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Titanium Noir
On sale
18th May 2023
Price: £18.99
A virtuosic mashup of Philip K. Dick and Raymond Chandler by way of Marvel – the story of a detective investigating the murder of a Titan, one of society’s most powerful, medically-enhanced elites.
‘A highly entertaining, satisfying blend of classic detective noir and inventive speculative fiction’ the Guardian
‘Cross-genre brilliance from the superbly talented Nick Harkaway’ William Gibson, New York Times best-selling author of Agency
Cal Sounder is a detective working for the police on certain very sensitive cases. So when he’s called in to investigate a homicide at a local apartment, he is surprised at first to see that the victim appears to be a rather typical techie. But on closer inspection, he finds the victim is over seven feet tall. And even though he doesn’t look a day over thirty, he is actually ninety years old. Clearly, he is a Titan – one of this dystopian, near-future society’s genetically-altered elites.
There are only a few thousand Titans worldwide, all thanks to Stefan Tonfamecasca’s discovery of the controversial T7 genetic therapy, which elevated his family to near godlike status. A dead Titan is big news . . . a murdered Titan is unimaginable. But Titans are Cal’s specialty. In fact, his ex-girlfriend, Athena, is a Titan. And not just any Titan – she’s Stefan’s daughter, heir to the Tonfamecasca empire.
As Cal digs deeper into the murder investigation, he begins to unravel the complicated threads of what should have been a straightforward case, and it soon becomes clear he’s on the trail of a crime whose roots run deep into the dark heart of the world. Titanium Noir is a tightly woven, intricate tale of murder, betrayal, and vengeance.
‘I picked up Titanium Noir and then it returned the favor, sending me reeling with thrilling velocity through Nick Harkaway’s latest world of dark wonders until it set me down at the last fine Harkaway sentence with all the lightness, strength, and brilliance of its hard bright titular element’ Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize winning author
‘Titanium Noir blends the best of the science fiction and crime genres to create something vibrant and new. Captivating from start to finish’ the Big Issue
‘A highly entertaining, satisfying blend of classic detective noir and inventive speculative fiction’ the Guardian
‘Cross-genre brilliance from the superbly talented Nick Harkaway’ William Gibson, New York Times best-selling author of Agency
Cal Sounder is a detective working for the police on certain very sensitive cases. So when he’s called in to investigate a homicide at a local apartment, he is surprised at first to see that the victim appears to be a rather typical techie. But on closer inspection, he finds the victim is over seven feet tall. And even though he doesn’t look a day over thirty, he is actually ninety years old. Clearly, he is a Titan – one of this dystopian, near-future society’s genetically-altered elites.
There are only a few thousand Titans worldwide, all thanks to Stefan Tonfamecasca’s discovery of the controversial T7 genetic therapy, which elevated his family to near godlike status. A dead Titan is big news . . . a murdered Titan is unimaginable. But Titans are Cal’s specialty. In fact, his ex-girlfriend, Athena, is a Titan. And not just any Titan – she’s Stefan’s daughter, heir to the Tonfamecasca empire.
As Cal digs deeper into the murder investigation, he begins to unravel the complicated threads of what should have been a straightforward case, and it soon becomes clear he’s on the trail of a crime whose roots run deep into the dark heart of the world. Titanium Noir is a tightly woven, intricate tale of murder, betrayal, and vengeance.
‘I picked up Titanium Noir and then it returned the favor, sending me reeling with thrilling velocity through Nick Harkaway’s latest world of dark wonders until it set me down at the last fine Harkaway sentence with all the lightness, strength, and brilliance of its hard bright titular element’ Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize winning author
‘Titanium Noir blends the best of the science fiction and crime genres to create something vibrant and new. Captivating from start to finish’ the Big Issue
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Reviews
A detective tries to investigate a killing in a dystopian city where the haves and have-nots are divided by more than just money. . . . Surprising and gratifying
I picked up Titanium Noir and then it returned the favor, sending me reeling with thrilling velocity through Nick Harkaway's latest world of dark wonders until it set me down at the last fine Harkaway sentence with all the lightness, strength and brilliance of its hard bright titular element
Cal Sounder crashes like a wrecking ball through a world of privilege and secrets. . . . If Titanium Noir turns out to be the first book in a series of Sounder's adventures ... I'd welcome more
An SF-tinged romp that blends elements of the noir thriller and the picaresque novel... An entertaining shaggy dog of a futuristic whodunit
Nick Harkaway's Cal Sounder is everything I could want in a new sci-fi detective: he's smart and resourceful, good in a fight, needling of power and capable of irritating damn near everyone he meets, and willing to risk everything he has to solve his case. Maybe it's always been true that the rich and powerful take pleasure from living life better than the rest of us: in Titanium Noir, Harkaway imagines what might happen when they decide they also want to live forever, taking us on a breakneck tour of one infuriatingly plausible future's corruption and vice
An exemplar of its genre
Titanium Noir is a beautifully twisted, fast-paced new-cyberpunk fairy tale. The perfect blend of Raymond Chandler and William Gibson
Cross-genre brilliance from the superbly talented Nick Harkaway
Nick Harkaway novels are electric. Titanium Noir is a short, sharp shock, punchy and strange and vibrant. And sizzling in a way that makes other novels feel slightly asleep.
Titanium Noir is deft and hectic and so damn fun. It's a story-telling amphetamine laced with social commentary and it's terrific
Very entertaining . . . The eclectic cast includes Stefan's towering daughter Athena, who is also Sounder's ex-girlfriend, a criminal Titan of skewed proportions named Doublewide, and a drunk, blind codebreaker. All are gifted with snappy dialogue, and the mystery resolves with a sharp twist.
A fabulous thought experiment . . . The characters, who, as in other Harkaway books, arrive fully formed and linger long in the memory. Luckily, Harkaway has hinted this won't be the last we see of Chersenesos.
A highly entertaining, satisfying blend of classic detective noir and inventive speculative fiction
A wonderfully expansive and visionary piece of speculative fiction... Titanium Noir blends the best of the science fiction and crime genres to create something vibrant and new. Captivating from start to finish
Titanium Noir is a fun, twisty detective novel with a big science-fiction idea at its centre. Harkaway puts a new spin on classic noir themes
