Book Review: Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan (2002)

Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Blurb: 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. For Kovacs, the shell that blew a hole in his chest was only the beginning. . . .

Thoughts: As an avid Goodreads (it's like Letterboxd but for books) user I'm always interested in the general consensus on books, sure the place is a breeding ground for people who rate every single book 5 stars whether it is actually good or not, Twi-hards, rabid old ladies who read 100 romance books a week and E.L. James but there are a fair few intelligent readers too, people who rate their enjoyment after consideration of the content and the history of the genre they prefer. When a book has an average rating of more than 4 stars from nearly 10,000 ratings you know that what you are about to read is one of two things - A) mindless nonsense that didn't reach the masses on a Twilight or Da Vinci Code scale but still encouraged fangirl obsession or B) an incredibly good book genuinely enjoyed by nearly 100% of the people who read it.

In this case I am happy that it was option B, I would have been quite distraught if it had been option A. The major drawback of it being option B is that there's just no real need to review the book at this stage, it's a popular book that people have surely already heard of and will have read it, planned to read it or dismissed it already.

It has been around since 2002 though so perhaps you missed it, so I will tell you this:

Altered Carbon is a post-cyberpunk novel, to narrow that a little further it is a post Snow Crash novel, almost an alternate history of the genre when put alongside that other great post-cyberpunk novel The Diamond Age. Where Stephenson started to develop his baroque style, drifting away from crazed killers loaded with implants and running crazy Matrix style hacks, Morgan took the totally kickass way Hiro Protagonist saved the day in Snow Crash and pushed the action to a whole new level. It is also the winner of the Philip K. Dick Award for best original science fiction paperback in 2002.


This really is brutal at times, but not overly gory, whilst not losing sight of the fact that it was a post-cyberpunk novel. The scientific speculation is there with many cool ideas thrown in to the mix, my favourite being the sentient AI hotel Hendrix whilst the major conceit of transmitting human consciousness is played so subtly that you could easily gloss over the major significance of what it might mean for human beings and humanity.

The shades of grey noir hero from the classic period forms the basis for Takeshi Kovacs, which works extremely well in a plot that zigs and zags its way through 470 pages leaving you second guessing your instincts towards the character and the plot; you may think you have the mystery solved up front but Kovacs is so reckless, a man who blurs the lines of good vs evil so consistently that you're never quite sure what side he's playing, that you'll most likely find yourself wondering just what happened by the time you reach the conclusion.

This worked very well, especially as there are two more Takeshi Kovacs investigations to get involved with. Don't question this, just read the book, it's a great modern noir with a sci-fi twist.

Further viewing suggestions:
Ghost in the Shell
The Matrix
Blade Runner

Additional Reading:
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
Kop by Warren Hammond

View all my book reviews

The Blahblahblah Family DVD Guide: Part 1 Science Fiction

OK, out shopping over the weekend and I came across a piece of gold in a bargain bin. The Sunday Age/Sun-Herald Family DVD Guide, marked down from $29.95 to $3. Flicking through it I was amazed at the array of terrible opinions held by the reviewer and thought it would be a fun feature on the blog every now and then.

The blurb states that it is "the ultimate family dvd guide with suggested viewing for every member of the family. Whether you're after a film for a family pizza night, a teenage slumber party or want to impress the love of your life, this user-friendly guide will help you find the perfect DVD."

I can just imagine the scene now

Him: "Hello my love, I stopped by the video shop on my way home, thought we'd get dome Chinese delivered and put our feet up"
Her: "Oh wow, I was having second thoughts about our relationship but now you've brought home Hidalgo let's make a lifelong commitment to each other. How ever did you think to rent that?"
Him: "Rob Lowing in my new DVD guide gave it 4 stars and called it solid entertainment that will have both of us cheering on a horse"
Her: (Thought bubble, Viggo is rather delicious)

So, here's what we're gonna do: Leah is gonna pick a chapter, and I shall attempt to appraise the selections and offer some replacements. First chapter selected is Science Fiction. (note: the book has a separate chapter for comicbook/superhero types which could easily be considered sci-fi and it also dedicates a sub-chapter to Star Wars so when you find yourself as shocked and amazed that there is no mention of the holy trilogy of sci-fi film as I was then that is why)

I guess it was almost inevitable that she would choose this chapter first, we're becoming sci-fi geeks as the months fly by, led by my fascination with those Grandmasters Asimov and Heinlein and more recently cyberpunk creator William Gibson.

