Thirteen

By: Richard K. Morgan

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 22 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Marsalis is one of a new breed...literally. Genetically engineered by the U.S. government to embody the naked aggression and primal survival skills that centuries of civilization have erased from humankind, Thirteens were intended to be the ultimate military fighting force. The project was scuttled, however, when a fearful public branded the supersoldiers dangerous mutants, dooming the Thirteens to forced exile on Earth's distant, desolate Mars colony. But Marsalis found a way to slip back and into a lucrative living as a bounty hunter and hit man before a police sting landed him in prison - a fate worse than Mars, and much more dangerous.

Luckily, his "enhanced" life also seems to be a charmed one. A new chance at freedom beckons, courtesy of the government. All Marsalis has to do is use his superior skills to bring in another fugitive. But this one is no common criminal. He's another Thirteen, one who's already shanghaied a space shuttle, butchered its crew, and left a trail of bodies in his wake on a bloody cross-country spree. And like his pursuer, he was bred to fight to the death. Still, there's no question Marsalis will take the job. Though it will draw him deep into violence, treachery, corruption, and painful confrontation with himself, anything is better than remaining a prisoner. The real question is: can he remain sane and alive long enough to succeed?

©2007 Richard K. Morgan (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"Stellar." ( Publishers Weekly)

Gritty/dark-ish libertarian sci-fi...

Would you consider the audio edition of Thirteen to be better than the print version?

Haven't read the print version.

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

The only thing that wasn't great was some of the female voices. Still much better than I could have managed though.

Any additional comments?

A sometimes dark look at human nature and the dangers of authority/power set in a fun sci-fi story.

I enjoyed this on so many levels.

What does Simon Vance bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Simon did an excellent job of creating distinct voices for each character.

Any additional comments?

This is a very violent, foul mouthed but utterly believable book. If you are particularly offended by a disparaging look at religion, are prudish or offended by foul language, this probably isn't the book for you (if you are familiar with his work in any way, this won't come as as shock). In my view, these do not distract from the narrative, but make it more believable.

Awesome but not for the faint of heart

Holy freaking Jesusland what an awesome book!!! This book is great but NOT for the faint of heart easily offended those who dislike graphic descriptions of sex & violence those who find profanity distasteful or those in a christian sect who feel fiction that disparages their religion should be burned in a great big bond fire. Also I read another review that says the book is anti American and I must point out that the book is only against the future america it depicts the book actually states the current america is the GREATEST COUNTRY ON EARTH some people should listen with more care.
If on the other hand you like cyberpunk dont have a problem with the above mentioned things like a great story and enjoy listening to someone skilled at reading who give a distinct voice to each character so you know whos talking as soon as the accent changes THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU.
I have not listened to any other books in the cyberpunk style and have read very few so Im not reviewing this book as die hard cyberpunk fan just as a die hard audiobook and great story fan. This is one of the books in my library that I will listen to many times (mostly in the approximately 25 days after I have downloaded my 2 new books from audible and finished listening to them).
A final thought if you look at the reviews you will see they generally have 1 thing in common: this book elicited a strong almost viceral opinion. This is NOT something that happens with bad writing. The word "boring" has not been used. To me at least the only offensive writing is writing that is boring. If this is how you feel as well give this a listen.

Certainly worth it ...

I have been in a sci-fi mood lately and this one fit the bill nicely and what was more satisfying was the fact that this was one of those completely random titles I downloaded and found myself interested in it enough to listen to it twice.

Excellent book which I wouldn't mind having turned into a series but this one is tied up pretty well so I doubt that'll ever happen.

Well written, well narrated! Science has created several variants on the human gene by splicing and doing the dastardly with them and in doing so they created a group of super soldiers as well, called Variant 13. Most of them have either been killed off or shipped off to camps or Mars as they are just too dangerous to allow out in public but a few of them have managed to get out amongst humanity or to break out of captivity.

This is where the main character of the book comes in as he is a twist who hunts twists (derogatory name for variants), and he is one intelligent and hard assed individual .. but then he has been made, and trained to be that.

Pick it up, you'll enjoy it.

A Good Listen

This book is much like a pre-history to market forces or his other books (awaken Furies). An intresting main character and a good story. If you like his other books, I think you will like this one as well.

A bit preachy

Not as good as his Altered Carbon stuff. Too much philosophical conversation with him making political statements.

Thrill a minute

This book is a superb thriller. The story gets confusing with abrupt shifts of focus on various characters, but the action more than makes up for it. This is a novel of the future in about a century from now, when the fruits and price of the present genetic revolution have led to the technologies that form the basis of the book's characterization and plot. You can't stop listening. Well worth listening to more than once. The narrator does a fine job of conveying all the different personalities who are in conflict.

F'n Great!

This is one of my favorite books ever and find myself listening to it over and over, almost as much as I listen to RH's Stranger in a strange land.

Almost as good as Altered Carbon

What made the experience of listening to Thirteen the most enjoyable?

Vance did a great job on the vocals, it was very gripping, and lent real weight to the characters.

What did you like best about this story?

Sure, it's your average anti-hero, but the twists are very interesting. The interplay between the two leads is quite interesting. The racial/social commentary is spot-on.

Very intriguing book, but not quite as good as Altered Carbon.

Very intriguing but not quite as good as Altered Carbon. But that being said I really liked this book. The story kept me trying to see just how all the clues come together to reveal the ending, and how the antagonist gets caught. I listened to this book as much as I could until the end, it kept me hooked. The quality of writing and using all the different issues our world faces to build a great story is amazing! I also want to respond to the remarks made about negative religious items in the story. The use was integral to the story and equal across all religions. Additionally, feminists might complain, but again it was integral to the story. Men could complain, but again integral. I have returned books for blatant anti religious use where the author was using it to protest, same with politics. But the use of religious groups breaking off from others and splitting the USA was again integral to the story. The author used extremism on many fronts to write a very good book that I very much enjoyed!