Woken Furies

By: Richard K. Morgan

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 22 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Richard K. Morgan has received widespread praise for his astounding 25th-century novels featuring Takeshi Kovacs, and has established a growing legion of fans. Mixing classic noir sensibilities with a searing futuristic vision of an age when death is nearly meaningless, Morgan returns to his saga of betrayal, mystery, and revenge, as Takeshi Kovacs, in one fatal moment, joins forces with a mysterious woman who may have the power to shatter Harlan's World forever.

Once a gang member, then a marine, then a galaxy-hopping Envoy trained to wreak slaughter and suppression across the stars, a bleeding, wounded Kovacs was chilling out in a New Hokkaido bar when some so-called holy men descended on a slim beauty with tangled, hyperwired hair. An act of quixotic chivalry later and Kovacs was in deep: mixed up with a woman with two names, many powers, and one explosive history.

In a world where the real and virtual are one and the same and the dead can come back to life, the damsel in distress may be none other than the infamous Quellcrist Falconer, the vaporized symbol of a freedom now gone from Harlan's World. Kovacs can deal with the madness of AI. He can do his part in a battle against biomachines gone wild, search for a three-centuries-old missing weapons system, and live with a blood feud with the yakuza, and even with the betrayal of people he once trusted. But when his relationship with "the" Falconer brings him an enemy specially designed to destroy him, he knows it's time to be afraid.

After all, the guy sent to kill him is himself: but younger, stronger, and straight out of hell.

Wild, provocative, and riveting, Woken Furies is a full-bore science fiction spectacular of the highest order from one of the most original and spellbinding storytellers at work today.

Woken Furies is the third Takeshi Kovacs novel, following Altered Carbon and Broken Angels.

©2005 Richard K. Morgan (P)2006 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The author's eye for detail and feel for the atmosphere and nuances of SF noir result in a story packed with action and angst that will also appeal to general suspense readers." (Library Journal)
"Morgan's anxiously awaited third Takeshi Kovacs novel makes a terrific addition to an award-winning series....Highly recommended for followers of the series, cyberpunk devotees, and hard-boiled detective fans not averse to a little genre-bending." (Booklist)

A worthy sequel

Different than Altered Carbon, the first book in this series, but good all the same. This is more of a SciFi thriller than a Futuristic Film Noir, think Aliens vs. Blade Runner.
Be forewarned though... this book is gritty. The language and imagery is not in the PG-13 category so common to the genre.
Wonderful narration.

not the same narration

only just started reading this book. and not really mean on this narration. narrator uses multiple sound effects to change the tone of the subject. one literally sounds like a bare room maybe a storage container metallic. not something pleasant for this type of series. narrator in the prior 2 books was much better.

Not bad but also not great

This story was not as good as the first in the series. It also took a bit to get used to hearing the different narrator and listening to the first two books back to back.. in the first book they make a point on telling you how Kovacs' name is pronounced so it was odd when this narrator constantly pronounced it wrong. Overall still worth listening too.

Can’t even tell you if the story was any good, the narration was so bad

This book may very well have been as good as Broken Angels or Altered Carbon. I couldn’t tell you though, because William Dufris’ god awful narration and some boneheaded production decisions made me stop listening and exchange it after just a few hours. Dude couldn’t even pronounce the main character’s name.

If Audible were to release the Todd McLaren narrated version to US audiences I would gladly repurchase the book. Guess I’ll have to wait until then to finish the trilogy.

1st chapter struggles

The audio quality of the first chapter is so bad I was immediately put off of the book. I just finished the previous 2 and expected more of the same great quality. I also really struggled with this narrator pronouncing things differently then the previous. Inconsistencies like that made it hard to keep my head in the story.

Couldn't stand the narrator.

Quick disclaimer; I could only make it through the first 15 minutes. Dufris is simply the wrong choice for the series. I cannot fathom why they switched voice actors after two phenomenal performances by McLaren. After binging both of the first two books in less than a week, I'm terribly disappointed. Dufris' delivery is cartoonish and indescernable between characters and inner/outer dialogue. And the cheesy reverberation turns my stomach. Never said this before but I wish Audible had a return policy.

Loved the First Two....

If you listened to the first two books, you'll be disappointed with this one. This reader is unconvincing as the hard-bitten and macho Takeshi Kovacs. Whenever the dialogue calls for stress, we get plaintive and pewling instead. And the WOMEN... yeeh gawds! The reader explores every shade and nuance of whiney and insipid.

The only thing worse is his forced interpretation of the gratuitous (and frankly, laughable and unimaginative) sex scenes. (Did any one else notice that the scenes depicted last all of THREE MINUTES real-time)-Okay, not the readers's fault- Clearly, Morgan has some issues of his own. I'm not easily offended anymore, but there was a time when I would have been apoplectic at the copious use of the "C" word here.
Props to reader McLaren for his performances in the first two books. Props to Morgan for some interesting imaginings and otherwise taught narrative. But if THIS had been my introduction to the series, I never would have gotten past the first book.

Went on too long

Loved the first two books. Found this one too long and frankly hard work. The story could have been tightened up a bit and been perhaps 1/3 shorter? The performance was good, not great, perhaps for the same reason. also, I didn’t have an issue with it but this book also was a lot more sexual than his first two which was an interesting choice by the author.

Complicated Interesting Story!

The stories of the three books are so unique. They draw you into the world and what a world it is!

professional word pronouncer can't pronounce words

I find the constant mispronunciation of names irritating. It is made clear in the other books that the people of Harlan's World would pronounce Kovacs correctly. All of the Japanese words/names are also mispronounced, and by ostensibly Japanese speaking characters. Totally unacceptable.

The decision to use reverb in some sections makes it difficult to hear and is quite befuddling.

I will read the print version instead.

I understand that they couldn't get the same guy/team as before, but the sudden change of reader and style in the middle of the series is also disquieting.