The Guide lists:
Alien vs Predator (***)
Back To The Future Trilogy (****)
Blade Runner (*****)
Code 46 (***)
Escape From New York (*****)
I, Robot (****)
Johnny Mnemonic (***)
Metropolis (*****)
Minority Report (***)
Pitch Black (****)
Serenity (****)
Stargate (****)
T2 (*****)
T3 (****)
Day After Tomorrow (***)
Fifth Element (*****)
Hitchhiker's Guide (***)
The Island (***)
Man Who Fell To Earth (****)
War of the Worlds (***)

It's not comprehensive, it's not particularly imaginative and it's got quite a few shocks in there.

T3 with 4 stars? Perhaps I was alone in thinking that that movie was awful?

I wasn't a fan of Minority Report or The Island but giving them the same 3 star rating as the truly abysmal Johnny Mnemonic is more than a little harsh. I'm not suggesting that either of those movies deserved much more than a "for fans" recommendation but that the Keanu film should have been given a "miss" recommendation.

And on that subject why have a book of recommendations if you're going to take up valuable space with your opinions on what's terrible? I love to rant and frequently have to reel myself in from writing a negative post instead of a review of something I enjoyed but I'm pretty sure you should get as many 5 star movies as possible in a book like this.

The inclusion of the classic Metropolis feels like a nod to film history more than a recommendation but giving it 5 stars and a "must see" rec may be selling his audience short. What does he say about this masterpiece from Fritz Lang? "Hardcore movie buffs (that's me and probably some of you) will stampede to get this restored version of the famed 1927 movie. There are gaps in this black and white silent story (black & white! silent! I'm not watching this movie!) of a rich man who falls for a factory girl in a brutal, futuristic society (cue for all those Jason Statham fans to tune back in.) But outstanding visuals and the rich remastered score make this a treat to watch."For me that's not exactly a go out and see this movie level of review.

So he's listed 20 films in his sci-fi chapter, 8 of which he doesn't even think many people will enjoy. So lets remove them and Terminator 3 as well because that feels like a paid for inclusion.

That leaves 11 films, of which I haven't seen Escape From New York, Serenity and The Man Who Fell To Earth so I cannot judge. So my challenge is to recommend 9 science fiction films currently available on DVD. I won't lie to you, at this point that sounds like a daunting task.

A few rules I shall place on this:
1. Movies that have become a part of the public consciousness will not be included. If you need a guide to tell you whether to watch these movies then you've been living under a rock.
2. Movies that are primarily another genre such as comedy or romance will not be included. If you flip to this section chances are you aren't looking for a comedy or a romance.
3. Must have been released at the cinema longer than 2 years ago, otherwise you'd just hit up the new release section of your local video store. I shall use 1 June 2009 as the cutoff date.
4. Animation and films not in English will be discounted for pretty much the same reason as other genre.

First things first - I do love Hitchhikers myself and would always recommend it to fans of Douglas Adams or non-fans but as it's already been labelled as "for fans" by The Guide I shall have to think outside the box.

So straight up I will cut The Matrix and Men In Black from the shortlist as well as all of the Alien movies and the original Terminator. If you've got to this point there's a fair chance you have seen or decided not to see these movies already. The reboot of Star Trek falls in to this category as it is my experience that minds are made up on Star Trek, so that includes all of the old films too.

Movies reluctantly cut due to being too new are District 9, Pandorum and Gamer. Despite my constant cries bemoaning the dearth of quality science fiction films getting released I think these three getting cut for being too new is a slap in the face. As it is for one of my favourite movies of recent times, Moon, which should be seen by everyone.

