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Market Forces
Chris Faulkner has just landed the job of his dreams. But Shorn Associates are market leaders in Conflict Investment. They expect results, they expect the best. Chris has one very high-profile kill to his name already but he will have to drive hard and go for kill after kill if he's to keep his bosses happy. All he has to do in the meantime is stay alive ...Morgan's new futuristic thriller is perfect for any fan of the modern thriller. It combines the big ideas of Michael Crichton with a pounding narrative drive.
470 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 2004
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3699 people want to read
About the author
Richard K. Morgan
71 books5,647 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Richard K. Morgan (sometimes credited as Richard Morgan) is a science fiction and fantasy writer.
Richard K. Morgan (sometimes credited as Richard Morgan) is a science fiction and fantasy writer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 464 reviews
March 9, 2023
In Market Forces, Richard K. Morgan weaves a hard-hitting, violent near-future world where capitalism runs rampant (or has perhaps reached its logical conclusion). The writing style is dark and cynical, the story, save for a few snags, runs smoothly. Even the over-the-top elements that read slightly ridiculous in the retelling () are skilfully integrated into the narrative and somehow made believable.
The only problem with the novel is the utter lack of characters for the reader to empathize with. Everyone who's not peripheral to the story is a piece of shit. The main character goes from being a piece of shit to being a bigger piece of shit, and after a while the only reason I was interested in him was to see what Morgan had in store for him. Would he be redeemed by turning into a kind of martyr, or would he meet some unspeakable fate ()? I feel like the book would have been better, had there been a character arc for Chris. Either way, it's an entertaining read.
The only problem with the novel is the utter lack of characters for the reader to empathize with. Everyone who's not peripheral to the story is a piece of shit. The main character goes from being a piece of shit to being a bigger piece of shit, and after a while the only reason I was interested in him was to see what Morgan had in store for him. Would he be redeemed by turning into a kind of martyr, or would he meet some unspeakable fate ()? I feel like the book would have been better, had there been a character arc for Chris. Either way, it's an entertaining read.
January 21, 2010
6.0 stars. On my list of All Time Favorites. Many people who love Richard Morgan's other books think this is his weakest. I believe this is at least as good as anything else he has written. I absolutely loved the plot of the book and the description of the busines of "conflict investments." Road Warrior meets Wall Street meat Blade Runner. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!
Winner: John W. Campbell Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
Nominee: Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
Winner: John W. Campbell Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
Nominee: Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
February 17, 2021
A rather surprising read.
I mean, if you know Richard K. Morgan of Altered Carbon fame, you should know that this book is NOT of that vein. The SF aspects are limited to some tech and a worldbuilding premise that isn't far off from what we have now.
However, when I read this from within its own premise and get into the characterizations fully, I'm really quite surprised at how good a thriller this is.
Market Forces refers to the Capitalism of Force. Think Blackwater and all these third-party militarizations, amp it up so only the best talent gets hired within these corporations, and you've got protection, assassination, government propping and toppling, and everything in between -- for the highest bidder. And of course, it's all above-board. Indeed, it's fully supported by the media, with bookies and fans and talk shows interviewing the very best of the bloodied.
Truly, we're only a step away from this kind of thing. Step out of the shadows for just a moment and this would be our world. Market Forces can make anything profitable.
I really enjoyed this novel. It's a great action movie in my mind, with LOTS of great road rage moments -- all sponsored and televised, of course. And the story itself -- the slow and utter corruption and decline of our main character -- comes with some mightily fun side-benefits.
I mean, if you know Richard K. Morgan of Altered Carbon fame, you should know that this book is NOT of that vein. The SF aspects are limited to some tech and a worldbuilding premise that isn't far off from what we have now.
However, when I read this from within its own premise and get into the characterizations fully, I'm really quite surprised at how good a thriller this is.
Market Forces refers to the Capitalism of Force. Think Blackwater and all these third-party militarizations, amp it up so only the best talent gets hired within these corporations, and you've got protection, assassination, government propping and toppling, and everything in between -- for the highest bidder. And of course, it's all above-board. Indeed, it's fully supported by the media, with bookies and fans and talk shows interviewing the very best of the bloodied.
Truly, we're only a step away from this kind of thing. Step out of the shadows for just a moment and this would be our world. Market Forces can make anything profitable.
I really enjoyed this novel. It's a great action movie in my mind, with LOTS of great road rage moments -- all sponsored and televised, of course. And the story itself -- the slow and utter corruption and decline of our main character -- comes with some mightily fun side-benefits.
February 21, 2023
Richard K. Morgan tiene la –siempre para mi gusto, claro- fabulosa “Solo el Acero”. 5 estrellas.
Richard K. Morgan tiene la –muy buena “Carbono alterado”. 4 estrellas.
Y tiene esta.
(Podéis dejar de leer, las frases anteriores + las 3 estrellas lo definen todo).
Si sois de los que quieren más impresiones pues que no tiene ni la fuerza de “Solo el acero” ni la originalidad de “Carbono alterado”. La trama de megacorporaciones que tiene todo el poder mundial por encima de los estados tampoco es lo más original del mundo. Sí lo es el tratamiento de la narración y los actos de los personajes. Pero la moralina subyacente y las comeduras de tarro ético-sexuales de los mismos ni fú ni fá.
Eso sí, si no habéis leído ninguna de las otras y os empeñáis en empezar al autor por esta novela decir que se deja leer y el ritmo atrapa)
Richard K. Morgan tiene la –muy buena “Carbono alterado”. 4 estrellas.
Y tiene esta.
(Podéis dejar de leer, las frases anteriores + las 3 estrellas lo definen todo).
Si sois de los que quieren más impresiones pues que no tiene ni la fuerza de “Solo el acero” ni la originalidad de “Carbono alterado”. La trama de megacorporaciones que tiene todo el poder mundial por encima de los estados tampoco es lo más original del mundo. Sí lo es el tratamiento de la narración y los actos de los personajes. Pero la moralina subyacente y las comeduras de tarro ético-sexuales de los mismos ni fú ni fá.
Eso sí, si no habéis leído ninguna de las otras y os empeñáis en empezar al autor por esta novela decir que se deja leer y el ritmo atrapa)
January 5, 2010
What an odd book. Richard Morgan's books always feature heavily on violence and sex, but the Kovacs series seem to hang together a little more coherently than Market Forces - all the way through, there's a sense of viciousness and disgust snarling from the page but I really can't understand about what!
The book tells the story of Chris Faulkner, a Mad Max/Gordon Gecko hybrid who works in Conflict Investment for the Shorn Corporation. The CI arm of the firm bank-roll paramilitary organisations and governments through revolutions in order to capture a slice of the profits afterwards. The Mad Max comparison comes from the way that these CI firms tender for bids, and compete for promotions. They duel to the death in heavily modified cars through a post-economic collapse wasteland inhabited by drug gangs and savages. The Gordon Gecko comparison stems from the fact that the entire world is run with a free markets, winner-takes-all, greed-is-good, kill-or-be-killed ethos. Chris is a star driver who has worked his way up from an unedifying start in the slums (which are called zones in the book) to become the next big thing at a hot-shot investment firm in the City of London. Throughout the book we're treated to his perspective on life, a savaging of free market principles, a savaging of socialism and (being a Richard K. Morgan book) a body count in the hundreds and a detailed sex scene or three.
The author's writing style is typically punchy, brutal and garish - a perfect match for the story. The book is also typically amoral - whilst Chris is the obvious hero of the book, he carries out all kinds of dangerous, illegal and immoral behaviour that it is difficult to empathise with. He starts the story as a tortured soul, not really believing in the things that he does for money. He ends it...well, maybe the best word is 'unconflicted'. He's not a very likeable hero.
And maybe that's the problem with the book. In the Kovacs series, the protagonist is fucked-up and violent but understandably so. He feels betrayed by his superiors, has the woman that he loves torn from his grasp, and is fucked over by life again and again. It's easy to like the man, he's relatively honourable and you can see why he does what he does. Contrastingly, the protagonist of Market Forces is, well, he's a dickhead.
I cannot believe the flimsy reason given in the book for why the bankers involved kill each other for promotions or tenders, and I cannot believe that Chris would really act the way that he does in the book.
The rationalisation for 'road-raging' in the book is that the competition is the only way to provide constant economic growth and the only way out of a post-collapse world. There's a few problems with that.
Firstly, the bankers are supposed to be smart and are portrayed as the ruling caste. Smart ruling-caste tend not to risk their own lives, preferring to risk someone else's life instead. But let's assume that they do want to engage in duels regularly and kill each other. I think it's unrealistic, but it's happened before, I suppose.
Secondly, why do it in car duelling? That seems really odd to me. Again, it's a little bit inconsistent with the setting. I suppose that it's supposed to be a near-future equivalent of jousting, but it comes across as something that, I guess, richer gang members may do - not the ruling-elite.
