Thirteen

Watch out, A Thirteen is loose

Richard Morgan's book THIRTEEN (released in Britain as BLACK MAN) is yet another ripping good science fiction detective novel.

THIRTEEN gets off to a slow start but then builds to the rapid pace and dense action of ALTERED CARBON, the book that made Morgan's reputation. The story takes place on Terra in the near future. The USA has split into three independent countries and Mars is a colony run by a private company. Deliberately induced mutations have resulted in a range of new kinds of humans, some harmless and others rather frightening, particularly "thirteens", a slang term for men specially bred as soldiers in recent wars. Thirteens are so feared they are locked up, too dangerous for civilian life. An exception is made for some useful thirteens like Carl Marsalis, who works as a bounty hunter, catching other thirteens who have escaped confinement. A serial killer thirteen is on the loose and Carl is sent to catch him.

As in all Morgan's books, there is a good strong plot coupled with musings on what it means to be human. Are thirteens human? Are they really so dangerous? Is Carl a good citizen or a traitor to his kind?

Fast action, likable characters, plausible story line, believable tech.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

In the future, genetic reengineering has enabled the government to use the tools to develop a series of human subclasses who only ¿live¿ to perform specific dangerous tasks. The norms are fascinated in a macabre way with these drones, but all humans fear the Thirteen, a pre-civilization creation known for its lethal aggression and kept under strict guard off planet. However, a disaster strike when a Thirteen escapes its Martian exile and does what this sub-stratum is capable of: mass and serial murders. Bone marrow tired Thirteen bounty hunter Carl Marsalis is assigned to put an end to this killing machine although he quit being a government hit man. As he goes after his prey, Marsalis reflects how those who created him and his target made them what they are yet these normals fear and distrust him as much as they do the Thirteen. --- This is an action-packed complex High Noon science fiction novel but it also much more as Richard K. Morgan leaves his audience to ponder what makes a human and is bias a normal trait. Fascinatingly Marsalis as a created killer (of mostly Thirteen) is in some ways the most human of the cast as his Normal handlers see him and the other specialists as throwaway machines less than they are. He, on the other hand, commiserates with his prey as all he wants is stop killing even if it means life in a Miami prison. This thought provoking futuristic thriller will be on most short lists for sci fi book of the year. --- Harriet Klausner

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Another anti-hero for Morgan

The future political landscape is quite interesting. A good read.

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