Great read, but be carefull......... - Rated 
This is a great book in this genre, genetic 'twists' and a hipocritical society make for a multitude of cultural and physical clashes, but beware... 'Thirteen' and 'Black Man' are the same book and you don't need to buy both to read one of them twice !
Engrossing - Rated
So far I've read a number of mixed reviews, so clearly this is a book that divides Richard Morgan fans. I felt that in comparison to earlier works this book displays greater subtilty and depth of storytelling that all of his other works don't possess. Generally when you first pick up a RM book the initial bludgeoning violence is mobidly gripping, quickly followed by the need for a rest and a relief from unremitting escalation of gross out killing. Incedentaly this book is called Thirteen in the US where I bought it (probably because of overly sensitive worries about offending some in the population)- so don't nip out if you see it and purchase it thinking that it's a different book. Anyway, this drew me in to the story with a good level of character development that is often lacking and certainly made me care about the main protagonists. Here is a good thriller/crime read with twists, turns and a pace that allows enough time to picture the world of the Thirteen's (or Twists as they are sometimes insultingly called) and at the same time not feel too bogged down in minutae. Of course being a Richard Morgan book there is killing, torture and gratuitous thuggery, but at a level that does not dominate everything. More of a flavour enhancer than the main course. Best book of Richard Morgan I have read so far.
Brilliant, as always! - Rated
I've been an avid reader of Mr Morgan's work since finding a shiny cover all too appealing in an airport somewhere and being blessed with Altered Carbon just released. Richard's writing style is intelligent, interesting and involving. I look on the website all the time to see what's next and when I can get my hands on it! A lot of people unfairly expect the spacey hi-tech crime novel that was Takeshi Kovacs in every book. That doesn't happen, get over it and get over yourself, there are different themes and different stories out there which in my mind Richard is one of the best people out there to tell. If you like Richard's style and delivery, along with interesting views on modern life being blown up, advanced, and taken to the extreme in the future... then you'll love Black Man! I know I did!
The plot moves fluidly and captivatingly through a world where current politics has jumped forward, got twisted (isn't already??) and created a hot-pot of fascinting new borders! A variant 13 is calculating, selfish, powerful and scarey (think hegemony!)... and yet Richard manages to make you sympathise and feel for him to the point where I can't wait for the sequel.
My advice is to read it! Forget Kovacs, move on! Carl Marsalis is in town and he means business!
(By the way, I also thought the corporate politics of Market Forces were brrrrilliant too!!)
Blood, tears and the meaning of life - Rated 
Near future politico-police procedural-SF-thriller. Hyperviolent. Profoundly concerned with morality and relationships. Includes an amazing multichapter deathbed sequence, which I wept through repeatedly. Especially perhaps over the dieing woman's thought, "she realized that the fear in her was almost gone, squeezed out of the frame with pain and tiredness and straightforward irritation with it al. Time to go." Well, I am 68. Morgan's signature off-stage philosopher/wisdom figure was male this time. Sample utterances, "No such thing as time travel ... Only live with what you've done, and try in future to try and do only what you're happy to live with. That's the whole game ... that's all there is."
PS -- Never read Blade Runner, hate the term 'sci-fi' and regard a possible Morgan noir fantasy with some gloom.
Not up to previous standards - Rated 
I did like this one but not nearly as much as the others. The story managed to pull me along but there was something missing. It was less satisfiying than Altered Carbon for example. It is still a good read but I think it was too much a thriller and lacked character development and sub plots. I was also disappointed in the 'world' he describes, the word I'd use is 'sloppy'. Maybe it was a rushed job under publisher pressure?
|