Thirdly, any firm worth their salt in such a system would develop a team of driving gladiators who would be free of all administrative duties to concentrate on combat for tenders. And they'd develop the cars themselves, given the amount of moeny at stake - even if they didn't really care about their people's lives. They wouldn't run modified production cars - it'd be more of an F1 setup than a touring car setup, surely?
Fourthly, Chris starts out the novel as a confused young man (despite the fact that he's personally killed a bunch of people), with an antipathy towards guns and a fondness for traditional Japanese codes of honour. He ends it as Patrick Bateman, on steroids, but with a heart of gold. Sort-of. I understand that the character development is the main point of the book, but I wasn't really sold on the transformation.
Fifthly, I spent most of the book confused. The acts that the ultra-capitalists carry out are presented very negatively at the beginning of the book. Throughout the story, the firm come across as total, total psychopaths. At the end of the book, the main character has joined in with the general lunacy - but I get the feeling that we are supposed to feel for him and hope that he can do good in the future. Personally, I just wanted nothing more to do with the entire unsavoury world.
Any one of these points would be trivial - but taken as a sum, they prevented me from suspending disbelief enough to really enjoy the book. The author's writing style is as fast-paced and addictive as ever, and I kept turning the pages until the end. At the end of the book though, I was left dissatisfied. Too many internal conflicts and too many black-and-white contrasts that suddenly flipped for no good reason. I liked the book, and it is full of awesome set pieces that belie its previous incarnation as a screen-play - but it's just too much to resolve without some help from the author, I think.
The book tells the story of Chris Faulkner, a Mad Max/Gordon Gecko hybrid who works in Conflict Investment for the Shorn Corporation. The CI arm of the firm bank-roll paramilitary organisations and governments through revolutions in order to capture a slice of the profits afterwards. The Mad Max comparison comes from the way that these CI firms tender for bids, and compete for promotions. They duel to the death in heavily modified cars through a post-economic collapse wasteland inhabited by drug gangs and savages. The Gordon Gecko comparison stems from the fact that the entire world is run with a free markets, winner-takes-all, greed-is-good, kill-or-be-killed ethos. Chris is a star driver who has worked his way up from an unedifying start in the slums (which are called zones in the book) to become the next big thing at a hot-shot investment firm in the City of London. Throughout the book we're treated to his perspective on life, a savaging of free market principles, a savaging of socialism and (being a Richard K. Morgan book) a body count in the hundreds and a detailed sex scene or three.
The author's writing style is typically punchy, brutal and garish - a perfect match for the story. The book is also typically amoral - whilst Chris is the obvious hero of the book, he carries out all kinds of dangerous, illegal and immoral behaviour that it is difficult to empathise with. He starts the story as a tortured soul, not really believing in the things that he does for money. He ends it...well, maybe the best word is 'unconflicted'. He's not a very likeable hero.
And maybe that's the problem with the book. In the Kovacs series, the protagonist is fucked-up and violent but understandably so. He feels betrayed by his superiors, has the woman that he loves torn from his grasp, and is fucked over by life again and again. It's easy to like the man, he's relatively honourable and you can see why he does what he does. Contrastingly, the protagonist of Market Forces is, well, he's a dickhead.
I cannot believe the flimsy reason given in the book for why the bankers involved kill each other for promotions or tenders, and I cannot believe that Chris would really act the way that he does in the book.
The rationalisation for 'road-raging' in the book is that the competition is the only way to provide constant economic growth and the only way out of a post-collapse world. There's a few problems with that.
Firstly, the bankers are supposed to be smart and are portrayed as the ruling caste. Smart ruling-caste tend not to risk their own lives, preferring to risk someone else's life instead. But let's assume that they do want to engage in duels regularly and kill each other. I think it's unrealistic, but it's happened before, I suppose.
Secondly, why do it in car duelling? That seems really odd to me. Again, it's a little bit inconsistent with the setting. I suppose that it's supposed to be a near-future equivalent of jousting, but it comes across as something that, I guess, richer gang members may do - not the ruling-elite.
Thirdly, any firm worth their salt in such a system would develop a team of driving gladiators who would be free of all administrative duties to concentrate on combat for tenders. And they'd develop the cars themselves, given the amount of moeny at stake - even if they didn't really care about their people's lives. They wouldn't run modified production cars - it'd be more of an F1 setup than a touring car setup, surely?
Fourthly, Chris starts out the novel as a confused young man (despite the fact that he's personally killed a bunch of people), with an antipathy towards guns and a fondness for traditional Japanese codes of honour. He ends it as Patrick Bateman, on steroids, but with a heart of gold. Sort-of. I understand that the character development is the main point of the book, but I wasn't really sold on the transformation.
Fifthly, I spent most of the book confused. The acts that the ultra-capitalists carry out are presented very negatively at the beginning of the book. Throughout the story, the firm come across as total, total psychopaths. At the end of the book, the main character has joined in with the general lunacy - but I get the feeling that we are supposed to feel for him and hope that he can do good in the future. Personally, I just wanted nothing more to do with the entire unsavoury world.
Any one of these points would be trivial - but taken as a sum, they prevented me from suspending disbelief enough to really enjoy the book. The author's writing style is as fast-paced and addictive as ever, and I kept turning the pages until the end. At the end of the book though, I was left dissatisfied. Too many internal conflicts and too many black-and-white contrasts that suddenly flipped for no good reason. I liked the book, and it is full of awesome set pieces that belie its previous incarnation as a screen-play - but it's just too much to resolve without some help from the author, I think.
June 3, 2018
Richard Morgan nos envía a un futuro cercano con una novela que me ha resultado realmente hipnótica como reza en su contraportada, atrapándome desde los primeros compases hasta un final muy desolador. Siguiendo el ascenso de Chris Faulkner en la millonaria multinacional Shorn Associattes dentro de la división de Inversión en conflictos, nos adentraremos en una historia que puede reflejar en lo que puede llegar a convertirse el mundo si sigue el mismo rumbo que en la actualidad, y en como un hombre puede perder su brújula ética solo por el ansia de poder a la que le somete el mundo.
Refleja la evolución de un héroe en una sociedad enferma, sus debates morales y su pelea contra los fantasmas que lo persiguen, modificando su conducta y base ética conforme asciende solo para poder sobrevivir. Me ha resultado una novela muy entretenida y ágil, de las que no dan un respiro al lector, con unos diálogos muy inteligentes, llena de acción y violencia sin miramientos, pero también con momentos de reflexión social o de maniobras empresariales de lo más interesantes. Puede que desde el punto de vista tecnológico la novela se caiga en algunos momentos, pero hay que tener en cuenta la fecha de su publicación y no es algo realmente llamativo si te metes en la novela.
El mundo que plantea en la novela es muy decadente, la población se encuentra dividida en dos bandos muy diferenciados donde a su vez surge la figura de los Zektivs, los trajeados agentes financieros que realizan esas negociaciones agresivas a través de duelos a muerte en coche para conseguir los contratos que más dinero puedan reportar a su empresa reflejando la política como un mero escaparate de lo que las empresas quieren.
Y si algo hace realmente bien la novela es como perfila sus personajes, llenos de matices y realmente humanos. Personajes que mantienen unas relaciones bastante tormentosas, individuos que pueden parecer en un principio tópicos pero que no pararan de sorprendernos. En el camino nos encontraremos con un protagonista en plena deshumanización que terminara con todas sus relaciones solo por sobrevivir en el mundo al que pertenece.
Reseña en el blog: https://boywithletters.blogspot.com/2...
Refleja la evolución de un héroe en una sociedad enferma, sus debates morales y su pelea contra los fantasmas que lo persiguen, modificando su conducta y base ética conforme asciende solo para poder sobrevivir. Me ha resultado una novela muy entretenida y ágil, de las que no dan un respiro al lector, con unos diálogos muy inteligentes, llena de acción y violencia sin miramientos, pero también con momentos de reflexión social o de maniobras empresariales de lo más interesantes. Puede que desde el punto de vista tecnológico la novela se caiga en algunos momentos, pero hay que tener en cuenta la fecha de su publicación y no es algo realmente llamativo si te metes en la novela.
El mundo que plantea en la novela es muy decadente, la población se encuentra dividida en dos bandos muy diferenciados donde a su vez surge la figura de los Zektivs, los trajeados agentes financieros que realizan esas negociaciones agresivas a través de duelos a muerte en coche para conseguir los contratos que más dinero puedan reportar a su empresa reflejando la política como un mero escaparate de lo que las empresas quieren.
Y si algo hace realmente bien la novela es como perfila sus personajes, llenos de matices y realmente humanos. Personajes que mantienen unas relaciones bastante tormentosas, individuos que pueden parecer en un principio tópicos pero que no pararan de sorprendernos. En el camino nos encontraremos con un protagonista en plena deshumanización que terminara con todas sus relaciones solo por sobrevivir en el mundo al que pertenece.
Reseña en el blog: https://boywithletters.blogspot.com/2...
