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.
Veil is a former Overrider. A last resort corporate security ninja,
that is kept on ice in orbit, a sort of ‘break glass in case of emergency’
setup. He has been bred since childhood for this life, adding a backdrop that
adds a little sympathy to a character who at times, seems to lack it entirely.
He has the ability to stuff all of his humanity into a drawer and do what needs
to be done, no matter how hard or how terrible it might be. “The ship must be
saved at all costs.” However, something horrible happened on his watch
involving important people that forced him out of that life and into one on
Mars with no safety net. This is all back-story and is alluded to in snippets
but never completely spelled out. There is a flashback scene of his childhood that
is heart-wrenching and adds to the depth of his character, if not the empathy
we might have for him. He is a hard man to like, but there are moments,
glimpses of his wry humor and intelligence, and even warmth for those few that
he feels real loyalty for that is enough for me to throw all-in with him. He’s
not the world-weary protagonist with the heart of gold. His very nature drives
him to violence, but he is smart enough to temper it all with a modicum of
self-restraint . . . most of the time.
He has appetites and a real weakness for women that, if not a
blind spot, is at least an extremely hazy area in his field of vision. His onboard
AI even reminds him of these things over and over but he wants what he wants
and does things his own way, damn the torpedoes. More often than not, though, Veil
has an instinct to take the right course of action, even when I am wondering why
he isn’t more interested in interrogating someone instead of killing them
without a second thought. I came to trust his instincts, and figured he had
seen enough of the slimy side of life that he knew what he could discard and what
he needed to hold onto. He isn’t infallible, but has a knack for survival.
Morgan does a great job of taking an ultra-masculine killer, who
is definitely self-absorbed, (who wouldn’t be if you were designed to spend
months in hibernation or endless hours alone) and lends him a respect for women
and the marginalized, giving them a dignity and power all their own, even if
those powers may pale in the light of the deadly skills of the Overrider. All
of the main characters have agency, whether they be a strip club dancer or a
local cop or corporate thug.
The story is part western, part detective noir but is all
parts violent and at times gory. It is generously gratuitive in both violence
and explicit sex. The action rarely takes a breath, rocketing constantly
forward and all over the settlement of the Gash, from its depths to its borderlands.
It kept me guessing who the real bad guys were throughout the story and wondering
who Veil could really trust.
His author website: https://www.richardkmorgan.com/
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