Review: Thirteen (Black Man)

Richard K. Morgan's previous releases were all fantastic reads. Unfortunately, his latest, Thirteen in the U.S. and Black Man everywhere else, is not up to quality or the imagination of the Takeshi Kovacs novels or even the wonderfully disturbing Market Forces. Thirteen is the story of Carl Marsalis, a product of genetic engineering to produce a super soldier. Yes, this has been done before, many times, so even the concept doesn't seem fresh.

I was also let down on several other levels. The first being that Morgan has exchanged subtlety for a political sledgehammer. In this future, the United States is fractured by fundamentalist Christians who secede and take their newly formed "Republic" back to the time of intense racial hatred and ignorance. At the same time, Islamic countries have seen the error of their ways and have modernized and civilized. Yes, this is science fiction, but it's also a political thesis on everything wrong with today's America. After a while the beating of Morgan's sledgehammer became annoying.

There are also a few too many extended talking head scenes. These are used to explain philosophy and history of this dystopian future. At these points the plot grinds to a halt and making through those scenes seemed like a chore.

Finally, while this is hard boiled fiction, it doesn't have the impact as such because of the above mentioned problems as well as the F-word used so much it loses any emphasis or impact. I'm not opposed to swearing in fiction, but I think it distracts from the story if not used properly. The repetitive overuse of it was most definitely distracting.

There are some good elements in the book that made it worth reading. I especially enjoy Morgan's way of creating terminology for future technology that helps the reader visualize it without too much digressing detail. This is something he's done in all of his books and Thirteen is no exception.

Also, as with previous books, his characters are well fleshed out and are motivated appropriately. The weakest character happens to be Marsalis, who is the main character. There is little to explain what makes him "not human" in the book. You just have to accept that people know he's a Thirteen and read on.

I only recommend this book for Richard K. Morgan fans and politically liberal readers who want to fantasize about their perfect future of a literally divided United States. If you haven't read Morgan before, I highly recommend starting out with Altered Carbon, a much more satisfying read.

Side Note: Inside the "racist" United States, Morgan's book was retitled from Black Man to Thirteen presumably to avoid offending black people. You see the main character is not only black, but he's British so the title couldn't be African American Man. I'm assuming Morgan sees the irony in that already.

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