Woken Furies

Infobox Book
name = Woken Furies


author = Richard Morgan
country = United Kingdom
language = English
series = Takeshi Kovacs
genre = Science fiction novel
publisher = Victor Gollancz Ltd
release_date = 17 March, 2005
media_type = Print (Hardcover) & (Paperback)
pages = 436 pp (Hardback),
575 pp (Paperback)
isbn = ISBN 0-575-07325-X (Hardcover),
ISBN 0-575-07652-6 (Paperback)
preceded_by = Broken Angels

"Woken Furies" (2005) is the fourth published science fiction novel by Richard Morgan. It is a sequel to Broken Angels, and features the anti-hero Takeshi Kovacs.

This addition to the series casts light upon Kovacs' early life providing information on his post-envoy activities.

Morgan's official website and suggests that Woken Furies could be the last Kovacs novel [ [http://www.richardkmorgan.com www.richardkmorgan.com] ] and he has also indicated this in interviews. [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]

Plot

Takeshi Kovacs finds himself back on his home planet of Harlan's World. Nine-tenths water, Harlan's World is surrounded by 'orbitals' that were created by a species who departed the planet long before human settlement. These orbitals are programmed to destroy any object of sufficient technological level flying above a certain altitude.

Kovacs is on the run after making numerous attacks against the Knights of the New Revelation, an extremist religious order. He has declared a personal vendetta against the New Revelation with the express intent of killing every single member.

While trying to secure passage after his most recent attack, he saves a woman named Sylvie from a group of religious zealots. In return, she allows him to take refuge with her mercenary crew as they head out to decommission sentient military hardware that has run amok on a nearby continent. During one of these missions, Sylvie collapses, and upon recovery her personality appears to have been replaced by that of long-dead revolutionary leader Quellcrist Falconer.

The crew return to base where they discover a younger version of Kovacs has been illegally duplicated and is hunting them on behalf of the Harlans, dictators of Harlan's World. Most of Sylvie's crew is killed and Sylvie/Quellcrist is captured. Kovacs schemes to rescue Sylvie by approaching old criminal associates of Falconer, the Little Blue Bugs.

The Little Blue Bugs mount a successful attack on a Harlan fortress and rescue Sylvie/Quellcrist. Hiding from Harlan forces in a floating base, the Quellists are sold out by its owner and recaptured. Another assault by Kovacs and a detachment of UN Envoys ends with orbital weapon fire called down by Sylvie/Quellcrist eliminating their Envoy captors but sparing Kovacs and his former revolutionary comrade-in-arms, Virginia Vidaura. Kovacs' younger self catches up with him and after a struggle, Kovacs decides not to kill his younger self but instead allow him life and the chance to make the same decisions he himself had to make. Nonetheless the younger self is killed by one of the survivors of the combat.

Release details

*2002, United Kingdom, Victor Gollancz Ltd, ISBN 0-575-07325-X Pub date March 17 2005, Hardback
*2004, United States of America, Del Rey, ISBN 0-345-47971-8 Pub date September 27 2005, Hardback

ources, references, external links, quotations

* [http://www.dragonpage.com/archives/woken_furies_by_richard_k_morgan.html Review by DragonPage]
* [http://futurefire.net/2005.03/review/d-morgan.html Review by Future Fire]
* [http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/wokenfuries.htm Review by Infinity Plus]
* [http://www.sfreviews.net/wokenfuries.html Review by SFReviews]