Let's say you're tired of your body, your face, your entire 'body package'. In Richard Morgan's future, a human is able to store one's consciousness in a tiny tube and download it in another body (a 'sleeve') — if you have the dough. (Perhaps Cher will be around to witness this?) So, in Morgan's world, a person's relationship with death — and life — has been forever altered. By (almost) eliminating death from a human's reality, Morgan is able to pose profound philosophical questions — Should one's existence be bought and sold? Has science reduced our humanity rather than enhancing it? — and answer them while taking readers stunning ride.

With moody and elegant prose that evokes both Phillip K. Dick and Raymond Chandler, Altered Carbon introduces readers to Takeshi Kovacs. He's an ex-U.N. envoy who has just had his chest aerated by a Kalashnikov. He awakes with a new sleeve and a mission to find the perp responsible for the attempted murder of a 900-year-old man. If he doesn't find the gunman, he's dead — for good.

In this issue of Bold Type, Morgan writes a crackling essay on what inspired Altered Carbon. You'll also get a sample of life in the 26th century in our book excerpt.

—Coates Bateman