Publisher:
Gollancz
Reviews & Overviews by Rod Cameron
Publisher: |
Gollancz |
|
Date: |
2007 |
|
Size: |
564 Pages |
|
Format: |
Hardback |
|
Price: |
£14.99 |
|
ISBN: |
978-0-575-07513-9 |
|
Reviewed by: |
Rod Cameron |
|
Review Date: |
November 2007 |
Black Man is the fifth book from Richard Morgan. In a few short years he has produced a stunning body of work. Notably, the Takeshi Kovacs series Altered Carbon (2002), Broken Angels (2003) & Woken Furies (2005) together with his satirical futuristic Market Forces (2004).
Set a century from now, in a fragmented North America, mankind has finally achieved stability. But there is a legacy of genetic variants including Variant 13, a hyper-male cultured to be aggressive in order to fight in conflicts and work in the nanotech-assisted colony on Mars. When a series of brutal slayings occur across America it becomes clear that a Variant 13 has gone rogue. Carl Marsalis is a genengineered ex-soldier himself and is employed to “fight fire with fire” and track down the killer. Like Decker from the film Blade Runner his job is to track down rogue hyper-males. For this he is hated by his fellow variants and feared by the “normal” human population. He is literally the Black Man.
Not only is Black Man a relentless chase thriller, but it is also a book about prejudice, and man’s capacity for violence, deceit and corruption. Richard Morgan has an uncanny skill in portraying violence and the alien mind. And his latest work is just as good as previous ones. Black Man is also available now in paperback, and I am eagerly anticipating his next book A Land Fit for Heroes which is due out next year.