Woken Furies
by Richard K. Morgan · first published 2005
55% recommend45% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Hard-boiled cyberpunk sci-fi detective thriller in the Takeshi Kovacs series, praised for its tone close to Gibson's Neuromancer and for being many readers' favorite entry in the trilogy.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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
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…original 80s copies of Omni magazine with the first publication for pretty cheap off eBay) Other authors I've enjoyed, coming off Neuromancer-type Gibson: Richard K. Morgan (Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, Woken Furies). Closest in tone. For god's sake don't watch the Amazon series for plot. Effinger comes up on a lot of lists, although I haven't read it myself yet. Vernor Vinge (A Fire Upon the Deep, A Deepness in…
on “William Gibson is a literary genius” ↗Functional Programming Application and Implementation by Peter Henderson. Old but interesting. Woken Furies by Richard Morgan. Good sci-fi detective thriller series. Working Effectively with Legacy Code by Michael C Feathers. Hell of a book. Up there with Mythical Man Month.
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?” ↗…buried. A sort of futuristic take on land-mines disguised as toys. There's also some rather nightmarish scenarios in Richard Morgan's series about Takeshi Kovacs (I enjoyed beginning in the middle, with "Woken Furies") involving weaponized nano technology. Neither are world-ending, but touches IMHO on some of the same things.
on “The Day the Moon Blew Up” ↗If this fascinates you, then you'll like Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, and Woken Furies by Richard K. Morgan. Changing bodies is commonplace for the rich in these novels. They are quite excellent, if not a tad violent, so don't read them if that's not your thing. The novels are way better…
on “Scientists Are Giving Dead Brains New Life” ↗It's going to make Woken Furies (easily my favorite book of the series) pretty confusing. And (personally) it felt like a cheap simplification of one of the most interesting series plot points.
on ““Snowcrash” to be HBO series, compete with actual early Metaverses for viewers” ↗> Richard K. Morgan (Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, Woken Furies). Closest in tone. For god's sake don't watch the Amazon series for plot. Also (different setting): Black Man/Thirteen and Thin Air.
on “William Gibson is a literary genius” ↗Woken Furies (the 3rd book) is my favorite of the trilogy, which is the other reason I'm salty about the Envoy rewrite, as it made reusing the plot impossible.
on “Apple is turning William Gibson's Neuromancer into a TV series” ↗Last serious book : http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Cryptography-Practice-Hewlett-P... Last fun book : http://www.amazon.com/Woken-Furies-Takeshi-Kovacs-Novels/dp/... I can't resist the body swapping stuff ever since reading Lord of Light as a kid
on “Ask HN: What was the latest book you read? ” ↗…on book 3, with parts of book 2 remixed and reinterpreted into it. The book revolves around Kovachs mental health instead of what happened in the show) (Richard Morgan: Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, Woken Furies)
on “Cyberpunk: Then and Now” ↗…haven't come into the series with the expectation that the same ideas and noirish conventions will be maintained from the book (as I did), you may well enjoy it better for that. [1] Yes, I read the later Woken Furies where Falconer seems to "come back" in a way, but an event from decades after Altered Carbon shouldn't have been shoehorned into the Altered Carbon adaptation this way. Or at least I thought it shouldn't…
on “Altered Carbon – All the DNA of great science-fiction with some missing links” ↗I think Broken Angels did a good job of carrying the feeling of Altered Carbon forward. I haven't yet read the final trilogy member, Woken Furies.
on “Neuromancer, 30 years old this month” ↗…diluted version of a rough and angry book. The idea of consciousness executed in hardware is explored, including simulated torture in subjective slow time (possibly in one of the sequels: Broken Angels or Woken Furies).
on “Permutation City (1994)” ↗