Altered Carbon: Difference between revisions
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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1. [http://www.sfsite.com/03a/al123.htm Review by Victoria Strauss] |
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2. [http://www.inchoatus.com/Reviews/Review--Altered%20Carbon,%20Richard%20K%20Morgan.htm Review by Inchoatus Group] |
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3. [http://www.sffaudio.com/2006/02/altered-carbon-by-richard-_114056808029358032.html Review of the unabridged audiobook] |
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4. [http://jivemagazine.com/article.php?pid=3718 Richard K. Morgan: The New King of Cyberpunk Fiction (Interview by Jewels of JIVE Magazine)] |
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5. {{imdb title|id=1072421|title=Altered Carbon}} |
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6. [http://www.filmjerk.com/news/article.php?id_new=521 "Studios and Production Companies set their pre-strike priorities" by Edward Havens] |
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Revision as of 17:55, 8 November 2007
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| Author | Richard K. Morgan |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Takeshi Kovacs |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Victor Gollancz Ltd |
Publication date | February 28, 2002 |
| Publication place | Great Britain |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 416 pp (Hardback), 375 pp (Paperback) |
| ISBN | [[Special:BookSources/ISBN+0-575-07321-7%28%5B%5BHardback%5D%5D%29+%3Cbr%3EISBN+0-345-45768-4+%28%5B%5BPaperback%5D%5D%29 |ISBN 0-575-07321-7(Hardback) ISBN 0-345-45768-4 (Paperback)]] Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| Followed by | Broken Angels |
Altered Carbon (2002) is a hardboiled science fiction novel by Richard Morgan. Set some five hundred years in the future in a universe in which the "United Nations Protectorate" oversees a number of extrasolar planets settled by human beings, it features protagonist Takeshi Kovacs. Kovacs is a former United Nations Envoy and a native of Harlan's World (settled by the Japanese yakuza with Eastern European labour).
Plot
In the novel's quasi-cyberpunk and somewhat dystopian world, human personalities can be stored digitally and downloaded into new bodies ("sleeves"). Most people have "stacks" implanted in their spinal columns that store their memories. If their body dies, their stack can be stored indefinitely. Catholics have cortical stacks, but most Catholics have arranged that they will not be resleeved as they believe that the soul goes to heaven when they die and so would not pass on to the new sleeve. This makes Catholics prize targets for murder since the criminals know they will not return to testify about it afterwards. A U.N. Proposition to alter this legal position forms one strand of the novel's plot.
Most people cannot afford to get resleeved more than once per standard lifetime, and as a consequence while most people can live indefinitely only the wealthy are in practice able to acquire replacement bodies on an ongoing basis. The long-lived are called "Meths", for "Methuselahs". The very rich are also able to keep copies of their minds in 'remote storage', which they update every so often - this ensures that even if their stack is destroyed, they can be resleeved.
One such Methuselah - a rich man named Laurens Bancroft - has apparently committed suicide, having vapourised his head and cortical stack with an energy weapon. He is resleeved from a backup, but as a result has no memories of his actions during his final hours. He believes his apparent suicide was actually a murder and hires Takeshi Kovacs to investigate his death.
Kovacs was an Envoy, a member of a military unit formed to cope with the challenge of interstellar warfare. In the novel's universe, faster-than-light travel is only possible by transmitting the digitally stored mind via 'needlecast' across space into a new sleeve. Transmitting normal soldiers in this way would severely inhibit their effectiveness, since they will have to cope with finding themselves in a new body while fighting. To combat this, Envoy training emphasises the mental techniques necessary to survive in different bodies over physical strength. The effectiveness of the Envoy Corps' mental training is such that Envoys are banned from holding governmental positions on most worlds.
Kovacs, killed in the novel's prologue and stored in digital form. is downloaded into a temporary sleeve formerly inhabited by Bay City (formerly San Francisco) policeman Elias Ryker. The plot unfolds through Kovacs's narrative. Kovacs eventually solves the mystery, but only after great personal suffering under which he is able to bear up only because of his Envoy training.
Awards and nominations
- Philip K. Dick Award Best Novel winner 2003
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
According to the back cover of Market Forces, an earlier novel by Richard K. Morgan (although released later), and the review by Inchotaus Group the rights to Altered Carbon for movie production have been purchased. IMDB presently states that a movie of the same name is scheduled for release in 2009, to be tentatively directed by V for Vendetta (film) director James McTeigue.[1]
Release details
- 2002, Great Britain, Victor Gollancz Ltd, ISBN 0-575-07321-7, Pub date February 28 2002, Hardback
- 2004, United States of America, Del Rey, ISBN 0-345-45768-4, Pub date March 4 2003, Paperback
- 2006, Hungary, Agave Könyvek, ISBN 963-7118-38-1, Pub date 2006, Paperback
- 2006, Croatia, Algoritam, ISBN 953-220-422-9, Pub date 2006, Hardback
External links
1. Review by Victoria Strauss 2. Review by Inchoatus Group 3. Review of the unabridged audiobook 4. Richard K. Morgan: The New King of Cyberpunk Fiction (Interview by Jewels of JIVE Magazine) 5. Altered Carbon at IMDb 6. "Studios and Production Companies set their pre-strike priorities" by Edward Havens
- ^ Havens, Edward (2007-07-17). "Studios and Production Companies set their pre-strike priorities". FilmJerk.com. Retrieved 2007-11-08.