Broken Angels
2003
- fiction
- science fiction
- fiction, science fiction, hard science fiction
- mercenary troops
- space vehicles
- recovery
- dystopias
- imaginary wars and battles
- cyberpunk
- thriller
The story
Welcome back to the brash, brutal new world of the twenty-fifth century: where global politics isn't just for planet Earth anymore; and where death is just a break in the action, thanks to the techno-miracle that can preserve human consciousness and download it into one new body after another. Cynical, quick-on-the-trigger Takeshi Kovacs, the ex-U.N. envoy turned private eye, has changed careers, and bodies, once more . . . trading sleuthing for soldiering as a warrior-for-hire, and helping a far-flung planet's government put down a bloody revolution.But when it comes to taking sides, the only one Kovacs is ever really on is his own. So when a rogue pilot and a sleazy corporate fat cat offer him a lucrative role in a treacherous treasure hunt, he's only too happy to go AWOL with a band of resurrected soldiers of fortune. All that stands between them and the ancient alien spacecraft they mean to salvage are a massacred city bathed in deadly radiation, unleashed nanotechnolgy with a million ways to kill, and whatever surprises the highly advanced Martian race may have in store. But armed with his genetically engineered instincts, and his trusty twin Kalashnikovs, Takeshi is ready to take on anything--and let the devil take whoever's left behind.From the Trade Paperback edition.
What it’s like
Gritty, hard-edged and relentlessly kinetic, with the prose hitting like a fist: clipped, profane, sardonic narration that rattles through firefights, bodies swapped in and out of clinics, and rain-slicked, neon-smeared megacities gone wrong. The sensory world is dense with corrosion, ash and radiation haze, the sheen of chrome implants and the sour stink of blood and cordite, and the mood runs from cynical noir swagger to bleak, sun-scorched dread out on the alien wastes. It is a book for a loud, restless stretch of time: a long-haul flight, a late night with the lamp on and nothing to do tomorrow, a commute where you want to be somewhere else entirely. Violence is frequent, graphic and unsentimental, with gore, torture and sexual content handled bluntly rather than tastefully, so it is not a fit for anyone seeking something gentle. Emotional register is cold and wry, with a hardened antihero who trusts almost no one slowly and grudgingly revealing a sliver of loyalty under the sarcasm. Written for readers who love cyberpunk grit, mercenary capers and hard science fiction with a mean streak and a pulse that doesn't let up.
More books like Broken Angels
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Broken Angelsand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
