Trepp, the hard-ass mercenary (much missed in the show). Miriam, the rich, white, wicked femme fatale. The ideas leap off the page, powered by Morgan’s trademark political and corporate cynicism… but I’d forgotten the sheer quantity and diversity of its female characters. Considering it was a cyberpunk debut by a white guy, it’s ahead of its fellows in many ways (I know, I know: low bar). So, um, having taken exhaustive notes during my reread and made no notes at all about the show, here goes nothing 4 months later…įirst things first: I still love the book. I finally – belatedly – watched the show last autumn, whilst rereading the book – because I knew I wanted it fresh in my mind to write about it. Would I even like the book if I read it now, let alone the show?

All I had was a cursory memory of violence, sex shops and one of the most specifically nasty torture scenes I’ve ever worked to forget.

The closer it got to airing, the more nervous I got, because I’d realised something else: my tastes have changed significantly in the intervening years. It was going to need one hell of a budget. When I heard it had been snapped up by Netflix, I had to wonder how it would work out. I first read Altered Carbon about ten years ago (oh shit. So why did a rich, influential tycoon like Laurens Bancroft blow his own brains out? When Bancroft buys ex-special forces and eternal revolutionary Takeshi Kovacs out of jail to investigate, Bay City is in for a wilder ride than anyone bargained for… Death is temporary – if you can afford a new body (or ‘sleeve’) for your digitised back-up to be decanted into.

Altered carbon cast black lady