Titanium Noir (Cal Sounder Series)

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Titanium Noir is a beautifully twisted, fast-paced neo-cyberpunk fairy tale. The perfect blend of Raymond Chandler and William Gibson.” An SF–tinged romp that blends elements of the noir thriller and the picaresque novel. . . . [Echoes] the Thomas Pynchon of Inherent Vice. . . . A tale of genetic manipulation—familiar to fans of movies such as RoboCop and Elysium. . . . An entertaining shaggy dog of a futuristic whodunit.”

T7 injections turn ordinary humans into super beings. It’s incredibly expensive, highly desirable. It can save one from all sorts of physical challenges but your intellect doesn’t improve. Maybe that’s offset by living a few hundred years. Maybe?! There are only a few thousand Titans worldwide, thanks to Stefan Tonfamecasca’s discovery of the controversial T7 genetic therapy, which elevated his family to godlike status. T7 turns average humans into near-immortal distortions of themselves—with immense physical proportions to match their ostentatious, unreachable lifestyles. A dead Titan is big news . . . amurderedTitan is unimaginable. But these modified magnates are Cal’s specialty. In fact, his own ex-girlfriend, Athena, is a Titan. And not justany—she is Stefan’s daughter, heir to the massive Tonfamecasca empire. 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. 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.This book is the greatest combination of Raymond Chandler's crime fiction meets film noir detective movies, with a plotline reminiscent of Del Toro's Strain series and the entertaining, dry-witted, sarcastic tone of Guy Ritchie's movies.

Titanium Noir is deft and hectic and so damn fun. It’s story-telling amphetamine laced with social commentary and it’s terrific.”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. Cal Sounder's Noirish style of commentary on his investigation into the death of a man that it shouldn't have been possible to murder served to integrate a complicated and intriguing murder plot and a view of a future world that made the gap between the really rich and the rest even more impossible to close than it is today. 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. 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's surprised by the routineness of it all. But when he arrives on scene, Cal soon learns that the victim—Roddy Tebbit, an otherwise milquetoast techie—is well over seven feet tall. And although he doesn't look a day over thirty, he is ninety-one years old. Tebbit is a Titan—one of this dystopian, near-future society's genetically altered elites. And this case is definitely Cal's thing.

Titanium Noir [is]a funny, voice-y book full of fantastic sentences that, as the youths say, absolutely slap. It’s the kind of writing that reminds you that poetry and detective fiction have a lot in common. . . .An exemplar of its genre, Titanium Noir twists and turns between excellent fun and deep melancholy.” Having noted a few anomalies at the scene, Cal follows up with a janitor with a hair fetish, the apartment commissionaire, neighbours, a casual lover, and the source of Roddy’s take-out last meal: he’s thorough. Turns out Roddy was down as an organ donor, so the cadaver upcycling depot gets a visit. He was a researcher at the University, so the somewhat anxious dean, and some of Roddy’s students, are questioned. 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.”Cal’s ex, Athena, daughter of discoverer of Titanium 7, and now herself a Titan, is interested in the case: at some stage, Roddy’s research involved work for Titan mogul, Stefan Tonfamecasca. Because it involves Titans, Cal needs to be diplomatic: rich and powerful means something a little different for a Titan: many are wealthy, but, given their size, their power is often physical and as well as influential. As Cal delves deeper into the truth about Roddy Tebbit's murder, he finds himself facing threats from the dark heart of the elite world. He realizes that nothing is as it seems, and he finds himself in a more dangerous position than he can handle. Harkaway again delivers a satisfying, slightly out of the ordinary story. Think a mash up of The Maltese Falcon meets Superman. Cal Sounder is an independent police consultant called into investigate unusual cases. In this moment, it is the possible murder of a Titan. What is a Titan you ask? Titans are ordinary humans injected with T7 that reverses the aging process and in so doing makes the recipient bigger, stronger, and almost immortal. Only the wealthy few and well protected can afford the treatment. So how did one of them end up dead of a gunshot? Sounder follows in the steps of other famous gumshoes think Sam Spade or Mike Hammer, in hunting down the killer. Clues that lead him to ex-lovers, bad cops, bad guys, good bad guys, both ordinary and Titan, and finally to the most dangerous and powerful Titan of all. This Titanium fueled who-done-it will not disappoint. If you like noir mysteries, characters like Sam Spade, Mike Hammer with a touch of Harrison Ford in Blade Runner, then get in line for a shot of Titanium Noir. Cal Sounder is occasionally hired by the police as a specialist detective when certain sensitive cases need a special touch. Thanks to a controversial new gene therapy drug, T7, there are a few thousand elite Titans. Taller, stronger and bigger in every way, Titans are men and women rich enough to buy themselves out of death. So when one does turn up dead, Cal has the right insider knowledge and connections to investigate it without becoming public knowledge, especially because his ex-girlfriend, Athena, is not only a Titan herself but also the daughter of the man who invested T7, Stefan Tonfamecasca. But when a Titan turns up murdered, then even Cal must think differently to find a killer before they strike again.