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)

Just not up to par

Would you try another book from Richard K. Morgan and/or William Dufris?

Yes

What do you think your next listen will be?

Tale of the Otori is next on my list. I have listened to that series before, but love it so much after any disappointing set, I go back to those.

How could the performance have been better?

The performance was ok, but at times it was hard to tell if he was thinking or talking or if it was a flash back or what was going on.
Oh and something that really did bother me, the pronunciation of the name: Takeshi Kovacs, it was different then in the other audiobooks I listened to, so it just got on my nerves.

Could you see Woken Furies being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

NO! Please god NO! Altered Carbon...well obviously, since it already is a movie (which I have still yet to see) and Broken Angel, yes. I love the character and concept behind Takeshi Kovacs and the Envoy Corps.

Any additional comments?

I have listened (read) the other 2 books in the series and they were both much better. I just feel like this one was just not up to par with the others. Honestly, I could have just stopped at the first 2, no need to read this one. Kinda of a waste of money. :-(

Overall pretty damn good

Miss the old narrator this dude mispronounced a couple things but he did put more emotion into it. story was a little hard to follow occasionally but overall a super satisfying conclusion to the trilogy

Some poor sound editing, But well worth the time.

First let me say...The first fifteen minutes if this recording is bad. Not bad, as in damaged. Bad as in, wth were you thinking Tantor Media? Reverb? Really? The rather poor choices of the producers detract from a really good read/listen. I personally have listened to this book no less than 5 times, It is that good. The reader, who starts off flat comes alive and warms to the character. Yes he mispronounces the main characters name through the whole book. I put that squarely on the shoulders of the sound directors/editor. I doubt Mr Dufris had the time to either listen to or read the other two books before being put on this project. He should have been made aware before he started.

In any case take the chance. If you enjoyed the other books in the series you will not be disappointed when you are done. Mr. Dufris redeems himself well before the middle of the book. This series is without doubt one of the best Contemporary Sci-Fi works in the last 10 years. This book finishes the series nicely, though it does leave hope for a 4th. Hopefully Mr. Morgan will write another. If not...Thank you for the ride sir and good luck.

A respectable end but gets a little long winded

Took a bit to get over the narrator's mispronounciation of Kovacs but otherwise a good listen. Still too much useless porn though (not love scenes, we're talking flat out porn scenes) that serve no purpose to the plot. The plot has some mystery elements to it but there's no forewarning about useful snippets that writers use to build suspense and curiosity around clues. Instead the clues just blow by you like word fodder but at least when their meanings are revealed the snippets are echoed back so you can recall them. This could have been written to be half as long and still have the same meaning and effect though. Might be a little "paid by the word" writing going on but the run-on isn't "complete" drivel. It seems to add only slightly to the story and could be alot worse.

Disappointing

Enjoyed the series up to this point. Sorely disappointed with the audio quality. The vacuum chamber effect is very distracting. I made it 2 chapters in before throwing in the towel, I just couldn’t subject my ears to that. Hopefully this is re-recorded at some point.

Poor narration detracts from A+ story

Narrator preparation was lazy and inconsistent with first two books, mainly with the pronunciation of Kovacs. This was distracting as the first book noted several times when the incorrect " kovacks" was used. This was a new narrator but c'mon.

Chintzy sound effects were poor also.

Not a strong ending to the trilogy.

I had such high hopes for this book after the first two. The protagonist is pretty bitter and weary in this story, and I confess I was feeling a bit that way by the end of the book.

One thing that surprised me was the choice of a different Meritor in the third book. I've pretty much come to expect continuity in narrators within series, and this is jarring - played heavily.

The various audio treatments and effects were interesting, and for the most part, strengthened the listening experience for me. you can hear one immediately at the beginning of the story, and you might mistake it for a bad recording, but stick it out – it makes sense shortly.

I have to note I am sick and tired of the author's gratuitous male-fantasy sex scenes. In all of the three books, I think I can count one instance where the scene actually amplified the plot for me. I just fast forward to the pillow talk, where the plot picks up again.

On the author's website, I read that he wasn't planning on a fourth book in this series, and I certainly understand.

If you've enjoyed the first two, you'll probably want to finish this one just for the symmetry of it. it's still a good listen – this author, when off his game is better than most authors on their game.

Great story, mediocre narration

Adding effects to the audio should not be a substitute for a good voice actor...

not as good as previous two.

The narrator doesn't pronounce the main character's name correctly which was distracting. Also it was hard to stay focused through it.

good except for the ending.

The voice actor used special effects, which were fine, except the echo thing he does during memories. Very annoying.