Richard K. Morgan

ghostofcorwin

ghostofcorwin

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Messages
61
Just happened on a copy of 13 (Black Man in UK). Anyone read or have opinion about Morgan's work?... written a bunch of novels in the SF genre it appears. Altered Carbon the first....
 
Yup, for example... http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/36528-black-man-by-richard-morgan-the-best-sf.html

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/40137-richard-morgan.html :)

If you do a search, ghostofcorwin, you'll find that his works are discussed in dozens of threads throughout the Chrons.

My personal view? Richard's a great author. Altered Carbon was one of the most exciting, seat-of-your-pants and fun debut novels around. He manages to surprise at every turn, with Black Man (13 in the US) being no exception. His latest venture is a complete departure yet again -- fantasy with a gay protagonist.

He even wrote a Black Widow series for Marvel, for crying out loud! About the only negative thing I can say about Richard is that he doesn't write short stories -- and trust me, I've asked. He reckons he's tried but in his own words, 'they were c***p'.
 
Ian Whates said:
Yup, for example... http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/36528-black-man-by-richard-morgan-the-best-sf.html

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/40137-richard-morgan.html :)

If you do a search, ghostofcorwin, you'll find that his works are discussed in dozens of threads throughout the Chrons.

My personal view? Richard's a great author. Altered Carbon was one of the most exciting, seat-of-your-pants and fun debut novels around. He manages to surprise at every turn, with Black Man (13 in the US) being no exception. His latest venture is a complete departure yet again -- fantasy with a gay protagonist.

He even wrote a Black Widow series for Marvel, for crying out loud! About the only negative thing I can say about Richard is that he doesn't write short stories -- and trust me, I've asked. He reckons he's tried but in his own words, 'they were c***p'.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I did do a search of Richard Morgan and for some reason came up with no threads. I was surprised, since he's written quite a few SF books... Looking forward to reading 13.
 
Hope you enjoy it! :) And do give Altered Carbon a go, if you like high-tempo, action packed SF-noir. Well worth a read.
 
I've read several of his books and like him quite a lot.

Altered Carbon - His best work in my opinion. Fast, gritty and dark. Just loved this book. This is in-your-face action-packed SF with some great concepts. I would start here if you've not read him yet.

Broken Angels - This is the sequel to AC and was a bit of a let down for me. Inevitable fall off after the excellent first volume. Still a decent book just did not live up to the first, IMO. It says something that I don't remember much of this book.

Woken Furies - A good book. Book 3 of the Kovacs series was an improvement on BA but never reached the heights of Altered Carbon. I understand this is the last of the Kovacs books which grieves me no end. I would love to read more, Mr. Morgan, if you please.

Thirteen (I'm a Yank) - Another great book but not as tight as AC. Not part of the Kovacs series nor of that universe to my knowledge but it felt as if it was a precursor book. Maybe a hundred years prior?
 
I really liked the Takeshi Kovacs books. I've been waiting for him to write another one or to at least finish the series in another book. Thirteen has been on my list for awhile to get but haven't gotten to it yet.
 
Richard Morgan's a great writer, I'd recommend Altered Carbon and the Black Man anytime. The others though? I'm not so sure. Don't get me wrong, they are enjoyable, but not great SF IMO.
 
I too really liked the Takeshi Kovacs books: exciting and there's a lot to think about.


Black Man is at the top of my to be read pile.
 
Takeshi Kovacs books made him the modern sf writer i like reading most. I plan to read everything he does even his fantasy.

Typically i was looking forward to reading more of his interesting sf and he goes writing fantasy :p
 
I thought Altered Carbon was a superb SF novel and a good combination of the detective story genre and a SF setting. The sequels Broken Angels and Woken Furies are also very good, although I prefer AC slightly. Black Man was also good, although I felt it could have been a bit better - maybe a bit too much exposition with the characters standing around philosophically discussing the plot (even when they should have been trying to kill each other in a couple of cases). Market Forces is probably his weakest Science Fiction novel but still good, although the central premise is just a little bit too implausible to take entirely seriously.

His Fantasy book The Steel Remains is also pretty good, nothing revolutionary in the Fantasy genre (apart from being refreshingly short for an Epic Fantasy) but entertaining written and with some intriguing plot points which will hopefully be explored further in the sequels.
 
I enjoyed the Steel Remains but from the reviews I read I was expecting more
 
No love at all for Market Forces ? ... shame; I really like its grim satire - a bit of a Robert Sheckley riff with trademark RKM dialogue and violence.
 
Market Forces was the first Morgan book that i read. I enjoyed it, but there was always that air of unreality about it. Altered Carbon on the other hand...
 
Rodders said:
Market Forces was the first Morgan book that i read. I enjoyed it, but there was always that air of unreality about it. Altered Carbon on the other hand...
Click to expand...

I felt the same, I know it was deliberate satire but I still found aspects of the central premise to be a bit too implausible to take entirely seriously so although I quite liked the book I rank it below the others.
 
I've read a lot on these forums about his novels 13 and Altered Carbon, but has anyone read his Fantasy debut? Was it any good?
 
I have Steel Remains but i wish i hadn't bought it before Market Forces,Black Man.

I like Morgan for his quality sf that was AC,Broken Angels.
 
Rodders said:
I've read a lot on these forums about his novels 13 and Altered Carbon, but has anyone read his Fantasy debut? Was it any good?
Click to expand...

I've read it, I thought it was fairly similar in quality to his Science Fiction (I'd probably say Altered Carbon was better, but it is about the same level as Broken Angels or Black Man). The writing style was fairly similar as well to his Science Fiction, it was a typical Richard Morgan story but transplanted to a Fantasy setting. It had a bit of a slow start, but I thought it improved as it went along and the ending leaves me curious about the sequels. Overall, it didn't really do anything revolutionary in the fantasy genre but I'd recommend it, especially to fans of his Science Fiction.
 
Does anyone know what his plans are for future novels. I'd imagine that he has a bit of a fan base now. When's his next book due out. (Preferably SF)
 
The Dark Commands, the sequel to The Steel Remains, is due out next year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread starter Similar threads Forum Replies Date
Toby Frost Black Man (aka Thirteen) by Richard Morgan Reviews & Interviews 3
D Anyone like the SF novel ALTERED CARBON by Richard K. Morgan? Book Discussion 6
Werthead Thin Air by Richard Morgan Reviews & Interviews 3
S Richard K. Morgan?s The Cold Commands out in October Book Discussion 0
S Richard K Morgan works with EA Games Game Discussions 0

Similar threads


Back
Top