Altered Carbon

Inthetwenty-fifthcentury,humankindhasspreadthroughoutthegalaxy,monitoredbythewatchfuleyeoftheU.N.Whiledivisionsinrace,religion,andclassstillexist,advancesintechnologyhaveredefinedlifeitself.Now,assumingonecanaffordtheexpensiveprocedure,aperson'sconsciousnesscanbestoredinacorticalstackatthebaseofthebrainandeasilydownloadedintoanewbody(or"sleeve")makingdeathnothingmorethanaminorbliponascreen.Ex-U.N.envoyTakeshiKovacshasbeenkilledbefore,buthislastdeathwasparticularlypainful.Dispatchedonehundredeightylight-yearsfromhome,re-sleevedintoabodyinBayCity(formerlySanFrancisco,nowwitharusted,dilapidatedGoldenGateBridge),Kovacsisthrownintothedarkheartofashady,far-reachingconspiracythatisviciousevenbythestandardsofasocietythattreats"existence"assomethingthatcanbeboughtandsold.ForKovacs,theshellthatblewaholeinhischestwasonlythebeginning....