Janet Fitch, White Oleander

A friend had recommended White Oleander to me years ago, and since she was one of the most prolific and interested readers I'd ever met, I put it on my list. When I saw it at the yard sale across the street for .25, I fished out a quarter and brought the book home.

The novel was beautifully written and evocative, but I had a hard time both suspending disbelief and giving the author credibility; as the novel is written as a first-person autobiography, it feels disturbingly voyeuristic since it was ostensibly written by someone with a far less horrifying background than the one portrayed.

One thing I did find very interesting was the way that place functions as a character in the novel. The descriptions of California were probably my favorite part of the book.

Richard Morgan, Woken Furies

I had reserved both Broken Angels and Woken Furies at the library, and this one actually came in first, so as soon as I finished the latter, I started this one. I finished both in about a week.

There were passages in Woken Furies that felt oddly as though someone else were trying to imitate Morgan's style, but without his panache. It was a disturbing effect, and I didn't know whether he'd actually turned over the writing, changed editors, or just lost the edge. It also made me wonder whether the flawless language in the earlier books was due less to his intelligence (and Britishness) than to a really good editor. Thankfully, those stretches were short and few, and didn't ruin the entire novel.

Of the three Takeshi Kovacs novels I've read, this one revealed most clearly, I thought, exactly how unlikable the protagonist can be. "Antihero" is putting it lightly. Kovacs is ruthless, violent, and driven by an irrational revenge. Still, it's a tribute to Morgan's craft that you can't help pulling for him.

The third novel was also full of genuinely impressive plot twists building on the worlds created in the earlier books. Morgan reveals that his intricate universe continues to reveal productive, fascinating, and highly entertaining possibilities.

Richard Morgan, Broken Angels

Broken Angels is the sequel to Altered Carbon, which I read twice this spring/summer. I didn't think it was quite to the level of Morgan's first Takeshi Kovacs novel, but it was similarly gripping, creative, and entertaining.

Morgan's writing is cinematic, deftly weaving vivid scenes that immerse you in his carefully-crafted fictive world. Although this novel did not seem quite as fast-faced and intricate as Altered Carbon, it was a worthy sequel and certainly an enjoyable read.