Altered Carbon
by Richard Morgan
by Richard Morgan
science fiction
copyright 2001
read in August 2013
rated 9 / 10: really, really good
A fast-paced thriller with ultra violence... A detailed view of the future where good guys and bad fight with technology and less subtle weapons. A killer hero with a heart of gold...
Or is there more to this book than well implemented cliches ?
I can't speak for the author's intentions... but I see a possibility...
Science fiction begins with, "what if ?" Take one technological possibility -- or impossibility -- and explore the consequences. Is this what Morgan is doing ?
What if, technology allows us to preserve the mind (or soul, or character, or.. the essence of the person) in digital storage ? Being able to store implies being able to recover, to put the "person" back into a body. Back into the same body -- or into a spare, or a clone, or an artificial body...
Surely this is immortality ?!
Consequence one: Immortality -- for those who can afford it.
Consequence two: Organic damage -- up to and including total destruction of the body -- is no longer murder. As long as the "person" is still intact, in storage.
One what if -- and a host of logical consequences ! Classic science fiction.
Add good characters, complex plot, good versus evil, a satisfactory ending...
An excellent book ! Unless you do not enjoy extreme violence. At a classic cartoon level.
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Problems ? Solved
Problems ? Solved
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16mar18:
Read it again. same opinion.
Background: I wanted to watch a bit of tv. Found Altered Carbon, a new tv series. I watched a couple of minutes of titles, almost gave up. Then watched a couple have a shower. Sensuous, I suppose. Boring, really.
At 3 minutes 10 I gave up watching. TV is just so slooooow :-( Unvariable :-( The viewer is stuck at whatever pace is set by the director.
Then I picked up the book. Read it over the next couple of days -- at my own pace. Enjoyed it. Never did find (in the book) a two-person shower scene.
I prefer to read a book.
Background: I wanted to watch a bit of tv. Found Altered Carbon, a new tv series. I watched a couple of minutes of titles, almost gave up. Then watched a couple have a shower. Sensuous, I suppose. Boring, really.
At 3 minutes 10 I gave up watching. TV is just so slooooow :-( Unvariable :-( The viewer is stuck at whatever pace is set by the director.
Then I picked up the book. Read it over the next couple of days -- at my own pace. Enjoyed it. Never did find (in the book) a two-person shower scene.
I prefer to read a book.
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