February 7, 2023
The ultimate in your face for dogmatic economic ideologies that will be considered insane self destruction devices by future generations that caused everything bad from climate change to zoonosis
(I didn´t find an appropriate word with z or, honestly, didn´t really search for it because of my procrastination, extreme slothfulness problem). And by zoonosis I mean the fact that with fair, free health care and intelligent prevention measures, close to all pandemics could have been avoided.
Miltons´wet, neoliberal psycho dreams get owned by showing their worst, darkest consequences
Morgan uses the effects of every evil neo, neoconservatism, neocolonialism, neo Nazism (just joking, but why am I kind of sure that apologists of the mentioned ideologies will feel discriminated when compared to my grandparents' generation (I´m Austrian and have N word privileges, you can call me a Nazi grandchild if it gives you a high)) in both destroyed Western slum neighborhoods controlled by warlord style gang criminality and deliberately fueled instability, war, and environmental destruction in the Southern hemisphere.
Take a wiki walk regarding politics and economics of the 20th and 21st century, add all the not any more so secret CIA, NSA, etc operations, and imagine the reality if this is what we are officially allowed to know after declarations of secrecy for national security (I mean corporate interest) have expired.
In a tradition of titans.
Just as the whole cyberpunk genre, dystopian sci-fi classics by Lem, Orwell, Huxley, but especially Brunner
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
and Pohl/Kornbluth
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Morgans´work is just a continuation of the good old trope of showing bad, terrible reality, spiced with huge amounts of the real crimes against humanity all Western governments, from time to time in between dictatorships, then governments again, love to commit. For patriotism, country, king, and, most important, wealth and power. The whole mess also shows the
The immense prediction power of sci-fi
Not just the mentioned titans, but so many quite unknown sci-fi writers predicted the future 10, 20, 75, etc years ago with accuracy and details that are closer to fringe voodoo psi mental magic than to grasp with probability calculation. Stand on Zanzibar is one of the most mind penetrating examples of this. Oh, and of course, social criticism, innuendos, connotations, how great agnosticism is to avoid getting mentally castrated by driveling what political and economic manufacturing consent machineries, fueled by military industrial complexes with hoax elections that don´t change anything no matter what one votes for, want one to say.
Why did it have to be car races…
I get it, maybe, I assume at least. The cars and the races are symbols and metaphors for predatory alpha male behavior in a jungle dog eat dog world, tinker with the idea of legalizing murder, and show the stupidity of status objects that reflect socioeconomic worth, the only thing important in this world. But it´s just totally letting one lose the willing suspension of disbelief, because everything around it just doesn´t seem realistic and especially worthless for sci-fi readers who aren´t interested in testosterone driven sheet salad arranged with blood dressing. With a stereotypical, usual superagent, manager, etc. just coordinating the killing and exploitation, maybe sometimes getting dirty too, it would have rocked so much more.
Not as famous as it should be
However, this one is still one of the most important and groundbreaking sci-fi works, tada, of all time, because it does what the best genre of them all is legendary for. Criticizing and holding a mirror in the face of a bigoted, mad, and despicable society of WEIRD Western hypocrites that don´t use their buying and election decisions to purchase and elect change, distributional justice, eco social politics, etc. but instead destroy the whole planet by financing the business practices described.
A wiki walk can be as refreshing to the mind as a walk through nature in this completely overrated real life outside books:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_...
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
(I didn´t find an appropriate word with z or, honestly, didn´t really search for it because of my procrastination, extreme slothfulness problem). And by zoonosis I mean the fact that with fair, free health care and intelligent prevention measures, close to all pandemics could have been avoided.
Miltons´wet, neoliberal psycho dreams get owned by showing their worst, darkest consequences
Morgan uses the effects of every evil neo, neoconservatism, neocolonialism, neo Nazism (just joking, but why am I kind of sure that apologists of the mentioned ideologies will feel discriminated when compared to my grandparents' generation (I´m Austrian and have N word privileges, you can call me a Nazi grandchild if it gives you a high)) in both destroyed Western slum neighborhoods controlled by warlord style gang criminality and deliberately fueled instability, war, and environmental destruction in the Southern hemisphere.
Take a wiki walk regarding politics and economics of the 20th and 21st century, add all the not any more so secret CIA, NSA, etc operations, and imagine the reality if this is what we are officially allowed to know after declarations of secrecy for national security (I mean corporate interest) have expired.
In a tradition of titans.
Just as the whole cyberpunk genre, dystopian sci-fi classics by Lem, Orwell, Huxley, but especially Brunner
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
and Pohl/Kornbluth
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Morgans´work is just a continuation of the good old trope of showing bad, terrible reality, spiced with huge amounts of the real crimes against humanity all Western governments, from time to time in between dictatorships, then governments again, love to commit. For patriotism, country, king, and, most important, wealth and power. The whole mess also shows the
The immense prediction power of sci-fi
Not just the mentioned titans, but so many quite unknown sci-fi writers predicted the future 10, 20, 75, etc years ago with accuracy and details that are closer to fringe voodoo psi mental magic than to grasp with probability calculation. Stand on Zanzibar is one of the most mind penetrating examples of this. Oh, and of course, social criticism, innuendos, connotations, how great agnosticism is to avoid getting mentally castrated by driveling what political and economic manufacturing consent machineries, fueled by military industrial complexes with hoax elections that don´t change anything no matter what one votes for, want one to say.
Why did it have to be car races…
I get it, maybe, I assume at least. The cars and the races are symbols and metaphors for predatory alpha male behavior in a jungle dog eat dog world, tinker with the idea of legalizing murder, and show the stupidity of status objects that reflect socioeconomic worth, the only thing important in this world. But it´s just totally letting one lose the willing suspension of disbelief, because everything around it just doesn´t seem realistic and especially worthless for sci-fi readers who aren´t interested in testosterone driven sheet salad arranged with blood dressing. With a stereotypical, usual superagent, manager, etc. just coordinating the killing and exploitation, maybe sometimes getting dirty too, it would have rocked so much more.
Not as famous as it should be
However, this one is still one of the most important and groundbreaking sci-fi works, tada, of all time, because it does what the best genre of them all is legendary for. Criticizing and holding a mirror in the face of a bigoted, mad, and despicable society of WEIRD Western hypocrites that don´t use their buying and election decisions to purchase and elect change, distributional justice, eco social politics, etc. but instead destroy the whole planet by financing the business practices described.
A wiki walk can be as refreshing to the mind as a walk through nature in this completely overrated real life outside books:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_...
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
October 26, 2022
My experiences thus far indicate that the book appeals more to men, perhaps given its focus on fast armored cars, expensive alcohol, and the occasional porn-star sex scene (none of which mean much to me). Furthermore, it's horribly edited. By this I mean that out of the 450-some pages, I'm fairly certain a minimum of 150 of those could have been cut while maintaining the value of a somewhat intriguing premise and the majority of the plot. For example, I don't need to be told repeatedly what brand of Italian leather shoes an executive is wearing, or what everyone ate for lunch, or even that Chris picked up his dry cleaning and hung it behind the driver's seat in his Saab. Or whatever. Everyone at Shorn is rich, I get it; the food, in this case, has no bearing on whether I find the characters believable; and nothing ever even happens with the dry cleaning! What a waste of paragraphs. I would have believed what the zones were like with one trip as opposed to several, and I find the so-occasional-they're-almost-non-existent-but-then-they-appear-when-Morgan-finds-them-convenient switcheroos to a totally omniscient narrator off-putting; plus I resent his laziness in the use of this device. There is just so much excess here, and while I realize that part of that may be intentional in a form-mimics-content sort of way, I find it hard to read and hard to care about.
I do, though, like Chris. I like him even more as the book goes on and he arguably becomes less sympathetic and more bloodthirsty--or at least more willing to participate in a bloodthirsty system. But he is believable, he takes action, and his story's end is, to me, so fitting that it redeems much of the book.
An extra note: the bibliography at the end of the book does not serve its purpose, since instead of letting me know what he's found "inspiring" (as per his intro), Morgan merely suggests his intent is to use the novel to preach--since he is now so knowledgeable about neoliberalism and the excesses of global capitalism thanks to Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore--and then I like the societal criticism even less. I don't begrudge Morgan that the world he creates in MARKET FORCES might indeed be a plausible radical extension of his view of capitalism, but I do think it's poorly executed. I'm generally a fan of sci-fi and am not put off Morgan forever, but his major issue here with fiction and science or economics seems to be their hasty, lazy, and ridiculous combination. I think the book could have been so much more.
July 21, 2025
I don’t write reviews.
And I’m not sure what to say about this book. Market Forces was definitely an interesting premise, but again it stayed on the surface, never getting deep enough to feel anything. Yet was too deep to be a parody, focused in on one man in one company, while a lampoon would have been about the system. There’s no heart to this writing. Perhaps that’s why as a heartful being, I can’t resonate with the message (or lack thereof).
