Thin Air
Thin Air A Novel by Richard K. Morgan Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Del Rey Sci Fi & Fantasy Pub Date 23 Oct 2018
Review
If you liked Altered Carbon, you will definitely enjoy Thin Air. Like Altered Carbon, Thin Air’s antihero is former military ( in this case biologically altered from before birth) who has bucked the system and gone private. His sarcasm equals his sense of fair play, and while he is excellent at what he does, he doesn’t take orders. Havana Veil is the modern sci-fi version of the classic noir detective. As in most noir stories, the detective finds the assignment he is given is just a cover for something much bigger, Veil soon discovers that babysitting Madison Madikwe isn’t what he was told it would be. Mars is a dangerous place, a play Palace for the rich, a place of suffering and entrapment for the rest. Now that the corporate overlords are auditing the planet, unease is growing, as are rumors of revolution. Hakan Veil knows how to make trouble, but will his connections and ingenuity be enough for him to unravel one of the largest conspiracies ever to threaten Mars.
Thin Air is an astounding book. The writing puts you directly into Hakan’s head, seeing with his eye. It’s a difficult style of writing to master, but Richard K Morgan does an excellent job. I found myself immersed in the action from beginning to end. Naturally as both Altered Carbon and Thin Air are sci-fi noir, the two have some common elements. But the stories themselves are in no way identical. If you like sci-fi noir or sci-fi action, I heartily recommend Thin Air.
5 / 5
I received a copy of Thin Air from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
— Crittermom
Description
An atmospheric tale of corruption and abduction set on Mars, from the author of the award-winning science fiction novel Altered Carbon, now an exciting new series from Netflix. From the moment Richard K. Morgan’s dazzling debut, Altered Carbon, burst onto the scene, it was clear that a distinctive new voice had arrived to shake up science fiction. His subsequent novels—including the sequels Broken Angels and Woken Furies—confirmed him as a master of hard-boiled futuristic thrillers. Now Morgan returns to the world of SF noir with a riveting tale of crime, corruption, and deadly crisis on a planet teetering close to the edge. On a Mars where ruthless corporate interests violently collide with a homegrown independence movement as Earth-based overlords battle for profits and power, Hakan Veil is an ex–professional enforcer equipped with military-grade body tech that’s made him a human killing machine. But he’s had enough of the turbulent red planet, and all he wants is a ticket back home—which is just what he’s offered by the Earth Oversight organization, in exchange for being the bodyguard for an EO investigator. It’s a beyond-easy gig for a heavy hitter like Veil . . . until it isn’t. When Veil’s charge, Madison Madekwe, starts looking into the mysterious disappearance of a lottery winner, she stirs up a hornet’s nest of intrigue and murder. And the deeper Veil is drawn into the dangerous game being played, the more long-buried secrets claw their way to the Martian surface. Now it’s the expert assassin on the wrong end of a lethal weapon—as Veil stands targeted by powerful enemies hellbent on taking him down, by any means necessary.
