October 07 - nuclear reactions
Wow - how much did some people hate Black Man/Thirteen? They hated it a LOT!
Some of them hated it so much they completely forgot to explain why, and poured fury instead on my author photo and the scandalous way I wore my shirt hanging out (?) (I think Amazon have pulled that review, which is a shame because it made fascinating reading). Some hated the politics, some hated the religion. Some hated it because a character in the book died slowly and painfully (as opposed, presumably, to being shot and dropping cleanly and instantly dead. Sorry, pal, read the statistics - slow and painful is how most of us are going to go - if you don't like that reflected occasionally in your fiction, you need to get back to Bob the Builder stories.) And some people didn't like the fact that the book made them reach a conclusion about genetic influence in the nature/nurture debate which they apparently didn't want to reach (which I think is a bit like complaining about a road map you bought because you've followed it to a destination you don't like. I mean, Blackpool is at the end of the M55, it just IS - sorry about that, but it doesn't mean you have to go there).
But above all, many, many people didn't like Black Man/Thirteen because it wasn't Altered Carbon. Well, fair point - there you have me - it isn't. But you know, I kiiiinnnnd of feel that readers were given fair warning of that by the fact that the book did have a whole other title (two whole other titles in fact!). I mean, that is a bit of a giveaway, right?
So if you haven't yet bought, borrowed or stolen Black Man/Thirteen, please be aware - it's not Altered Carbon, it's not a Takeshi Kovacs novel, it's not set in the same universe, it's not about the same things. Black Man/Thirteen deals with a whole different set of issues and technological factors, it takes a whole different, and deeper, approach to character and relationships, it moves at a whole different pace, and it's a bit longer than anything else I've written. And just so we're clear for those so bitterly disappointed by all this - I won't be writing Altered Carbon again, not ever. Can't - I've already written it. It is time to move on.
In fact, I really should stop bitching, because a lot of other people liked the book - it's sold very well on both sides of the Atlantic, and garnered a lot of very enthusiastic feedback, of which I am, as ever, very appreciative. There's talk of a film deal. I've had a flood of e-mails asking questions about the off-camera implications of the Marsalis universe, and a couple of reviewers coming up with leaps of imagination I wish I'd had back when I was writing the damn thing. All of this suggests that the diorama did in the end stand up, and when that happens your mind drifts inevitably in the direction of sequels...... so yes, there'll be one. At least one more book set in this context, in fact, possibly a couple. It feels like a roomy, eminently explorable universe.
Right - moving on. Land Fit for Heroes now has a new title (in the UK at least) - it will henceforth be known as The Steel Remains, a phrase which has more resonance with the way the tale is choosing to unwind, and it's slated to come out in August of next year. There's a brief set of character vignettes loose on the net, which I was asked to put together for my London editor a while back. Just do a search on Richard Morgan Fantasy, that should dig it up in the various places it's been published. These vignettes don't give you much information on the story itself, but that's intentional - like everything else I've ever written, this book will be character driven - if you like (or at least fall in with) the characters, it'll carry you. If you don't, it won't. There will be more bits and pieces emerging over the next few months as I pull the material together, so watch this and other, slightly more regularly updated space(s). I and my newly acquired webmaster will keep you posted.
<< Home