Read below and see why it would have been a masterful spoof of the world.
“I’ve just come from the fucking sick bay, Mike. They’ve got Echevarria on a ventilator! What the fuck is going on?”
“Is he likely to die?”
Hewlett pointed her finger, “I asked you a question, Mike. Spare me the executive deflection techniques.”
“Sorry,” Mike shrugged. “Force of habit. The Echevarria end of things is played out. He was making the situation unmanageable.”
“So you beat him to death?”
“It’s unfortunate, but…”
And I’m not sure what to say about this book. Market Forces was definitely an interesting premise, but again it stayed on the surface, never getting deep enough to feel anything. Yet was too deep to be a parody, focused in on one man in one company, while a lampoon would have been about the system. There’s no heart to this writing. Perhaps that’s why as a heartful being, I can’t resonate with the message (or lack thereof).
Read below and see why it would have been a masterful spoof of the world.
“I’ve just come from the fucking sick bay, Mike. They’ve got Echevarria on a ventilator! What the fuck is going on?”
“Is he likely to die?”
Hewlett pointed her finger, “I asked you a question, Mike. Spare me the executive deflection techniques.”
“Sorry,” Mike shrugged. “Force of habit. The Echevarria end of things is played out. He was making the situation unmanageable.”
“So you beat him to death?”
“It’s unfortunate, but…”
October 22, 2015
So I almost went with 4 stars for Market Forces, then the last quarter of the book kicked @$$ and I also realized I was really only comparing it to Mr. Morgan's other books. Taking it on it's own, it's definitely a fiver as far as I'm concerned.
I so dig Morgan's stuff. Between his cynical style of writing, his out-there concepts that I can totally believe, and, even his themes that are heavy socialogical. Normally I don't care much for when authors push their personal philosophies and beliefs. Not sure if Morgan is just so good at weaving his into the story or it's just that I'm pretty much on board with what he's saying, but I totally get it.
Morgan states that Market Forces is influenced by Mad Max. That in itself would be enough to get me to pick it up, even with the high price tag for a book that was published 8 years ago. (Ballentine Books; you guys need to come down some on the sticker price, especially since your Kindle formatting is suck by comparison. Not even a freakin cover illustration for Kindle. Come off it already.)
As much as I love all things Mad Max, Market Forces made me think more of Death Race 2000 meets God of War, meets Wallstreet. Now every time I commute to work in my 08 Dodge Charger, I'm half imagining that I'm in a road duel. And as twisted as it is, - after 15 years working for big corps, I kinda wish I had the option, not so much to climb the company ladder as to take out some of the assholes that screw the people over to feed their own greed.
I read this one right after reading Morgan's Thirteen -aka Blackman in the UK- and it freaks me out a little, how close they both feel to real, modern day life in the shadows of big globalized economy. And both books are almost a decade old and written by a Brit no less. (I guess the British are getting bend over by the corps as much as us Yanks are.)
Both novels give the scrubs like me, - the nose-to-grind, prisoners of the new company store way of doing business- some awesome escapism. Chris, -and Carl from Thirteen- get to stick it to the man in the extreme that I can only fantasize about.
Fair warning: prepare for the reek of burnt rubber, the screech of stressed metal, the sweat, blood, and grit of mortal combat, and the decadence of rockstar living, in a cold merciless future before cracking open Market Forces.
I so dig Morgan's stuff. Between his cynical style of writing, his out-there concepts that I can totally believe, and, even his themes that are heavy socialogical. Normally I don't care much for when authors push their personal philosophies and beliefs. Not sure if Morgan is just so good at weaving his into the story or it's just that I'm pretty much on board with what he's saying, but I totally get it.
Morgan states that Market Forces is influenced by Mad Max. That in itself would be enough to get me to pick it up, even with the high price tag for a book that was published 8 years ago. (Ballentine Books; you guys need to come down some on the sticker price, especially since your Kindle formatting is suck by comparison. Not even a freakin cover illustration for Kindle. Come off it already.)
As much as I love all things Mad Max, Market Forces made me think more of Death Race 2000 meets God of War, meets Wallstreet. Now every time I commute to work in my 08 Dodge Charger, I'm half imagining that I'm in a road duel. And as twisted as it is, - after 15 years working for big corps, I kinda wish I had the option, not so much to climb the company ladder as to take out some of the assholes that screw the people over to feed their own greed.
I read this one right after reading Morgan's Thirteen -aka Blackman in the UK- and it freaks me out a little, how close they both feel to real, modern day life in the shadows of big globalized economy. And both books are almost a decade old and written by a Brit no less. (I guess the British are getting bend over by the corps as much as us Yanks are.)
Both novels give the scrubs like me, - the nose-to-grind, prisoners of the new company store way of doing business- some awesome escapism. Chris, -and Carl from Thirteen- get to stick it to the man in the extreme that I can only fantasize about.
Fair warning: prepare for the reek of burnt rubber, the screech of stressed metal, the sweat, blood, and grit of mortal combat, and the decadence of rockstar living, in a cold merciless future before cracking open Market Forces.
September 7, 2018
I really wanted to like this book. I find that (so far) mostly I'm not a fan of Mr. Morgan. The same goes here.
There is a pretty standard Science Fiction Trope (there's that word, the word "trope" is so over used it's becoming a "trope" or possibly trite...Oh well). Anyway there's a sci/fi trope where the giant corporations have taken over and they are the government. I assume this started with those who were afraid of unrestricted capitalism.
Well this one is the king/queen and all other royalty of this type plot.
Now the problem is not that he used the plot device, I've probably read hundreds of books from that idea. The problem is the storytelling itself. The plot, the characters all the book takes a back seat to the author's picturing of his political insight and belief in this danger. I mean he beats it to death.
You've heard of beating a dead horse??? He beats it long, long after it's dead.
Have you read Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series? It begins as a pretty good fantasy series and ends being a long diatribe of Terry Goodkind's political beliefs. That said, some people love it so I know some will love this also. So try it yourself if you think this may not bother you.
By the way belief wise Mr. Morgan is sort of the anti-Terry Goodkind. They come from opposite sides of the political spectrum but in both cases drove me away. If I want political commentary I'll read political commentary. Someone said, "If you have a Message send me a letter". If a writer wants to put a message in a novel it should really, really not bury the story.
Just me of course, some will I'm sure disagree, but this one just seemed so heavy handed message wise. Can't recommend it myself, sorry.
There is a pretty standard Science Fiction Trope (there's that word, the word "trope" is so over used it's becoming a "trope" or possibly trite...Oh well). Anyway there's a sci/fi trope where the giant corporations have taken over and they are the government. I assume this started with those who were afraid of unrestricted capitalism.
Well this one is the king/queen and all other royalty of this type plot.
Now the problem is not that he used the plot device, I've probably read hundreds of books from that idea. The problem is the storytelling itself. The plot, the characters all the book takes a back seat to the author's picturing of his political insight and belief in this danger. I mean he beats it to death.
You've heard of beating a dead horse??? He beats it long, long after it's dead.
Have you read Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series? It begins as a pretty good fantasy series and ends being a long diatribe of Terry Goodkind's political beliefs. That said, some people love it so I know some will love this also. So try it yourself if you think this may not bother you.
By the way belief wise Mr. Morgan is sort of the anti-Terry Goodkind. They come from opposite sides of the political spectrum but in both cases drove me away. If I want political commentary I'll read political commentary. Someone said, "If you have a Message send me a letter". If a writer wants to put a message in a novel it should really, really not bury the story.
Just me of course, some will I'm sure disagree, but this one just seemed so heavy handed message wise. Can't recommend it myself, sorry.
March 31, 2018
-Distopía que huele a sangre, combustible, dinero e inmisericordia neoliberal.-
Género. Ciencia ficción (no exactamente, la verdad, pero es la mejor forma de clasificar la novela).
Lo que nos cuenta. El libro Leyes de mercado (publicación original: Market Forces, 2004) nos presenta a Christopher Faulkner, un ejecutivo recién contratado por la firma londinense Shorn Associates. Su trabajo en la división de Mercados Emergentes en Hammett McColl, y la forma en que superó a su jefe allí, le han labrado una reputación que los responsables de Shorn estiman apropiada para su división de Inversión en Conflictos. Los ejecutivos de prestigio de estas y otras empresas son capaces de, además de buscar y analizar oportunidades de negocio, luchar contra otros ejecutivos tanto en los negocios como al volante de vehículos en duelos sin cuartel.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Ciencia ficción (no exactamente, la verdad, pero es la mejor forma de clasificar la novela).
