Broken Angels by Richard K. Morgan
Cyberpunk With A Very Imaginative Backstory And Fascinating Main Protagonist
Critics have compared Richard Morgans first novel, Altered Carbon, to
the classic hardboiled fiction of Raymond Chandler. The comparison
doesnt accurately describe Morgans second novel, Broken Angels.
Morgans prose never approaches Chandlers metaphoric excess, and
Morgans antihero, Takeshi Kovacs, doesnt wisecrack nearly as often as
Chandlers hero, Philip Marlowe. Also, Kovacss far-future universe is
considerably darker than Marlowes noir world. In Kovacss universe, high-
tech implants called stacks record memory and personality; this means
soldiers can be sent to their deaths, have their stacks implanted in new
bodies, and be sent to their deaths again, and again, and again. Generals
neednt quibble about wasting lives in massacres or nuclear explosions.
The slaughtered soldiers will soon be back in action--unless their stacks
arent recovered. Then their consciousness will go mad, isolated in an
indestructible, inescapable virtual reality. The proper term for the Takeshi
Kovacs novels isnt hardboiled. Its brutal. The Martians disappeared long
ago, but they left behind their star gates, which have allowed humanity to
spread across the galaxy--and bring warfare to the stars. As Broken
Angels opens, Takeshi Kovacs is a lieutenant in humankinds most feared

mercenary company, but rumors of an astonishing archaelogical discovery
inspire his desertion. Humans have never found a Martian starship until,
perhaps, now. If the rumors are true, and the ruthless Kovacs can take
possession of the unprecedented relic, he will make his fortune. But if he
fails in his quest, he may find himself imprisoned in high-tech hell for
eternity. --Cynthia Ward
Personal Review: Broken Angels by Richard K. Morgan
The first book hinted at the "Martians", and how they effectively laid out the
future expansion of the human race. This book greatly expands on this
interesting twist in the cyberpunk idea of future advancements in
technology challenging the fundamental idea of humanity. Can man-kind
advance to fast, it chokes his very sense of humanity to death?
As usual, Morgan is a highly imaginative writer. Yes, there is violence in
the book, but for me it underscored the lack of sensitivity man has begun
to feel toward preservation of life in a world where you can just get a new
body. It also shows how hard it is to really KNOW someone, when all men
are perpetual shape-shifters. Maybe living forever can become a curse?
All of it is subtly explored in this book.
It is also a who-done-it, and a good one at that. I highly recommend the
book for all these reasons.
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