Mass Market Paperback, 544 pages
English language
Published Sept. 30, 2008 by Del Rey.
Richard K. Morgan has received widespread praise for his astounding twenty-fifth-century novels featuring Takeshi Kovacs, and has established a growing legion of fans. Mixing classic noir sensibilities with a searing futuristic vision of an age when death is nearly meaningless, Morgan returns to his saga of betrayal, mystery, and revenge, as Takeshi Kovacs, in one fatal moment, joins forces with a mysterious woman who may have the power to shatter Harlan's World forever.Once a gang member, then a marine, then a galaxy-hopping Envoy trained to wreak slaughter and suppression across the stars, a bleeding, wounded Kovacs was chilling out in a New Hokkaido bar when some so-called holy men descended on a slim beauty with tangled, hyperwired hair. An act of quixotic chivalry later and Kovacs was in deep: mixed up with a woman with two names, many powers, and one explosive history.In a world where the real and virtual …
Richard K. Morgan has received widespread praise for his astounding twenty-fifth-century novels featuring Takeshi Kovacs, and has established a growing legion of fans. Mixing classic noir sensibilities with a searing futuristic vision of an age when death is nearly meaningless, Morgan returns to his saga of betrayal, mystery, and revenge, as Takeshi Kovacs, in one fatal moment, joins forces with a mysterious woman who may have the power to shatter Harlan's World forever.Once a gang member, then a marine, then a galaxy-hopping Envoy trained to wreak slaughter and suppression across the stars, a bleeding, wounded Kovacs was chilling out in a New Hokkaido bar when some so-called holy men descended on a slim beauty with tangled, hyperwired hair. An act of quixotic chivalry later and Kovacs was in deep: mixed up with a woman with two names, many powers, and one explosive history.In a world where the real and virtual are one and the same and the dead can come back to life, the damsel in distress may be none other than the infamous Quellcrist Falconer, the vaporized symbol of a freedom now gone from Harlan's World. Kovacs can deal with the madness of AI. He can do his part in a battle against biomachines gone wild, search for a three-centuries-old missing weapons system, and live with a blood feud with the yakuza, and even with the betrayal of people he once trusted. But when his relationship with "the" Falconer brings him an enemy specially designed to destroy him, he knows it's time to be afraid. After all, the guy sent to kill him is himself: but younger, stronger, and straight out of hell.Wild, provocative, and riveting, Woken Furies is a full-bore science fiction spectacular of the highest order--from one of the most original and spellbinding storytellers at work today.From the Hardcover edition.
As soon as I realized it was a prequel I dropped it. I didn't get two books deep into lore just to do a prequel story.
It makes sense why I never finished this book when it came out. It has fantastic world building but quite a dull story. It introduces fantastic potentials for twists and exciting build-ups, but then just let’s them wane out. The big reveals at the end should have come way sooner.
I found the narrator (audio book this time around) and his attempt at a one-man theatre cast extremely tiring. His “female” voices reducing every woman to a hapless damsel in distress almost made me put the book away in the first minutes.
This one is based on Harlan's World and its many oceans--and I felt like I was floundering a lot. Sometimes I'd grab a good surf but for the most part I thought the story line just got lost.
Kovacs has a grudge that he's hell bent into, predictably things happen and now he's a part of another story, then that story goes and becomes another story, and we circle back and forth like a tide and..
I liked some of it. The whole dCom outfit was just fun awesome--I could use a whole lot of books just on those kids and their toys. The rest.. I'm not sure. Feels like a bunch of novelettes that got strung together somehow. Overall I enjoyed the read and I wouldn't mind reading more set in the universe--but like the author said in an interview once Kovacs has had his time and you can …
This one is based on Harlan's World and its many oceans--and I felt like I was floundering a lot. Sometimes I'd grab a good surf but for the most part I thought the story line just got lost.
Kovacs has a grudge that he's hell bent into, predictably things happen and now he's a part of another story, then that story goes and becomes another story, and we circle back and forth like a tide and..
I liked some of it. The whole dCom outfit was just fun awesome--I could use a whole lot of books just on those kids and their toys. The rest.. I'm not sure. Feels like a bunch of novelettes that got strung together somehow. Overall I enjoyed the read and I wouldn't mind reading more set in the universe--but like the author said in an interview once Kovacs has had his time and you can feel it here.
