Altered Carbon

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What struck you most about the technology in Altered Carbon? Does it feel like a path that humanity is progressing toward?

2. How did Morgan’s division of the novel into five parts impact your reading experience and the pacing of the novel?

3. What do the moral stances of the book’s characters suggest about the ethical challenges of our own world today?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Science fiction is meant to provoke the imagination and encourage readers to think of what is possible. What aspect of the novel’s world did you connect with most or find most unsettling? Why?

2. If you had the choice to live forever through sleeving, would you take it? Why or why not?

3. How do you understand the difference between justice and revenge? Ultimately, do you think Kovacs achieved one, both, or neither?

4. The Hendrix is a fully functional hotel operated by AI. Did this portrayal change or reinforce how you view AI in daily life?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The wealth disparity in the world of Altered Carbon is extreme, with people at different socio-economic levels exhibiting vastly different worldviews. How does the wealth gap in the novel reflect the growing wealth gap in contemporary times?

2. Throughout Altered Carbon, crime runs rampant, and many characters break the law without facing any consequences. What commentary does this provide about contemporary justice systems?

3. With technology advancing at a rapid rate across the world, how does the novel connect to debates about the integration of new technologies?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. How does Richard K. Morgan use imagery and figurative language to bring the science fiction of Altered Carbon to life?

2. Compare and contrast how the sleeves Kovacs inhabits change his personality and relationships. What does this reveal about the relationship between the body and mind in identity formation?

3. Though both the wealthy and poor have access to sleeving technology, their relationships with it are very different. How do these relationships connect with the theme of The Impact of Immortality on Ethics, and how do they influence various characters’ actions?

4. The Bancrofts and Reileen Kawahara represent the wealthiest people in the world of Altered Carbon. Compare and contrast how they use their privileges and how it impacts their antagonistic relationships with Kovacs.

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If you were writing a science fiction novel, where and when would you set it, and what would be the defining technological advancement in it?

2. If you lived in the world of Altered Carbon and resleeved, what strategies would you use to hold on to your sense of self?

3. Altered Carbon was initially published in 2002. If Morgan had written it in 2025, how might he update his vision?