A short life of the author
Richard K. Morgan (b. 1965) was born on 24 September 1965 in Norwich, England. He studied history at Queens’ College, Cambridge, and subsequently taught English as a foreign language in Istanbul, Madrid, Glasgow, and London.
Life and Career
Altered Carbon (2002) — set in a future where human consciousness can be digitised and transferred between bodies (“sleeves”), and Takeshi Kovacs, a former UN envoy, is resleeved on Earth to investigate the apparent suicide of a wealthy man — won the Philip K. Dick Award and established Morgan as one of the most exciting new voices in science fiction. The novel combines hardboiled detective fiction with transhumanist speculation, graphic violence, and sharp political commentary.
Broken Angels (2003) and Woken Furies (2005) completed the Kovacs trilogy, shifting from noir to military SF to revolutionary politics. Market Forces (2004) — about executives who settle corporate disputes with vehicular combat — was a savage satire.
Thirteen (2007, published as Black Man in the UK) — about a genetically engineered super-soldier hunted in a future America — was a Hugo and Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee.
The Land Fit for Heroes trilogy — The Steel Remains (2008), The Cold Commands (2011), The Dark Defiles (2014) — was grimdark fantasy with an openly gay protagonist and graphic violence. Thin Air (2018) returned to SF noir, set on Mars.
Netflix adapted Altered Carbon as a series (2018–2020) starring Joel Kinnaman and Anthony Mackie.
Key Works
- Altered Carbon (2002)
- Thirteen (2007)
- The Steel Remains (2008)
Collecting Morgan
Altered Carbon (2002, Gollancz UK) brings $50–$150 for UK firsts. US firsts (Del Rey) bring $30–$80.