Morgan -- The Cold Commands -- maybe with spoilers eventually?

[Contrarius]

I just want to say aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhh ---

Many of you will already know that The Cold Commands came out today. And I already purchased the Kindle edition. BUT I am holding off on reading it, for several reasons -- but especially because even though the audio version has been published on CD, Audible does NOT have it yet. I really want to listen to it before reading it, especially because the narrator of The Steel Remains (Simon Vance) did such a good job and I'd really like to hear him do The Steel Remains as well. I'm terrible at doing accents in my head when I read, and I want to hear what it sounds like as spoken word before I read it in text.

So I'm just bitching over here. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh, I want Audible to get this NOW, dangit!

[Contrarius]

Happy Happy Joy Joy!! Audible got it today. Dunno why the stinkers got it a day later than the print version, and I dunno why they couldn't be bothered to advertise that it was coming (they do list SOME upcoming books, but not all), but at least they have it now. I'll report back in a coupla days!!!

[Contrarius]

Oh damn, I finished the book. Now I have to wait for the next one. Damn.

I can't believe that nobody here is talking about this book yet. I personally thought it was not as gripping as the first one, but still very good. It didn't seem as complex to me, and it is obviously a "second" book -- building us up to the grand finale. But it still has lots of great action and characterization, and some wonderful prose.

Also, I love the narration that Simon Vance does on the audio. He is great at bringing the characters to life and voicing that tired, cynical attitude that so embodies Ringil. Pretty much perfect for these books.

Hasn't anyone else here read this yet?? Whaddaya think?

[TooNice]

I'll have go to my bookstore today, hopefully it's here!

[Hobbit]

Hasn't anyone else here read this yet??

Here in the UK it's only just released, as in like yesterday.

Going to a book signing by Richard next week, so hoping to say more after that.

Mark

[Contrarius]

Going to a book signing by Richard next week, so hoping to say more after that.

I'm jealous! Tell him to come do book signings on this side of the pond!

[AuldAnxiety]

Is there a re-read or helpful summary of The Steel Remains somewhere online? I've forgotten much of the first novel.

[Contrarius]

Is there a re-read or helpful summary of The Steel Remains somewhere online? I've forgotten much of the first novel.

Dunno! Try the tor.com site.

[Sipwood]

I recently finished this and was very pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the Steel Remains, but I had seen that the Cold Commands seemed to be getting quite negative reviews (mainly on Amazon, admittedly). I therefore approached it with a bit of caution, but I need not have worried. This is the most gripped I have been with a book in a while.

I am a fan of Richard Morgan's SF work, and I don't think that his fantasy is as good as his SF (mainly because his SF is just so good) but nevertheless for Morgan fans (and others) this is well worth the read.

[Werthead]

I recently finished this and was very pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the Steel Remains, but I had seen that the Cold Commands seemed to be getting quite negative reviews (mainly on Amazon, admittedly). I therefore approached it with a bit of caution, but I need not have worried. This is the most gripped I have been with a book in a while.

I am a fan of Richard Morgan's SF work, and I don't think that his fantasy is as good as his SF (mainly because his SF is just so good) but nevertheless for Morgan fans (and others) this is well worth the read.

I hope you picked up on the fact that:

His 'fantasy' series is in fact set in the far future of his Takeshi Kovacs series?

[Sipwood]

No, I hadn't, and even now that I think about it I am not sure what points towards that. What are the clues?

[Contrarius]

No, I hadn't, and even now that I think about it I am not sure what points towards that. What are the clues?

They are sneaky, but they are definitely there. It's much too late for me to go through and look em up right now, but hopefully somebody else will post em.

Of course, Morgan could just be jerking us around for his own amusement.

[Werthead]

No, I hadn't, and even now that I think about it I am not sure what points towards that. What are the clues?

Takeshi Kovacs is the Sky Dweller Takavatch, who chats to Ringil occasionally. Takavatch states that he could 'flit between the stars as a song' (needlecasting), could call upon the fire of the gods (angelfire, from the Martian weapon platforms) and was a member of a group called the Ahn-Foi (Envoys). There are also references to sleeving and to Quell as well. What is dividing fans is whether the planet in The Steel Remains and Cold Commands is Harlan's World or Earth. The latter seems most likely, as much is made of the planet having a former satellite called Muhn (Moon) which was destroyed to form the planet's ring system.

[Contrarius]

Surely someone, somewhere, has gone through and tabulated all the clues....there's more than those, as I'm sure Wert already knows. Some OCD individual out there musta made a list.....

[Sipwood]

Couldn't this just be Morgan messing with us? I mean, wasn't there a reference to Kovacs in Market Forces (which is clearly set before the Kovacs books).

For example it is difficult to see how magic and the Ghost Realm fit into the Kovacs universe.