J’abandonne ce roman après en avoir lu un gros tiers car l’excès de scènes d’action m’ennuie profondément et me donne envie que de sauter des chapitres entiers. Si l’action a toujours été très présente dans les deux précédents romans de cette trilogie, le dosage me paraît ici déséquilibré. Tant pis, je n’irai au bout des aventures de Takeshi Kovacs, mais je n’y prenais aucun plaisir dans ce troisième et dernier volume.
For a series where I didn't particularly like either the main character or the writing style, this was pretty awesome. Seriously, the world building was excellent, and made up for a lot of stuff that wasn't.
A fitting conclusion to the Takeshi Kovacs trilogy, Woken Furies ramps up the political discussion but never skimps on action and character development as well. I still have no idea what "take" is as a food item, though.
2015: And then the end never stops twisting about ... back-stabbingly beautiful.
I love the way he describes technologies in his future vision of humanity. I am going to miss Takeshi Kovacs, I may even have to read the books all over again.
2018: Did get around to the reread. I had a harder time with the re-read than I anticipated because I did remember just enough to take away the major reveals. However that makes it possible to focus on other aspects of the books more.
I like the writing style, clean, well-paced and with a lot of fun quips that make me laugh or smile. Especially the dialogue scenes make for great reading. As I am not a fan of action and fight scenes in general I can't say much to that. There are enough of them to satisfy those who like them - for me this led …
2015: And then the end never stops twisting about ... back-stabbingly beautiful.
I love the way he describes technologies in his future vision of humanity. I am going to miss Takeshi Kovacs, I may even have to read the books all over again.
2018: Did get around to the reread. I had a harder time with the re-read than I anticipated because I did remember just enough to take away the major reveals. However that makes it possible to focus on other aspects of the books more.
I like the writing style, clean, well-paced and with a lot of fun quips that make me laugh or smile. Especially the dialogue scenes make for great reading. As I am not a fan of action and fight scenes in general I can't say much to that. There are enough of them to satisfy those who like them - for me this led to several "breaks" in my own pace reading this.
In this book Takeshi returns to his home Harlan's World, which is ruled by a group of oligarchs named the First Families, first among the first being the Harlans of course. This world is where 300 years back the Quellist uprising was brutally ended, devastating a hole continent (on a world mostly covered by water!) with so-called Mimints (intelligent robotic weapons systems) that are only now being de-commissioned by the DeComs - a group of mercenaries with a new technology that is able to hack and destroy the Mimints. Takeshi himself is currently on a mission/rampage against a local religion he derogatively calls the "Beards" (I think they are called New Revelation).
Through happenstance Tak becomes involved with a squad of DeCom mercenaries and ends up accompanying them back to the continent of New Hok and the Uncleared to hunt Mimints and obtain a new sleeve. Sylvie's Slipins are among the more experienced DeComs but not well-liked by command because apparently they do whatever-the-fuck they feel like.
But Tak has another problem besides needing a new sleeve. Someone high up wants to hunt him down (it is unclear if his murders of religious leaders are the reason for this) and and has warmed up a much younger copy of himself to do so. Obviously he begins to second-guess himself, and he is not always right.
Soon enough he is on the run with Sylvie, in a new sleeve, leaving behind the squad... and Sylvie has other problems to, somewhere among the Mimints she was infected with a viral software that causes her to have blackouts.
While the middle part lulls a little with a few too-long action sequences and scenes that are needed as set-up for the wonderfully intricate twisted ending and Takeshi--again--gets to fuck nearly every major female character... (and his teacher and trainer Virginia whom he seemed to admire so much in previous books with no hints of attraction is the one that gets me most. This could have shown a great friendship but no they have to do it even though she is in a longterm relationship.) Once again, as soon as he sees an attractive woman, Tak is completely controlled by his dick or should I say pheromones? His sleeve-twin being the one exception, thankfully.
The ending and its accompanying reveals make more than up for those weaknesses. The books are now a decade old and hold up well in most regards--especially if you skip/ignore the sex scenes which do not impact any of the plots in all 3 books in any meaningful manner. The sex doesn't mean anything to Takeshi and so it doesn't mean anything to the plot.
I'll leave my original rating of 5 although this time it was more of a 4 read.
