Short description
In a twenty-fifth century world in which death is nearly obsolete, former UN envoy Takeshi Kovacs, re-sleeved into a new body after a brutal death, finds himself caught in the middle of a deadly far-reaching conspiracy.
Long description
In the 25th Century humankind has spread throughout the galaxy. While religious, class, and racial divisions still exist (monitored by the watchful eye of the UN), technology has changed in ways that have redefined life itself. Now a person's consciousness can be stored in a cortical stack and routinely downloaded (assuming one can afford it) into a new body, making death little more than an inconvenience. Ex-UN envoy Takashi Kovaks has been killed before, but his last death was particularly brutal. Sent across light years of space, re-sleeved into a body in San Francisco and thrown into the center of a conspiracy that is vicious even by the standards of a society that has forgotten how to value life, he soon realizes that the shell that blew a hole in his chest was only the beginning of his problems.
Review
This seamless marriage of hardcore cyberpunk and hard-boiled detective tale is an astonishing first novel.
--London Times
AN ASTONISHING PIECE OF WORK . . . A wonderful SF idea . . . Altered Carbon hits the floor running and then starts to accelerate. Intriguing and inventive in equal proportions and refuses to let go until the last page.
--PETER HAMILTON
AN EXCITING SF/CRIME HYBRID, with an intricate (but always plausible) plot, a powerful noir atmosphere, and enough explosive action to satisfy the most die-hard thriller fan.
--SF Site
AN EXHILARATING AND GLOSSY ADVENTURE . . . What makes Altered Carbon a winner is the quality of Morgan's prose. For every piece of John Woo action there is a stunning piece of reflective description, a compelling sense of place, and abundant 24-karat witticisms.
--SFX Magazine