own setting, he's skilled, he's elite, but he's hardly a god. Heck, our first introduction to him is him getting taken down by a strike team. And, for all of that, for all of his near-immortality and centuries of experience (especially by the third novel), he's still very human; he loves, he hates, he has principles, he does charity and revenge, which makes him very relatable, insofar as someone that is a trained and seasoned covert ops soldier, assassin and resleever can be, by our standards. The setting is fun; weary idealism, oppression and charity, oligarchs and the dreams of self-determination, living forever and the pleasures of the moment, all seen through the lens of a damaged and weary man who made a life-defining choice while in the grips of teenaged hormones. So, who else had read it, and what did you think?

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." -Benjamin Franklin

DrewDavis DrewDavis's picture
My local library...
... can't seem to get a cop of Altered Carbon to me, so I'm thinking of jumping straight into Broken Angels. Do you think I'm going to get lost jumping in in the middle?
Undocking Undocking's picture
I'd do it. I've been meaning
I'd do it. I've been meaning to read it for quite a while.
Killebrew Killebrew's picture
I had a friend recommend
I had a friend recommend these novels to me about 3 or so years ago now so while I remember them, the details have left me somewhat. When I later went on to read the Eclipse Phase core book I was amazed at all the details that struck me as similar, until I looked at the recommended reading list and saw that they were listed in there. I very much recommend them.
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consumerdestroyer consumerdestroyer's picture
I haven't read this yet, but
I haven't read this yet, but I am [b]so down[/b] for getting on this once I wrap up what I currently have out from the library.
SnowDog SnowDog's picture
I have read the whole trilogy
I have read the whole trilogy and can also recommend the whole series. Curiously enough I read Broken Angels first and after finishing it I found a copy of Altered Carbon and finally read Woken Furies when it got published. It worked for me.
Undocking Undocking's picture
Turns out my book reading
Turns out my book reading group is doing this as well, so I'm doing it anyways.
Arenamontanus Arenamontanus's picture
I liked the novels, but
I liked the novels, but Altered Carbon felt the most solid. The others may have been better written, but AC had the "early novel smell" of loads of ideas. Like the AI hotel... oh, how I loved that AI hotel.
Extropian
Extrasolar Angel Extrasolar Angel's picture
Altered Carbon was great, but
Altered Carbon was great, but the sequels felt for me too pretentious with too much ideology pushed into them and smugness on how brilliant the characters are.
[I]Raise your hands to the sky and break the chains. With transhumanism we can smash the matriarchy together.[/i]
savanah savanah's picture
I loved the noir feel of the
I loved the noir feel of the first book, the other two are good, but they have more otherworldly settings and plots.
Undocking Undocking's picture
Finished the trilogy
Finished the trilogy yesterday. Now I want to be a Quellist.