A very interesting novel, growing from the premise that we’ve found a way to digitize and save our personalities and memories. Then, after birth, everyone gets a cortical stack implanted, so your self can be saved, uploaded, swapped into new hosts (“sleeves”) and possibly deleted. Morgan explores a number of consequences of this development, including changes to the penal system, colonization, people’s attitudes torward their sleeves and toward their loved one’s new sleeves, and so on.
All this on top of a fast-paced and action-packed murder mystery.
There was a little more violence than I usually go for, but it was pretty well done. The plot was very interesting, but got a little convoluted and suffered from one or two too many deus ex machinas. Still, a wonderful effort for a first novel, and well worth reading.

Rating: 3*/5

A good old cyberpunk yarn. Hooks you from the off and keeps up the breakneck pace nicely. Recommended.

Cyber-punk murder mystery thriller.

What an excellent, brilliant novel (let alone first novel)... a really good read…

See my website for my final review: Altered Carbon