Comedies such as Ghostbusters and Galaxy Quest are science fiction based but I cannot tell the good people who buy The Guide to go watch them for their science fiction content. This also applies to the Bill & Ted movies.

Such quality animated films as Akira and Ghost in the Shell must be moved to one side and perhaps I am underestimating the readers but A Scanner Darkly is going to have to count as an animation for these purposes. I would love to get more people watching City of Lost Children but it's in French so no can do.

With Metropolis already in the list there's not a huge amount of room for old school classic movies so I am thinking I should try to not pick so many. Narrowing down to the original Day The Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet, 2001, Fahrenheit 451, Soylent Green, Logan's Run, Omega Man, the original Planet of the Apes. I am immediately inclined to dismiss 2001 for being too odd for most audiences and the two films that have recently been remade (despite both being appalling) as I can't imagine most casual viewers wanting to see those stories again despite them being much better. I'm gonna only pick one Charlton Heston movie - Soylent Green over Omega Man - and then Logan's Run as my other classic pick as it's one of my personal favourites.


7 to go. Paul Verhoeven made three kickass sci-fi films in English; Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers. I loved all of them for different reasons but I'm gonna go for Total Recall for the Arnie effect and Starship Troopers not least because it's the best adaptation from a Heinlein or Asimov book (I, Robot does not count) but also because both of these films stand up on repeat viewings as being extremely enjoyable. So that leaves 5...


I'm giving at least one pick to a family film but do I pick Tron or The Rocketeer? Instinct says The Rocketeer because of that recent Tron sequel but I'm just not sure.

Terry Gilliam has made some great fantastical science fiction films, there was always going to be one space on this list for him.Twelve Monkeys beats out Brazil for accessibility in my opinion so to keep one Gilliam film on the list the one that is most watchable gets the nod. And if you're told that there's a movie with Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt you will turn in to the man from Del Monte.

I'd love to add Wim Wenders' Until The End of the World but only because I really want to see that movie sometime not because I know it's great. So I'll leave it off for this edition. With 3 picks left I'm gonna have to throw another Arnie movie in to the mix, The Running Man sure it's not for everyone but this is a popcorn movie with a message that is relevant even today.


The prevailing theme of these picks has been action. Action movies galore. But science fiction is much more than that so my last two picks are going to be less about action more about science. So despite my love for Dark City and Repo Man they will not make the list. Which leaves me with a 4 film shortlist and only 2 spots left in the book.

Gattaca
Cube
Primer
eXistenZ

This task is tougher than I imagined. I thought it would be difficult to find 9 but actually it's been difficult to narrow it to 9. I'm gonna pick Gattaca because I think I was always going to pick Gattaca. It's a thinking man's movie that is impressive in its idea and impressive in its execution. The there is Primer. The most un-action science-fiction movie there is. Whilst this film will twist your brain in knots even on the second viewing you'll also come away having enjoyed it (not all of the people and not all of the time.) There should be room for tiny indie films in these lists, broaden people's horizons with them, don't you think?


And that concludes the juries deliberations, the Science Fiction chapter of The Blahblahblahfamily DVD Guide will contain the following:
Back To The Future Trilogy 1985 (****)
Blade Runner 1982 (*****)
Escape From New York 1981 (*****)
I, Robot 2004 (****)
Metropolis 1927 (*****)
Pitch Black 2000 (****)
Serenity 2005 (****)
Stargate 1994 (****)
T2 1991 (*****)
Fifth Element 1997 (*****)
Man Who Fell To Earth 1976 (****)
Rocketeer 1991 (****)
Twelve Monkeys 1995 (*****)
Gattaca 1997 (****)
Primer 2004 (****)
Running Man 1987 (****)
Total Recall 1990 (****)
Starship Troopers 1997 (****)
Soylent Green 1973 (****)
Logan's Run 1976 (****)

Agree or disagree with the choices I've made? Do any of the original cut 9 actually deserve higher ratings thus keeping their place in the guide? Leave me a comment, let me know. I'd prefer to cut Serenity and The Man Who Fell To Earth until I've seen them but that would go against the rules. It's especially tough when I look at all those films that I had to leave out.