Broken Angels

By: Richard K. Morgan

Narrated by: Todd McLaren

Length: 16 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Cynical, quick-on-the-trigger Takeshi Kovacs, the ex-U.N. envoy turned private eye, has changed careers, and bodies, once more, trading sleuthing for soldiering as a warrior-for-hire and helping a far-flung planet's government put down a bloody revolution.

But when it comes to taking sides, the only one Kovacs is ever really on is his own. So when a rogue pilot and a sleazy corporate fat cat offer him a lucrative role in a treacherous treasure hunt, he's only too happy to go AWOL with a band of resurrected soldiers of fortune. All that stands between them and the ancient alien spacecraft they mean to salvage are a massacred city bathed in deadly radiation, unleashed nanotechnolgy with a million ways to kill, and whatever surprises the highly advanced Martian race may have in store. But armed with his genetically engineered instincts, and his trusty twin Kalashnikovs, Takeshi is ready to take on anything...and let the devil take whoever's left behind.

Broken Angels is the second Takeshi Kovacs novel. Don't miss the first, Altered Carbon, or the third, Woken Furies.

©2003 Richard K. Morgan (P)2005 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A superior, satisfying cyberpunk noir adventure." (Publishers Weekly)
"A lively follow-up to an energetic debut, with a still refreshingly cynical hero." (Booklist)

Mixed feelings about the narrator

So I love the first two books… this one was just “meh”… the story line is not as exciting. The narrator for the third book changed and it’s not the same as the first two. He’s not bad but it is really irritating that he can’t pronounce the name of the main character correctly! I mean all he had to do was to either read the first book or listen to the first book and he would know that the main characters last name ends with a CH sound not a CKS sound.
That aside, he carried the book well though definitely second fiddle to the original narrator in all respects.

In short, if you’re not crazy about the first two books, save your money because it takes the love the first two to carry you through this one.

Falls Short

Broken Angel falls short of expectations coming off of Altered Carbon. Still worth a read.

Not as good as the first one

Too much explicit sex, and Tecno Babble. The first in the series was like a future detective story. This was a jumble so many consepts and silly ideas it was hard to follow. This will be a return. But I try the next in the trilogy to see it he is a one hit wonder or not.

Good, different story and world building

I liked this second book a lot. Rather than just repeat the same kind of detective story, Morgan builds on the world he has created by placing the same character in a new setting. The violence and sexual encounters are all written with the same gusto as the first book. While the first book looked at class differences and ideas of immortality, this book explores the Martian technology and the human habit of riding on the shoulders of giants to achieve things using technology we do not even understand. While I liked the camaraderie between the characters, it seemed a bit strange for Kovak's to suddenly feel closer and more loyal to a group of mercenaries he just recruited than to the original militant group he was trained with. I suppose part of that is explained in the end, which once again has a great twist that I will not spoil here. McLaren does a great job reading and keeping the pace going. Overall, an enjoyable listen.

A beautiful symbiosis of writing and narration!

Morgan lays the sex on a little too thick sometimes, but otherwise and all in all he's the best thing going in science fiction lately! And McLaren's narration fits Morgan's writing like a glove! I've become a bit of an audiobook addict in the last few years and McLaren is, amidst stiff competition, the best narrator I've run across!

Confusing and hard to stay engaged--but worthy...

Worthy of a second read, now that I know the ending.
Not as good as the first book--although, it may be when I reread it.
Voice acting is outstanding.

A masterful follow-up, Morgan hits his stride.

After Altered Carbon I put Morgan on the list of authors to watch.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Morgan's second outing with Kovacs character. He wasn't flat but there wasn't a whole lot of depth to him after the first novel. I was pleasantly surprised with this outing and with the fact it departed from the Hardboiled Nior genre a bit and got more into the para military aspects of Kovacs past and his current skills.

This is my favorite novel to date by Morgan and is on my short list to read again. It is good enough to stand on it's own without Altered Carbon backing it up. Morgan uses the distance of time to keep the same character but put him in a different setting where we can see a whole new dimension to him.

Morgan still puts in too much graphic sex for my taste but that can be overlooked in this novel.

There isn't much more I can say without spoiling things. I will say that it is a very fun ride with lots of shoot'em up's and head scratching with a real taste of aliens without actually having a live aliens marching around in the book.

This book has made the "recommend to friends list" and will stay there for a long time to come!

Todd McLaren is just masterful. Again, he takes the written word and gives it life. His readings never get in the way of the story. I'd listen to him read the side of a cake mix box, he is just that good.

Amazing narration

I highly recommend this book, especially if you are a fan of the first. Todd McLaren really brings the story to life!

Masterful

Might be Mr Morgan's finest work. Hard to go wrong with any of his stories, but this one includes a rich (Martian) anthropological twist that has the listener peering more deeply backward into the future, than the other TK series do. As always, Todd McLaren's narration is super on point, breathing life and familiarity into the cast of characters. Binge-worthy and highly recommended!

OK, but Altered Carbon much better!

First of all I love the 1st book of this 3 book series. Altered Carbon. Seen Netflix multiple times, listened to the book at least 5 times also. Broken Angels is quite good but not as good at Altered Carbon. There are too many undeveloped characters introduced into the story to follow and the scope of the story - Martin spaceship and artifact technology / is a bit too big for the book. Valiant effort however. Can’t see this one being made into a movie as it would almost all have to be CGI. Based on the plot it harder to ‘care’ how things work, out as the personal passion is la bit lacking in the characters, except for blind minded archaeologue women who isn’t much of a 'good guy’. Kovacs in this book seems detached and is only in it as a mercenary so he isn’t really fighting for anything. I like it when he is motivated. Broken Angels is worth listening to especially if you like Kovacs the character and enjoy his banter in the books. Todd McLaren narrated the first book also and did a good job on this one.