Broken Angels

The new streaming TV series rekindled my interest in Altered Carbon (which I read when it was first released) and after re-reading Altered Carbon, I jumped right into Broken Angels (which I never read). Unfortunately, I can’t say that Broken Angels holds up as compared to the initial entry in the series. I plowed my way through it, but took effort. Unlike Altered Carbon, the Kovacs character comes across as being unlikeable, and much worse uninteresting. In fact, you get the feeling that he too is just plodding along with story, just like the reader. And unlike Altered Carbon, which had a “noir detective” feel with a “whodunit” element, there was nothing keeping me engaged other than the sheer willpower to say I got to the end. There are also way too many diversions, side steps, and elements that do not contribute to the outcome that just muddy up the story line.

This sequel to Altered Carbon is about as good as Science Fiction gets. Its not truly a sequel…rather a carrying on of the life of the main protagonist, Takeshi Kovacs, a few decades following the end of Altered Carbon. You dont need to read Altered Carbon before Broken Angeles, at least for the story line, but you REALLY need to to understand the backstory and general setting of this time period (some 500 years or so from now).

While I thoroughly enjoyed Altered Carbon, it was more like a detective novel set in then future (with very cool changes to technology and society).

But Broken Angels is a true sci-if novel, set light years from Earth and filled with all sorts of great plot twists, alien technology and humans fighting with each other (as is our habit). Its a great read (and even better listen using Audible). Highly recommended book.

Very disappointing after Altered Carbon. This reads much more like a first and awkward attempt at a novel, with Altered Carbon as a far more polished and successful follow up. Apparently, though, it was the other way round.

Plot is strangely stagnant with its long stretch of waiting in limbo for the gate to open (actually the bulk of the novel takes place there, what reads first as prelude, becoming the actual story – huh?). This is not helped by an utter lack of adequate descriptions of place, characters, etc. Just a few adjectives and youre left on your own. The reader is left to fend for themselves for the most part. The very large cast of characters likewise blurs together from lack of development and differentiation. Plot contains so many twists, counter twists and twists on twists I just gave up trying to follow things. To be fair, this is often the case with science fiction, but usually when an author overwhelms his reader with excess characters and overly baroque plots, the reader can at least pleasurably move along with the texture of the thing, delighting in descriptions of alien worlds, imagined technologies and the usual sociological speculations that makes SF such a satisfying read for some of us. But sadly, once this plodding tangled plot loses our interest and we can no longer distinguish one amped up violent oddly named character from the next well theres just not enough there to justify the effort. Nevertheless, I did finish the book, and was left with the desire to somehow get my money back, if not the hours spent noodling through it all.

Richard K. Morgan, with Broken Angels, has knocked me out of my seat yet again with his 2nd awe-inspiring masterpiece after his stunning hardboiled sci-fi fiction ‘Altered-Carbon’. This time it is a storyline with a completely new angle that broadened greatly in scope to build on the universe of Altered-Carbon. I found it even more enjoyable with the audible version, voiced brilliantly by Todd Mclaren because of his effortless vocal interpretations and convincing variations for different characters. It is a whole new experience of immersing oneself in a story by reading and listening to the vocal narrations. Superb! Strangely, Netflix season 2 is not based on Broken Angels, which I feel the TV version is inferior by a wide margin. Takeshi Kavocs in book 2 has a brand new team of fighting fit new sleeves, equal in gender numbers, varied in ethnicity to aid him in his lucrative mission of uncovering the mystery left behind by the “broken angels” eons before the existence of mankind. Author Morgan expertly gave unique characteristics to each new character their own psche, skills & idiosyncrasies. Readers like myself easily get hooked on them emotionally and be anxious for their fate as the story played out. Like ‘Altered-carbon’ the story is narrated in the first voice by our immortal ‘Envoy’ Takeshi Korvacs, readers become him and inherited all his five senses. We become Takeshi Kovacs as we read the book. Filled with intelligent and humourous dialogues, wit, puns & sarcasm, the plot is complex, mysterious and substantial. Ensuring that readers are not left in a lurch, our meticulous author answered possible lingering questions readers may have in the last chapter & epilogue. Like Sherlock revealing all at the end: who-dun-it, motives, would our hero have a happy ending with his No1 girl as they get needle casted to paradise light years from the battle ground?

Puzzled at first by the title ” Broken Angels” , it was only at the last fifth of the book that we encounter these winged angels.

The final and lingering impression is author Morgan wants us to fantasize these celestial beings that existed in the beginning, long before mankind existed, were not space aliens but “Angels”. Broken because they were fallen angels that lost the battle to other angels. Or have they not mastered the “Altered-Carbon” technology of resleeving for immortality?

Read the first one and really quite enjoyed it. Its not really my chosen subject but thought I’d give it a whirl. This however had good characters but the plot is so disconnected and seems to be missing chunks which connect it all together.
If I’m honest I didn’t read the last 10 pages and wondered why I read the first 300. Absolute rubbish don’t waste your money.

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