Lo que nos cuenta. El libro Leyes de mercado (publicación original: Market Forces, 2004) nos presenta a Christopher Faulkner, un ejecutivo recién contratado por la firma londinense Shorn Associates. Su trabajo en la división de Mercados Emergentes en Hammett McColl, y la forma en que superó a su jefe allí, le han labrado una reputación que los responsables de Shorn estiman apropiada para su división de Inversión en Conflictos. Los ejecutivos de prestigio de estas y otras empresas son capaces de, además de buscar y analizar oportunidades de negocio, luchar contra otros ejecutivos tanto en los negocios como al volante de vehículos en duelos sin cuartel.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
February 4, 2017
This book is ludicrous. The premise really doesn't hold up to the minutest bit of scrutiny, and yet the writing isn't quite as pointed as necessary for a satire. But for all that, it was an enjoyable read, once I resolved to stop trying to think if anything like this would ever happen. Because, after all, even if it's ludicrous, Mad Max in the modern corporate world is pretty fun.
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
July 25, 2021
Está bien, me ha resultado entretenido, pero sin más.
Creo que por el momento es el libro que menos me ha gustado de Richard Morgan, y tal vez se deba a su estructura y ritmo irregulares (creo que a veces da muchas vueltas sobre lo mismo) y a que combina una imagen de un futuro cercano que resulta tan verosímil como aterrador, con otros aspectos que no me han parecido creíbles.
He andado algo perdida con este futuro que nos presenta Morgan, me ha costado entender esta estructura de funcionamiento de la nueva sociedad (¿qué pasó para que se llegara a esto? ¿en qué países está presente y en cuáles no?) y tampoco ha llegado a gustarme ninguno de sus personajes (no solo los que evidentemente están pensados para caerte mal por su falta de escrúpulos y moral, ambición desmedida y psicopatía, sino incluso aquellos a los que todavía les queda algo de conciencia).
Eso sí, tiene reflexiones muy interesantes de a qué extremos podría llegarse con el neoliberalismo sin frenos ni cortapisas, y sobre los conflictos bélicos como fuente de negocio.
Por lo demás, el tema de las grandes corporaciones malvadas tampoco es que sea especialmente original.
Con todo, es un libro que entretiene, y está bien para pasar el rato.
Creo que por el momento es el libro que menos me ha gustado de Richard Morgan, y tal vez se deba a su estructura y ritmo irregulares (creo que a veces da muchas vueltas sobre lo mismo) y a que combina una imagen de un futuro cercano que resulta tan verosímil como aterrador, con otros aspectos que no me han parecido creíbles.
He andado algo perdida con este futuro que nos presenta Morgan, me ha costado entender esta estructura de funcionamiento de la nueva sociedad (¿qué pasó para que se llegara a esto? ¿en qué países está presente y en cuáles no?) y tampoco ha llegado a gustarme ninguno de sus personajes (no solo los que evidentemente están pensados para caerte mal por su falta de escrúpulos y moral, ambición desmedida y psicopatía, sino incluso aquellos a los que todavía les queda algo de conciencia).
Eso sí, tiene reflexiones muy interesantes de a qué extremos podría llegarse con el neoliberalismo sin frenos ni cortapisas, y sobre los conflictos bélicos como fuente de negocio.
Por lo demás, el tema de las grandes corporaciones malvadas tampoco es que sea especialmente original.
Con todo, es un libro que entretiene, y está bien para pasar el rato.
May 30, 2025
4.5
"En Inversión de Conflictos de Shorn Associates solo nos hacemos dos preguntas: ¿ganarán? Y en tal caso, ¿pagarán? No juzgamos; no moralizamos; no malgastamos. Nosotros calculamos, invertimos. Y prosperamos".
En un futuro (tampoco demasiado lejano) en el que la cultura de la empresa lo ha permeabilizado todo, y grandes corporaciones dirigen el mundo, Chris es una pieza más de un sistema que premia constantemente al ambicioso, al carente de escrúpulos y al que busca el beneficio a toda costa creyendo que el fin siempre justifica los medios.
En esta sociedad tan corporativista, ambientada en Reino Unido, aquellos que no formen parte de este engranaje neoliberal se quedan aislados en guetos, sin opción a una vida digna. Nuestro protagonista Chris viene precisamente de ahí, y lucha para abrirse paso en un mercado laboral absolutamente despiadado, en el que para ascender puedes incluso matar a tus contrincantes en duelos legales en la carretera. Chris es un personaje gris, absolutamente alienado por el sistema que siempre le ha mantenido bajo la bota, pero que se encuentra dividido entre la moral que aún le atormenta y ese deseo de mantener una vida digna, imposible si no se siguen las reglas del juego de los poderosos. Cuando empieza a trabajar en Shor Associates, toda su vida se tambalea entre sus dos realidades. Por un lado está su vida de pareja con Carla, en mi opinión su ancla a sus orígenes y un poquito su faro moral (y mi personaje favorito en esta historia). Por otro lado, esa corriente que le arrastra a ser el mejor, el más despiadado, con el fin de mantener su nivel de vida actual.
"Leyes de mercado" es una novela trepidante, ágil, con un balance muy bien ajustado entre la acción y el salvajismo y los trapicheos políticos y económicos de las grandes empresas. Empresas que dirigen la política internacional en la sombra, siempre para mantener sus márgenes de beneficios al máximo. La desigualdad, la manipulación política y mediática, el poder... Son muchos los temas que toca aquí Richard Morgan manteniendo a su vez la tensión, la incógnita y una trama que nunca decae. Ver la inevitable corrupción y el tambaleo moral de Chris fue una de mis cosas favoritas de esta historia, alejándose del típico héroe que quiere romper el sistema desde dentro. Chris es un capullo, pero un capullo con el que puedes llegar a empatizar en algunos momentos (en muchos otros no), arrastrado por un sistema que le ahoga y es, en primer lugar, el responsable de sus problemas iniciales. Porque no, no es tan fácil mantenerse cuerdo y con la moral intacta en un sistema en que hay que sobrevivir, más que vivir.
Una de las lecturas más originales y bestias que posiblemente lea este año, con unas escenas de acción brutales, perfectamente hiladas con trama política y tejemanejes corporativos. Absolutamente recomendada.
"En Inversión de Conflictos de Shorn Associates solo nos hacemos dos preguntas: ¿ganarán? Y en tal caso, ¿pagarán? No juzgamos; no moralizamos; no malgastamos. Nosotros calculamos, invertimos. Y prosperamos".
En un futuro (tampoco demasiado lejano) en el que la cultura de la empresa lo ha permeabilizado todo, y grandes corporaciones dirigen el mundo, Chris es una pieza más de un sistema que premia constantemente al ambicioso, al carente de escrúpulos y al que busca el beneficio a toda costa creyendo que el fin siempre justifica los medios.
En esta sociedad tan corporativista, ambientada en Reino Unido, aquellos que no formen parte de este engranaje neoliberal se quedan aislados en guetos, sin opción a una vida digna. Nuestro protagonista Chris viene precisamente de ahí, y lucha para abrirse paso en un mercado laboral absolutamente despiadado, en el que para ascender puedes incluso matar a tus contrincantes en duelos legales en la carretera. Chris es un personaje gris, absolutamente alienado por el sistema que siempre le ha mantenido bajo la bota, pero que se encuentra dividido entre la moral que aún le atormenta y ese deseo de mantener una vida digna, imposible si no se siguen las reglas del juego de los poderosos. Cuando empieza a trabajar en Shor Associates, toda su vida se tambalea entre sus dos realidades. Por un lado está su vida de pareja con Carla, en mi opinión su ancla a sus orígenes y un poquito su faro moral (y mi personaje favorito en esta historia). Por otro lado, esa corriente que le arrastra a ser el mejor, el más despiadado, con el fin de mantener su nivel de vida actual.
"Leyes de mercado" es una novela trepidante, ágil, con un balance muy bien ajustado entre la acción y el salvajismo y los trapicheos políticos y económicos de las grandes empresas. Empresas que dirigen la política internacional en la sombra, siempre para mantener sus márgenes de beneficios al máximo. La desigualdad, la manipulación política y mediática, el poder... Son muchos los temas que toca aquí Richard Morgan manteniendo a su vez la tensión, la incógnita y una trama que nunca decae. Ver la inevitable corrupción y el tambaleo moral de Chris fue una de mis cosas favoritas de esta historia, alejándose del típico héroe que quiere romper el sistema desde dentro. Chris es un capullo, pero un capullo con el que puedes llegar a empatizar en algunos momentos (en muchos otros no), arrastrado por un sistema que le ahoga y es, en primer lugar, el responsable de sus problemas iniciales. Porque no, no es tan fácil mantenerse cuerdo y con la moral intacta en un sistema en que hay que sobrevivir, más que vivir.
Una de las lecturas más originales y bestias que posiblemente lea este año, con unas escenas de acción brutales, perfectamente hiladas con trama política y tejemanejes corporativos. Absolutamente recomendada.
March 22, 2025
Mix together the movies Wall Street, Lord of War, and Mad Max and you get this near future dystopian novel. Corporate financiers battle duals in their armored BMWs and Saabs to earn accounts and to finance dictators in return for market share. It’s a surprising satirical critique of late stage capitalism. I think it is a hidden gem worth checking out.
