What does it mean to be human? Who is and who isn't? Scientists tell us that there is less than a two percent difference between the DNA of a chimpanzee and that of homo sapiens. 'Scientific racists' such as Newamul Khan (Razib) and Paul Wickre (Godless Capitalist) of Gene Expression, the most bigoted of blogs, try to extend that to reading some kinds of humans, usually people of African descent, out of the human race. They say some of us are not really human, but a subspecies. In his strikingly prescient debut novel, Richard K. Morgan, a British writer of speculative fiction, explores the issue thoroughly without sacrificing story, plot or characterization to an idea.

In a future in which colonialization of other planets is a fait accompli, Earth has become the most traditional of human worlds. Some religions and other archetypes long lost to the newer civilizations continue to influence politics on Earth. An idea rooted in Catholicism - that real death must occur in one's real body - is about to be ruled on by the international tribunal that decides major matters of public policy. That group is dominated, and manipulated, by 'Methusalehs,' very wealthy people who have been able to extend their lives by hundreds of years through cloning. But, what is all this talk of 'realness'? Since we receive only one body, the issue would seem to be moot. Not in the world of Altered Carbon. On most planets, including Earth, even those of modest income can afford to have their consciousnesses uploaded to one new body. Their economic status determines what kind of construct they can afford and when. The lower middle-class may wait years to raise enough money to purchase a new 'sleeve' for a relative. The most affordable sleeves, cheap synthetics, are limited in their resemblance to real human bodies. High end simulacrums can be made to resemble a normal human or improved to the status of cyborgs. And, as I said before, rich people can incubate clones of themselves as new sleeves.

It is into that reality that Takeshi Kovacs (pronounced Ko-vach) is awakened after his latest death and restoration. Kovacs, a former elite Special Forces-type commando, has, as have many of his comrades, lived as a criminal for more than a decade, prior to his current death. The reconditioning of the Corps, which unthrottles aggression, while eliminating conscience, leaves them capable of little else.

Kovacs has been summoned to Earth from his home, Harlan's World, to investigate the murder of a Methusaleh, billionaire, Laurens J. Bancroft. One of the man's sleeves appears to have blown its head off, destroying its 'stack,' or memory, after returning from a business trip six weeks ago. The remaining sleeves lack any memory of the incident because they were last updated two days before the death. Bancroft does not believe he committed suicide and wants Kovacs to find out what really happened. Since the purchase of his freedom by Bancroft is his only hope of leaving virtual prison in less than a century, Kovacs can't say no. Working intermittently, and often awkwardly, with a police lieutenant, Kristin Ortega, Kovacs probes Bancroft's supposed suicide.