Altered Carbon Season 2 -- Better to have read the novel or not?

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I love Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs character, and after Netflix serialized Altered Carbon in 2018, I went back and read all three novels again: Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, and Woken Furies.

Netflix has now released season two of Altered Carbon, which seems so nominally based on Broken Angels, that it raised a thought: for viewing benefit is it better to have read the novel or not?

I understand it's a tricky question, but the 2018 series was very close to the novel. This second season isn't, and, honestly, I am finding it hard to watch because it is triggering "Huh?" moments all the time as the plot veers away from the book. This includes the same characters operating in such entirely different ways to the novel, it is mystifying. Apparently, Morgan does have a say in the screenplay, so it does not seem to be a studio mangling an author's work, but I don't understand why you would need to change what is a terrific story.

Anyway, my question is likely to be only answerable if you've read the novel and seen the Netflix show, but I'd be interested in any view on this.
 
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I've read the books long before the series, and it took me as quite a surprise how different was the novel and the series (first season). I can understand the differences ( too much to explain, and they were not sure that it'll survive for a second season), but decided to pass any further seasons.

Maybe I'll reconsider in case of ever re-reading the books - then maybe I'll watch the show first, since it was visually quite good. It'll be a good addition to pepper up the book.
 
Rive said:
maybe I'll watch the show first

I think in this instance, that's a good strategy, @Rive, because the narrative deviations you'd have seen in the first Altered Carbon season are rifts in the spacetime continuum in this season by comparison!
 
For me, a good example of bad SF, ignoring the consequences of revolutionary technology.
 
Tghu Verd said:
the narrative deviations you'd have seen in the first Altered Carbon season are rifts in the spacetime continuum in this season by comparison!
Guessed that: while the actual story of the first season was close to the book, the painted background was completely different. And the second season is about facing the 'afterlife' of that background, so...
 
GTOM said:
For me, a good example of bad SF, ignoring the consequences of revolutionary technology.

Do you mean the novels?

Rive said:
And the second season is about facing the 'afterlife' of that background, so...

So indeed. They have taken the plot concept of book 3, Woken Furies, and populated it with characters from both that and Broken Angels. It really is a mishmash of two books which is terribly confusing if you know the novels at all.
 
Tghu Verd said:
It really is a mishmash of two books...
Ugh. Is it that bad?

What will they cook up for the third season, then?:eek:
 
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Rive said:
Ugh. Is it that bad?

It is if you've read them, because it triggers so many WTF responses :mad:

Rive said:
What will they cook up for the third season, then?

And the fourth...and the fifth! Apparently Netflix has optioned for five series. But I'm guessing they'll do the third book plot in the third series, then it's all new. Morgan, who said he was never writing another Kovacs novel, seems to have a renewed interest in the character (though I thought that his character Hakan Veil from Thin Air pretty much was Kovacs) which I am hoping is true.

GTOM said:
Yes, the first book. I couldn't finish it.

Ahh, it's not for everyone, obviously.