August 12, 2016
The fifth star goes for the last 100-150 pages. And because such a fucked up ending deserves them. I mean, that's not a way to end a book if you want your readers to be happy and at ease. But we readers like this sort of literary betrayal, I suppose.
Anyway, the main flaw of Market Forces is that the first 200 pages or so are slow (this is not the best adjective, but I didn't find a better one). And by slow I mean that there are too many small things happening, lots of information being thrown at you, random events that seem unconnected when you read them, and you feel that something huge is coming but it doesn't come. Until you reach the last part, where it in fact explodes in your face and everything makes sense. Even though I complain, in fact I liked how it was done, but I suspect that due to this fact lots of people would begin the book and never finish it because "nothing remarkable happened". And that wouldn't be neither true nor fair. To praise it I would say that Market Forces has reminded me as a mixture of 1984 for its premonitory overtones, Fight Club for the characters' depth and (de)humanisation, and Crash because cars and death (though fortunately Market Forces doesn't invite you to vomit at every page).
So yes, it's been a hard read sometimes, some passages were obscurely dense while others were just too dark for me, and it may show viewpoints you don't share or like… but it has made me think more than what I expected, which is always a pleasant activity to do once in a while. Oh, and the characters are just delightfully human. And I think that Chris' evolution is just brilliant.
Anyway, the main flaw of Market Forces is that the first 200 pages or so are slow (this is not the best adjective, but I didn't find a better one). And by slow I mean that there are too many small things happening, lots of information being thrown at you, random events that seem unconnected when you read them, and you feel that something huge is coming but it doesn't come. Until you reach the last part, where it in fact explodes in your face and everything makes sense. Even though I complain, in fact I liked how it was done, but I suspect that due to this fact lots of people would begin the book and never finish it because "nothing remarkable happened". And that wouldn't be neither true nor fair. To praise it I would say that Market Forces has reminded me as a mixture of 1984 for its premonitory overtones, Fight Club for the characters' depth and (de)humanisation, and Crash because cars and death (though fortunately Market Forces doesn't invite you to vomit at every page).
So yes, it's been a hard read sometimes, some passages were obscurely dense while others were just too dark for me, and it may show viewpoints you don't share or like… but it has made me think more than what I expected, which is always a pleasant activity to do once in a while. Oh, and the characters are just delightfully human. And I think that Chris' evolution is just brilliant.
June 19, 2016
La mejor ciencia - ficción es la que hace predicciones creíbles hacia dónde podríamos encaminarnos, dadas unas ciertas circunstancias. En ese sentido, este libro es ciencia - ficción de la mejor que hay.
Lo más aterrador del libro es pensar que, al menos en parte, sucesos como los que describe están sucediendo ya ahora. El autor nos muestra una sociedad en la que, simplemente, el neoliberalismo se quita la careta y consigue su sueño, donde la policía empresarial y el gobierno de las empresas se coloca sobre el gobierno de las naciones, y donde cualquier sueño de estado del bienestar ha sido aplastado, al menos en Gran Bretaña, donde se ambienta la novela. Y como corresponde a un mundo donde la avaricia es una virtud, la mayoría de personajes son infelices, desagradables, cobardes e inmorales, empezando por el propio protagonista. Y de ahí, para arriba. Es una interesante revisión del cyberpunk, donde el énfasis no está en cómo la tecnología nos deshumaniza - nadie lleva aquí ciberimplantes -, sino como el sistema económico nos deshumaniza. Y la economía no deja de ser una tecnología como las demás.
Es rápido, es incisivo y el final sorprende. Es la clase de libro que podría ser verdad. No puedo recomendarlo más encarecidamente.
Lo más aterrador del libro es pensar que, al menos en parte, sucesos como los que describe están sucediendo ya ahora. El autor nos muestra una sociedad en la que, simplemente, el neoliberalismo se quita la careta y consigue su sueño, donde la policía empresarial y el gobierno de las empresas se coloca sobre el gobierno de las naciones, y donde cualquier sueño de estado del bienestar ha sido aplastado, al menos en Gran Bretaña, donde se ambienta la novela. Y como corresponde a un mundo donde la avaricia es una virtud, la mayoría de personajes son infelices, desagradables, cobardes e inmorales, empezando por el propio protagonista. Y de ahí, para arriba. Es una interesante revisión del cyberpunk, donde el énfasis no está en cómo la tecnología nos deshumaniza - nadie lleva aquí ciberimplantes -, sino como el sistema económico nos deshumaniza. Y la economía no deja de ser una tecnología como las demás.
Es rápido, es incisivo y el final sorprende. Es la clase de libro que podría ser verdad. No puedo recomendarlo más encarecidamente.
May 1, 2014
I'm torn between the fact that I like Morgan's writing -- it's slick, tight, packs a punch -- and the fact that his world is just too ridiculously ultra-violent for me, and the characters I like don't come out well. I liked Chris' wife Carla, but of course, she loses her husband in the worst of way: he's not dead, but he's thrown himself into a life she hates, and refused to accept her help in getting him out of it. And he's cheated on her, of course: let's not forget that.
I find the world-building interesting, though in this case not entirely convincing (duels in cars? how does that really come about? it doesn't sound like something top executives would realistically end up doing), but of course all of it is a way of examining capitalism and the free market, of making brutally clear the way that competition can ruin lives.
If the point then is to take a guy who seems decent at the beginning, like Chris, and watch as that competition warps him, then Morgan does a great job -- but it's hard to enjoy it as a story, particularly given the bodycount. Very much a case of not-really-my-thing, though, and I'm sure that people who're less squicked out by violence will enjoy this a lot more than me, assuming our tastes are otherwise the same.
I find the world-building interesting, though in this case not entirely convincing (duels in cars? how does that really come about? it doesn't sound like something top executives would realistically end up doing), but of course all of it is a way of examining capitalism and the free market, of making brutally clear the way that competition can ruin lives.
If the point then is to take a guy who seems decent at the beginning, like Chris, and watch as that competition warps him, then Morgan does a great job -- but it's hard to enjoy it as a story, particularly given the bodycount. Very much a case of not-really-my-thing, though, and I'm sure that people who're less squicked out by violence will enjoy this a lot more than me, assuming our tastes are otherwise the same.
January 7, 2023
A-, very fine thriller with some WSOD problems. An entertaining, cinematic and very fast-paced book.
July 9, 2017
It would be wrong to say I was totally frustrated with this book. I did finish it, which means it passed the marginal test of "do I even want to bother finishing this?" Well, I finished it. It failed, however, the other marginal test of "should I have bothered finishing this?"
There was one significant strike against it from step one: for whatever the reason, the publisher decided that they would give the book the same style, cover, and font as Morgan's other two books: 'Altered Carbon,' and 'Broken Angels,' both of which I really liked. The other two books continue around a single character, have a really interesting (if violent and gory) world that I enjoyed. For all that this looks like book three in the series, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the other two, but is packaged in a way that looks like it should be.
Forgivable, of course, but slightly irritating.
So, when I found myself in a much more recent-future London, where executives ride to and from work in battle-wagon like souped-up cars, ramming each other off the road for prestige, I was a little confused. The world our anti-hero, Chris Faulker, lives in, is a gritty, post-economic disarray, ultra-capitalist/ultra-violent one where the poor are beyond poor (and live in marginalized violent horrible zones) and the rich get richer by messing around with small wars and supplying arms and shooting their higher-ups in legalized duels or road-rage fueled death matches in their aforementioned cars.
The problem? Well, it's... boring. Chris starts out a man who isn't all that comfortable with violence. His wife hates the life he leads. You're fairly certain that Chris is heading for an emotional breakdown of some sort. People are setting him up, but you get the feeling he's going to kill them all and come out on top, in some manner. But... well, not to put too fine a point on it - you don't care. As far as an anti-hero goes, Chris is lacking that ephemeral something that makes you at all empathetic to his situation. When he's staring down the barrel of a gun, you're not really sure you'd mind if he died - everyone else in this setting seems to, and with no real impact.
Maybe that's the problem I had with the book in general - it's set in a future where life has little meaning beyond being fodder for profit in the form of war death tolls. But the author didn't manage to make it ironic, or subjectively add a touch of social commentary. It just sort of read like a whole lot of violence tacked on to more violence, with a bit of sex and road-rage tossed in for good measure.
I really do suggest his other two titles - but this doesn't stand up to them at all. Violent stories all, but the other tales had... well... plot.
There was one significant strike against it from step one: for whatever the reason, the publisher decided that they would give the book the same style, cover, and font as Morgan's other two books: 'Altered Carbon,' and 'Broken Angels,' both of which I really liked. The other two books continue around a single character, have a really interesting (if violent and gory) world that I enjoyed. For all that this looks like book three in the series, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the other two, but is packaged in a way that looks like it should be.
Forgivable, of course, but slightly irritating.
