I just finished Richard K. Morgan’s latest release, Thin Air.
It is gritty SciFi at its finest. Morgan seems to have leveled up in his
writing, over already highly regarded and award-winning previous work. Every
sentence is crafted with care. It is a Master Class of immersive third person
point of view writing.
I listened to the audiobook version, which was read by Colin
Mace, and for me, it was a perfect fit. Mace hit the ball out of the park and
became the embodiment of Hakan Veil, the hi-tech ninja of the future and
protagonist of what I hope is not a standalone novel. It is a new character and
setting of sorts for Morgan. He alludes to his concept of the Mars colony and
COLIN (Colony Initiative) in Thirteen, which I have started today. I just downloaded the
audiobook.
This story had me riveted from the word go, and didn’t let go.
It is the best science fiction I’ve read since Ancillary Justice, which won the
Hugo. This work is certainly good enough to be in consideration, but it has
very adult themes (read graphic sex.) Morgan has included this with intention
and I hope it doesn’t take him out of the running.
There is so much to love about this novel. The characters are
real and multifaceted. The description is immersive, but not overdone and the
word choices are evocative and graphic, and fit perfectly with the landscape of
Mars he has painted. Mars itself is a character all its own. It has a well-developed
history and a depth that makes it feel authentic, albeit a true frontier and
all that comes with that, 300ish years into a colony development that never
quite materialized the way the original planners had envisioned. His simile and
metaphor are based on these artifices of an old Martian colony and struck the
perfect chord to bring the setting to life. The science parts of the fiction are
the essence of cool and seemingly plausible, including the pseudoatmosphere of
the lamina, a membrane of sorts that covers the dug out Gash, allowing for a localized
breathable atmosphere. The prose is wonderful, especially considering that this
is a hard-boiled genre fiction piece, great writing implanted within a ruthless
noir fiction story.
