Better than 'Market Forces' but not as good as the Kovacs novels

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	• Thirteen Richard K. Morgan Del Rey, 2007 - 560 pages average customer review:based on 61 reviews view larger image
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Eventually, the ideas gelled.

My first impression was that the story was almost a complete rip-off (not merely an homage) of Blade Runner/Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. My second impression was that the story was awfully dull for one that was filled with wall-to-wall sex and violence. The characters barely had time to speak, they were so busy fighting, fleeing, or fornicating, and yet I had to force myself to slog through the first hundred pages or so. I still don't know how the author managed to make sex and violence so boring.

It was only when I started to get a grasp on the interesting underlying concepts, which were either original or just new to me, that the sex and violence started to become compelling and meaningful. When I began to sort out who was dying and why they were dying, then the action propelled the story along. The author's comentary on evolution, and on how we tamper with it one way or the other, became a framework to hang the story on, and the action started to have a purpose. After all, our current state of evolution is built on an infinite progression of sex and death. Marsalis eventually becomes a memorable character, and I'm glad I struggled through the first hundred pages while the story came together.

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Bravo, more of the same Richard..

I've read Altered Carbon, and while I enjoyed it, it wasn't so good that
I immediately wanted to read the sequels. Somewhat later I read Market
Forces, while it strained credulity, it was a really fun read... Mad
Max meets Wall Street, LOL. I can't wait to see the movie they will
eventually make of that :)

Thirteen had some interesting topics so I decided to get it in hardback,
and all I can say is WOW, best sf/cyberpunk read I've had in some time.
The book is sort of a cross between a crime/detective drama and something
like Predator and maybe even a little of a Spy Thriller.

Bloat? I guess if your attention span won't take over a couple
hundred pages you might say that, but I saw no fat in the plot,
in fact I was really sorry to turn that last page. This book
has the potential to be an awesome film, look forward to that.

More like this one please Richard :) and thanks for a great book.

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Better than 'Market Forces' but not as good as the Kovacs novels

I've seen this happen to too many good authors. They publish a handful of commercially and critically successful novels and suddenly it seems as though their editors stop telling them to cut the fat. In 'Thirteen', Richard K. Morgan shows he has become the latest victim.

In the Kovacs novels, Morgan demonstrated his mastery of the neo-noir, weaving complex but tight plots and creating interestingly dark characters with well-hidden motives. There are lots of genuine surprises, and much to wonder about in those books.

In 'Thirteen', however, it is though Morgan has lost faith. He's either lost faith in his ability as a storyteller, or lost faith in his readers' ability to deal with not knowing everything about every character and plot point. It's as though he wants to make sure we 'get it,' so there's excruciatingly long scenes in which nothing happens but talking, talking, and more talking. There are flashbacks, not to the distant past, but to conversations that happened between the chapter you're reading and the one you just finished. There are too many chapters when the main characters and plot momentum are left aside to unnecessarily fill in backstory. And too often does the main character commit some act meant to yet again reinforce his 'badness' but unrelated to the main plot.

200 fewer pages and 'Thirteen' would have been a masterpiece, rather than a bloated 3 1/2 star book.

Should you buy it? If you're a Morgan fan, like I am, you probably already have or will despite what any reviewer here says. I would. But, if you haven't already read everything else by him, buy those books instead (except 'Market Forces') or pick up one of Chris Moriarty's books, or hunt down a copy of 'Gun, with Occasional Music'. Or wait for his next novel and hope that it is a slim 300 pages.

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Good but overly-long

I have enjoyed Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs novels, which are interesting, well-written and tautly-written. "Thirteen," while still interesting and entertaining, is more flabby, weighing in at over 500 pages. Although the story is well-thought-out, it is too thin to support the weight of that much paper. Sadly, this problem occurs with virtually every SF writer as he or she gains popularity and the concurrent ability to evade the hard editing that really needs to be done to bring story length under control.

Nevertheless, if you like Morgan's other works, you will still enjoy this one; it is a good novel, even if overly long. Your library probably has a copy, and you may want to check it out rather than buy this blind. If you are new to Morgan, I would suggest reading "Altered Carbon" first.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

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