Bestselling British author Richard Morgan had been writing for a long time without seeing anything of his work in print, but when Gollancz published Altered Carbon Morgan was suddenly a major star on the spaceship-clogged sky of science fiction literature.

Altered Carbon is a titanium-coated murder mystery, with a noir, edgy atmosphere similar to the mood found in many works by William Gibson and Jon Courtenay Grimwood. Introducing protagonist Takeshi Kovacs, who reappears in other works by Morgan, this novel offers a bleak, violent future described in a streetwise yet poetic voice. Morgan’s various futuristic renderings of Earth (and other planets) are typically dystopic, with cruel and aggressive corporations in control of much of society. In addition, the merciless tactics and implications of military force are also addressed in many ways, often from a critical point of view. But while his work features many elements found in novels that glorify war and violence, Morgan’s work uses his characters to illustrate the atrocities of brutality from the inside. In that way, his books are compelling and insightful statements against violence...

The violence in Altered Carbon is profoundly vicious, but the high level of brutality is not simply for show; it serves to emphasise the importance of the narrative and to strengthen the imagined world.

Altered Carbon was followed by Broken Angels, also featuring Kovacs, and offers deeper insight into Morgan’s stark universe. Broken Angels is less of a noir crime novel and more of a standard science fiction book, but Morgan’s characteristic tone is still recognisable. At times possibly even more harrowing than his preceding novel, it is as well written and engaging.

Morgan’s next book, while still SF, is distinctly different and significantly more political. Market Forces concerns just what the title implies, and it’s an unforgiving blow in the face for corporate greed, starring a slightly depraved central character who becomes entangled in a web of business rivalries. Part Mad Max and part Wall Street, Market Forces is a fast-paced, fuming read.

Morgan went on to write Woken Furies, which according to the author will be the last book featuring Kovacs. Here, many events and places that have only been hinted at in earlier novels are revealed and several loose threads are tied into a complex, sinister knot. Also featuring a spectacular twist right in the opening, Woken Furies is a lashing commentary on fundamentalist religion, politics, revenge and the essence of the human soul.

Black Man, Morgan’s latest published novel, puts the reader in a different future. A genetically altered mercenary teams up with an officer in search of a killer, and during their search a range of questions regarding sociology, warfare, gender issues and politics is addressed. But while this may be the most reflective – and subversive – novel from Morgan to date, it’s by no means soft or compassionate: violence and greed, and their horrific consequences, are still central themes.

Richard Morgan is currently working on Land Fit for Heroes, a fantasy novel.

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