So, when I found myself in a much more recent-future London, where executives ride to and from work in battle-wagon like souped-up cars, ramming each other off the road for prestige, I was a little confused. The world our anti-hero, Chris Faulker, lives in, is a gritty, post-economic disarray, ultra-capitalist/ultra-violent one where the poor are beyond poor (and live in marginalized violent horrible zones) and the rich get richer by messing around with small wars and supplying arms and shooting their higher-ups in legalized duels or road-rage fueled death matches in their aforementioned cars.
The problem? Well, it's... boring. Chris starts out a man who isn't all that comfortable with violence. His wife hates the life he leads. You're fairly certain that Chris is heading for an emotional breakdown of some sort. People are setting him up, but you get the feeling he's going to kill them all and come out on top, in some manner. But... well, not to put too fine a point on it - you don't care. As far as an anti-hero goes, Chris is lacking that ephemeral something that makes you at all empathetic to his situation. When he's staring down the barrel of a gun, you're not really sure you'd mind if he died - everyone else in this setting seems to, and with no real impact.
Maybe that's the problem I had with the book in general - it's set in a future where life has little meaning beyond being fodder for profit in the form of war death tolls. But the author didn't manage to make it ironic, or subjectively add a touch of social commentary. It just sort of read like a whole lot of violence tacked on to more violence, with a bit of sex and road-rage tossed in for good measure.
I really do suggest his other two titles - but this doesn't stand up to them at all. Violent stories all, but the other tales had... well... plot.
January 23, 2018
I know Morgan fans have been hard on this book, but it is well worth a read. While it lacks the tautness of Altered Carbon, the dystopian future carefully built here (I believe that is why some readers have characterized the first half of the text slow) is remarkable. Basically, the world, led by the USA/UK, has devolved into a neo-liberal fantasy, where the the poor countries of the world are little more than cheap labor pools and export processing zones held together by fascist governments backed by corporate interests. Morgan has done his research and it shows (disclaimer-- I am an economist). The main protagonist, Chris Falkner, is an up and coming executive and the story revolves around his struggles to be ethical in a world without ethics. High-flying car battles out of Mad Max at first seem incongruous, but play a key role in the novel. Lots of fun and hold on to your hat for the last half of the text.
June 12, 2019
The rising power of corporations has been a strong theme in SF since the '80s. It was a key element in cyberpunk and it's central to this novel. This isn't cyberpunk, though - cyber is largely irrelevant, certainly not a key theme or even an important part of the world building. Instead, Morgan extrapolates the trends of corporate power in the international political arena (in fairly conventional ways) and innovates by doing the same for corporate internal politics. These ideas are extreme and hopefully preposterous.
I found it to be a compelling read in that it's full of incident and yet, and yet...the actual plot develops slowly, is a little too predictable and our protagonist isn't a hero. Not even an anti-hero. Just an asshole. Which made it difficult to care - much like Kovac in the sequels to Altered Carbon.
I found it to be a compelling read in that it's full of incident and yet, and yet...the actual plot develops slowly, is a little too predictable and our protagonist isn't a hero. Not even an anti-hero. Just an asshole. Which made it difficult to care - much like Kovac in the sequels to Altered Carbon.
August 12, 2024
Това е единствената непреведена на български фантастика на Морган. Може би, защото е по-малко екшън ориентирана и по-социално насочена. Иначе е интересно как „Бард“ налагат Ричард Морган като писател фантаст, малко като Дан Симънс преди години.
„Пазарни сили“ е свежа комбинация между корпоративен трилър, киберпънк (като се набляга повече на второто) и спортен роман.
Крис Фокнър сам се е изкачил от гетата на Лондон до престижна позиция в отдел Рискови инвестиции на корпорация Шорн. Което е по-трудно от колкото звучи, защото в близко бъдеще сегрегацията в обществото е брутална. Рискови инвестиции също не са това, което си представяте. Техните служители играят със страните от третия свят, вдигат и свалят диктатори, пораждат военни конфликти, абе нещо като САЩ, но на корпоративно ниво ала Гибсън. Служителите се ползват с всякакви привилегии и им се разминава всичко, дори убийства.
След срив на икономиката преди години, конкуренцията за работни места е толкова дива, че има официални дуели до смърт, но с автомобили, а служителите преживели няколко предизвикателства са по-известни от кино звездите и Крис е един от тях.
Обаче един харизматичен бунтовник, тип Ернесто Гевара, в Колумбия ще се сближи с Крис и ще започне да влияе на възгледите му, карайки го да наруши първото правило – всичко е пари, не следвай политиката. Това ще доведе до гениални или катастрофални ходове на най-новия член на Рискови Инвестиции и ще застраши живота му.
Ричард Морган доста си е поиграл със социалната структура на това притеснително близко усещащо се общество. Хареса ми подбора на действащи лица – Крис се е измъкнал със зъби и нокти от калта, тъст му, който е неомарксист от богат скандинавски род и е решил, че като живее в гетото е по някакъв начин съпричастен, колегата му Майкъл, който е богато дупе и няма грам съвест, когато става въпрос за по-ниските „касти“ и прочие.
Морган е добре запознат с нещата на Чомски и Мур, но доста добре отиграва топката в споровете между тъст и зет, показвайки цялата импотентност на идеите на неомарксизма в една турбо-капиталистическа обстановка.
Играта на пари с „банановите републики“ беше много истински описана, личи си, когато някой си е написал домашното. Моментът когато дългогодишния диктатор и не-толкова младия бунтовник от Колумбия (ние не я наричаме така) бяха поканени от Шрон на изложение за оръжие и ги въртяха да не се засекат случайно беше кеф на всички нива.
В средата малко се разтегна всичко, за да нагнети повече материал в трансформацията на Крис (която не е никаква трансформациа, но карай) и да придаде тежест на изборите му, но последната четвъртина се отплати за всичко, а финалът беше много задоволителен.
„Пазарни сили“ е свежа комбинация между корпоративен трилър, киберпънк (като се набляга повече на второто) и спортен роман.
Крис Фокнър сам се е изкачил от гетата на Лондон до престижна позиция в отдел Рискови инвестиции на корпорация Шорн. Което е по-трудно от колкото звучи, защото в близко бъдеще сегрегацията в обществото е брутална. Рискови инвестиции също не са това, което си представяте. Техните служители играят със страните от третия свят, вдигат и свалят диктатори, пораждат военни конфликти, абе нещо като САЩ, но на корпоративно ниво ала Гибсън. Служителите се ползват с всякакви привилегии и им се разминава всичко, дори убийства.
След срив на икономиката преди години, конкуренцията за работни места е толкова дива, че има официални дуели до смърт, но с автомобили, а служителите преживели няколко предизвикателства са по-известни от кино звездите и Крис е един от тях.
Обаче един харизматичен бунтовник, тип Ернесто Гевара, в Колумбия ще се сближи с Крис и ще започне да влияе на възгледите му, карайки го да наруши първото правило – всичко е пари, не следвай политиката. Това ще доведе до гениални или катастрофални ходове на най-новия член на Рискови Инвестиции и ще застраши живота му.
Ричард Морган доста си е поиграл със социалната структура на това притеснително близко усещащо се общество. Хареса ми подбора на действащи лица – Крис се е измъкнал със зъби и нокти от калта, тъст му, който е неомарксист от богат скандинавски род и е решил, че като живее в гетото е по някакъв начин съпричастен, колегата му Майкъл, който е богато дупе и няма грам съвест, когато става въпрос за по-ниските „касти“ и прочие.
Морган е добре запознат с нещата на Чомски и Мур, но доста добре отиграва топката в споровете между тъст и зет, показвайки цялата импотентност на идеите на неомарксизма в една турбо-капиталистическа обстановка.
Играта на пари с „банановите републики“ беше много истински описана, личи си, когато някой си е написал домашното. Моментът когато дългогодишния диктатор и не-толкова младия бунтовник от Колумбия (ние не я наричаме така) бяха поканени от Шрон на изложение за оръжие и ги въртяха да не се засекат случайно беше кеф на всички нива.
В средата малко се разтегна всичко, за да нагнети повече материал в трансформацията на Крис (която не е никаква трансформациа, но карай) и да придаде тежест на изборите му, но последната четвъртина се отплати за всичко, а финалът беше много задоволителен.
December 8, 2022
Pretty fun cyberpunk, reminded me a lot of Jack Womack's Elvissey - the books where large companies use ultraviolence in a very nonchalant, 'just getting the milk' way.
Chris Faulkner starts a new job with one of the biggest companies in Conflict Investment, who invest in poorer countries' military coups and leaders to get them to buy their weapons. Like in Womack's Elvissey, workers of these companies fight and kill each other for these contracts, for some reason in the form of deathraces. About one half of the book is Chris being good at racing, but also somehow having a heart of gold, then Morgan realised that you can't just have these races forever for a whole book, so the second half pivots a bit and puts our hero into these warzones his company invests into. It's a pretty fun read, a critic of Thatcher-style neoliberal capitalism about 15 years too late.
