WOKEN FURIES review

Ex-Envoy Takeshi Kovacs is damaged goods. He has been since before we first met him, since Innenin. When we catch up with him in WOKEN FURIES he is chasing his demons by killing off any New Revelation priest that had anything to do with the death of Sarah Sachilowska, and he's been at it for two years already. You may remember Sarah from ALTERED CARBON. Well, fate has twisted her in unexpected ways. His vendetta is interrupted by a chance encounter with Sylvie's Silpins. They are a close-knit DeCom team working in the Unsettled zones on New Hok(aido) decommissioning autonomous minimits, the out-of-control machine remnants of a 200 years ago war. Kovacs is in his element with the DeCom crew. He works best when he has someone other than himself to watch out for. Team Player may not be the first thing to cross your mind when the name Takeshi Kovacs comes up, but that is the way he's wired. Exploring the depths of Kovacs' soul is one of the more subtle elements of this book. Later he has to face the possibility that Quell may be alive and well inside one of his friends heads. Wait until you discover how that turns out. It is a wonder to watch the vast complexity of plot and technology build up around you as the novel progresses, and believe me, it gets very complicated; so much so that I anticipative the second pass will be very enlightening. We get to see Kovacs home planet of Harlan's World and get to see Kovacs move in and out of different circles, including the Envoys. His character gains credibility every time he interacts with the powers that be, and there are a lot of power brokers to deal with. This book covers more ground than the other Kovacs novels but also brings the other two into the story so well that it makes them seem like one big story. This elevates the series and makes my opinion of WOKEN FURIES increase all the more. It is that rare book where nothing but superlatives come to mind when discussing it. I cannot recommend this book more highly. If you like to explore the disruptive effects of radical technology on society, and on your own fragile sense of reality, take a gander at Morgan. Thank me later.


Richard K. Morgan WOKEN FURIES