- Richard Morgan (author)
Infobox Writer
name = Richard K. Morgan
imagesize = 200px
caption = Richard Morgan inZagreb , 2008
pseudonym =
birthdate = 1965
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deathdate =
deathplace =
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nationality = British
period =
genre =hardboiled ,postcyberpunk
subject =
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influences =William Gibson
influenced =
website = http://www.richardkmorgan.comRichard K. Morgan (born 1965) is a British
science fiction author.Morgan studied history at
Queens' College, Cambridge . After graduation he started teaching English in order to travel the world. After fourteen years and a post atStrathclyde University , his first novel was published and he became a full-time writer.The common theme to Morgan's books is that they take place in a
dystopia . His attitude is summed up by the following statement: "Society is, always has been and always will be a structure for the exploitation and oppression of the majority through systems of political force dictated by an élite, enforced by thugs, uniformed or not, and upheld by a willful ignorance and stupidity on the part of the very majority whom the system oppresses." [ [http://www.saxonbullock.com/richardmorganinterview.htm SaxonBullock.Com - the official site ] ]Literary career
In 2002 Morgan's first novel "
Altered Carbon " was published, combining elements ofcyberpunk andhardboiled detective fiction and featuring theanti-hero Takeshi Kovacs . The film rights for the book sold for a reported figure of $1,000,000 tofilm producer Joel Silver , enabling Morgan to become a full-time writer. In 2003 the U.S. edition received the Philip K. Dick Award.In 2003 "
Broken Angels " was published, the sequel to "Altered Carbon", again featuring Takeshi Kovacs and blending science fiction and war fiction in a similar way to his cross-genre début."
Market Forces ", Morgan's first non-Kovacs novel, is set in the not too distant future. It was originally written as a short story, then as a screenplay (both unpublished). After the success of his first two works, it was released as a novel and has also been optioned as a film.Morgan's third, and he has stated final, [cite web|url=http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail1899.html| publisher=Your Mom's Basement|author=
Mike Collins |title=Interview with Richard Morgan|date=16 August 2005] Kovacs novel "Woken Furies " was released in the UK in March 2005 and in the U.S. in September 2005.Morgan wrote two six issue miniseries for
Marvel Comics under theMarvel Knights imprint. His first story, "Black Widow: Homecoming" published monthly in 2004 was followed by a second, "Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her" published monthly in 2005; both are now available in collected editions. According to Morgan's official website the series was "an artefact of limited appeal" and is unlikely to be continued, although he has other comic projects in development."
Black Man " (known in the USA as 'Thirteen') was released in May 2007 in the UK and June 2007 in the USA. According to the author, the book is about the constraints of physicality and the fact that you are locked into who you are and there's not a whole lot you can do about that. These are things he couldn't deal with in the Kovacs universe, because for Kovacs and people like him mortality is avoidable: you just skip into a new body. [cite web|url=http://www.yourmomsbasement.com/archives/2005/08/interview_with_2.html| publisher=IT Conversations|author=Moira Gunn |title=Tech Nation] The novel subsequently won the 2008Arthur C Clarke Award .Morgan's next project is a fantasy trilogy, the first volume of which has the title "A Land Fit for Heroes" ("The Steel Remains" in the UK [ [http://www.richardkmorgan.com/2007/10/october-07-nuclear-reactions.html Richard (K) Morgan, science fiction author ] ] ) and is due to be published in August 2008 in the UK [cite web|url=http://www.richardkmorgan.com/steel_remains.htm | title=The Steel Remains] and January 20, 2009 in the United States [cite web|url=http://www.amazon.com/Steel-Remains-Richard-K-Morgan/dp/0345493036/ | title=The Steel Remains (Hardcover)] .
Bibliography
Takeshi Kovacs novels
* "Altered Carbon " (2002) ISBN 0-575-07390-X
* "Broken Angels " (2003) ISBN 0-575-07550-3
* "Woken Furies " (2005) ISBN 0-575-07325-XA Land Fit For Heroes
* "The Steel Remains " (2008) ISBN 0-575-07792-1
* "The Cold Commands " (2009, forthcoming) ISBN 0-575-07793-XOther novels:
* "Market Forces " (2004) ISBN 0-575-07584-8
* "Black Man " (2007) ISBN 0-575-07513-9 (known as "Thirteen" in the USA ISBN 0-345-48525-4)Graphic novels:
* "Black Widow: Homecoming" (2005) ISBN 0-7851-1493-9
* "Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her" (2006) ISBN 0-7851-1768-7References
External links
* [http://www.richardkmorgan.com Official site]
* [http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue373/interview.html "Science Fiction Weekly" interview]
* [http://www.jivemagazine.com/article.php?pid=3718 "JIVE Magazine" interview]
* [http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/intrm.htm "InfinityPlus" interview]
* [http://www.yourmomsbasement.com/archives/2005/08/richard_morgan_1.html Morgan Week interviews and reviews]
* [http://raccontifantascienzaedintorni.blogspot.com/2008/08/interview-to-richard-k-morgan.html An interview for the Italian fans]
* [http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/morgan_interview/ Interview] atClarkesworld Magazine , September 2008
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