Chris Faulkner starts a new job with one of the biggest companies in Conflict Investment, who invest in poorer countries' military coups and leaders to get them to buy their weapons. Like in Womack's Elvissey, workers of these companies fight and kill each other for these contracts, for some reason in the form of deathraces. About one half of the book is Chris being good at racing, but also somehow having a heart of gold, then Morgan realised that you can't just have these races forever for a whole book, so the second half pivots a bit and puts our hero into these warzones his company invests into. It's a pretty fun read, a critic of Thatcher-style neoliberal capitalism about 15 years too late.
March 27, 2011
After several deep recessions, the rift between rich and poor has widened dramatically. Corporations pretty much run the world, and the only game in town is to work for one, if you have the guts for it. Tenders and positions are battled for on the road with car duels, often to the death. It’s all very cutthroat and cool, but Morgan has somehow kept it just this side of believable. Our hero, Chris Faulkner, works for the Shorn Corporation in the Conflict Investment department. His job is, in simple terms, to support some third world revolutionary with weapons and support. When said revolutionary is settled in as ruler, a percentage of the GDP of his country will go to Shorn.
Mr. Morgan has written a story of corporate warfare in the near future. Not too unexpectedly for this author, this book is full of cool prose, has an anti-hero, and contains some pretty extreme violence. As Morgan himself admits in the foreword, it is unashamedly inspired by films such as Rollerball and Mad Max.Cruel, but not really that far removed from some situations seen today. The difference is that the corporations in this future do not bother to disguise their naked ambition.
The book also contains the absolute best description of a long, slow break up I have ever read. Chris’ transformation from vague idealist to the ultimate antihero is brilliantly portrayed, and the end may surprise you, although in hindsight it was inevitable.
Marvelous and very very cool.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=253
Mr. Morgan has written a story of corporate warfare in the near future. Not too unexpectedly for this author, this book is full of cool prose, has an anti-hero, and contains some pretty extreme violence. As Morgan himself admits in the foreword, it is unashamedly inspired by films such as Rollerball and Mad Max.Cruel, but not really that far removed from some situations seen today. The difference is that the corporations in this future do not bother to disguise their naked ambition.
The book also contains the absolute best description of a long, slow break up I have ever read. Chris’ transformation from vague idealist to the ultimate antihero is brilliantly portrayed, and the end may surprise you, although in hindsight it was inevitable.
Marvelous and very very cool.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=253
October 14, 2014
’Leyes de mercado’, del inglés Richard K. Morgan, es una novela ágil, escrita de forma directa, con un alto contenido de violencia y sexo. La historia describe una sociedad en la que los ejecutivos de las grandes corporaciones se disputan los contratos en duelos automovilísticos, como si de gladiadores de la carretera se tratase. Y es que los ejecutivos pueden ser retados en cualquier momento por aspirantes a un puesto en estas empresas. A través del protagonista, Chris Faulkner, entramos en este mundo falto de ética y moral, con una agresividad latente, donde manda el que más dinero tiene, y donde los más desfavorecidos viven en zonas rodeadas de vallas electrificadas.
Con ‘Carbono alterado’, Mogan me dejó deslumbrado; se trata de una de las mejores novelas cyberpunk que he leído. Sin embargo, ’Leyes de mercado’ no ha llegado a entusiasmarme como pensaba. Sí, es cierto, la novela puede ser leída como una crítica a la sociedad de consumo, en una situación inverosímil pero con su lógica interna dentro de lo que nos están narrando. Y con esto hay que quedarse, ya que el tema de las carreras de coches es lo de menos. En cuanto a los personajes, Morgan se esfuerza en dotarles de cierta personalidad, pero no dejan de estar algo estereotipados. En cuanto a la atmósfera, me parece que es el punto más flojo, y se echan de menos más detalles y descripciones. En resumen, entretenida sin más.
Con ‘Carbono alterado’, Mogan me dejó deslumbrado; se trata de una de las mejores novelas cyberpunk que he leído. Sin embargo, ’Leyes de mercado’ no ha llegado a entusiasmarme como pensaba. Sí, es cierto, la novela puede ser leída como una crítica a la sociedad de consumo, en una situación inverosímil pero con su lógica interna dentro de lo que nos están narrando. Y con esto hay que quedarse, ya que el tema de las carreras de coches es lo de menos. En cuanto a los personajes, Morgan se esfuerza en dotarles de cierta personalidad, pero no dejan de estar algo estereotipados. En cuanto a la atmósfera, me parece que es el punto más flojo, y se echan de menos más detalles y descripciones. En resumen, entretenida sin más.
May 7, 2017
Richard K. Morgan transports us into a world where the only thing that matters is money, where life has a price and where the destiny of whole countries is decided by men who only care about making a profit.
If this sounds s the world we are living in, its is not a coin coincidence, because the book is set in a very near future, where there was a big crisis, and something shifted in civilization.
Whole countries are in ruin, even the ones in the first world, companies are the ones making the calls, running the show, and if you don't work directly, or indirectly for them, then your life probably is not worth anything.
In this cruel world, this novel takes place, where Chris Faulkner, the main character, will try to fit into one of the biggest companies in Crisis Investment (they basically give money to governments or insurgents in order to make them wage war against their enemies and they profit from the gun trade, and eventual government establishment).
As is normal with Morgan's books, it's set in a very dark environment, gritty and very detective-noir style, although this book is a little bit less of this as his usual.
Not much sci-fi in this case, it's more realistic, this makes it even better in some aspects, as you can see the world turning this way if capitalism had it's way without any control.
An interesting book to read, i liked it, not the best he has written, but its entertaining and interesting to read. I hope you enjoy it.
If this sounds s the world we are living in, its is not a coin coincidence, because the book is set in a very near future, where there was a big crisis, and something shifted in civilization.
Whole countries are in ruin, even the ones in the first world, companies are the ones making the calls, running the show, and if you don't work directly, or indirectly for them, then your life probably is not worth anything.
In this cruel world, this novel takes place, where Chris Faulkner, the main character, will try to fit into one of the biggest companies in Crisis Investment (they basically give money to governments or insurgents in order to make them wage war against their enemies and they profit from the gun trade, and eventual government establishment).
As is normal with Morgan's books, it's set in a very dark environment, gritty and very detective-noir style, although this book is a little bit less of this as his usual.
Not much sci-fi in this case, it's more realistic, this makes it even better in some aspects, as you can see the world turning this way if capitalism had it's way without any control.
An interesting book to read, i liked it, not the best he has written, but its entertaining and interesting to read. I hope you enjoy it.
April 7, 2020
Me ha entretenido bastante más de lo que me ha gustado, hay algo en este mundo que nos dibuja Morgan, tan loco e inverosímil en algunos aspectos como realista en otros que me atrapa. El caso es que la idea de que los grandes contratos de venta de armas para guerras en países en vías de desarrollo y los ascensos en las grandes empresas carroñeras que sacan provecho de estos conflictos se diriman en duelos en la carretera televisados y que los ejecutivos protagonistas de los mismos sean las nuevas estrellas de los medios casi me parece un punto de vista más honesto que la situación real del mundo globalizado.
El problema es que también llega un momento que cansa toda la sobrecarga de testosterona que llevan los personajes principales desde primera hora de la mañana, la intensidad sin demasiada dirección, la evolución del protagonista, bastante errática y confusa, que le lleva a seguir buscando la redención mientras se desborda la pila de cadáveres... y luego está el mensaje implícito pero bastante telegrafiado, esa idea tan norteamericana de que el que no triunfa es porque no tiene lo que tiene que tener o no lo ha intentado suficiente... me resulta cargante por momentos... igual que esa sensación que queda al final de que en último termino, el echarle huevos y no detenerse ante nada tiene más valor que la preparación, la planificación, el conocimiento...
En fin, lo dicho, una novela muy entretenida, me encanta la forma de escribir de Morgan y el ritmo que imprime en sus novelas, pero esta queda para mi muy lejos del nivel de carbono alterado.
El problema es que también llega un momento que cansa toda la sobrecarga de testosterona que llevan los personajes principales desde primera hora de la mañana, la intensidad sin demasiada dirección, la evolución del protagonista, bastante errática y confusa, que le lleva a seguir buscando la redención mientras se desborda la pila de cadáveres... y luego está el mensaje implícito pero bastante telegrafiado, esa idea tan norteamericana de que el que no triunfa es porque no tiene lo que tiene que tener o no lo ha intentado suficiente... me resulta cargante por momentos... igual que esa sensación que queda al final de que en último termino, el echarle huevos y no detenerse ante nada tiene más valor que la preparación, la planificación, el conocimiento...
En fin, lo dicho, una novela muy entretenida, me encanta la forma de escribir de Morgan y el ritmo que imprime en sus novelas, pero esta queda para mi muy lejos del nivel de carbono alterado.
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