[Abyss]

I enjoyed this. Not as loved as the Kovacs books, but a solid sf story with some interesting ideas and characters. Marsalis was an interesting lead, as was Sevgi. Other POV characters less so.

Interesting setting and sci elements. I liked the little hints of this as a precursor to the Kovacs future, but the story stands fully on its own.

Possibly my favourite moment was

Spoiler

...the final Ren / Marsalis confrontation, where she backs him off just by the expression on her face. You read a lot of stories where just a look is enough to defuse a fight, but this was possibly the best written one i've read.

The fight v Merrin was well played.

The final reveal made sense and tied the whole thing up, although some of the Merrin-on-Mars / Onbek-on-Earth elements were a stretch.

Overall i liked. Worth the read.

- Abyss, wants his own nanorack tower.

[Dolorous Menhir]

Just wanted to resurrect an old thread and say that I just finished it myself.

I thought it was really good. Something about Morgan's style speaks to me - though I've only read this and Altered Carbon so far.

I just like the way he thinks and writes, just as I like the things he thinks and writes about.

It didn't have anything as good as Quellcrist Falconer though...

[Mushroom]

Im only about 200 pages in.

So far I would be echoing what Drinks in Bars said and the guy that posted after him.

This has been at best a rather ordinary novel with far too many similiarities with Altered Carbon which was a brilliant novel.

Hopefully it will pick up.

200 pages in and nothing too interesting has really happened at all too. Nowhere near as action paced as what some people in the thread have described. Compared to say Heroes Die its moving at a crawl with action.

This post has been edited by Mushroom: 22 February 2009 - 04:26 PM

[RodeoRanch]

Just read this one. Loved it.

[polishgenius]

It's funny how opinions on books change once they bed in - I posted in this topic that I didn't love it as much as the Kovacs books, but now I'd probably recommend it first out of all his books. And I hadn't even realised my opinion changed till I reread this topic.

[Abyss]

That's an interesting point - without having read the Kovacs books first, i suspect BLACK MAN would have shined brighter. That said, if RM hadn't written the Kovacs books first, i'm not sure as many people who have trusted him enuf to buy this book.

As a piece of writing, the book shows how RM has improved as a writer since ALTERED CARBON. The language is better, the narratives read smoother. Sure, AC and its sequels have more sheer action and sfwowtf, but BLACK MAN was a more intelligent book than any of them with the possible exception of WOKEN FURIES which goes deep into identity and some socio-politico elements.


- Abyss, still giggles over virilicide.