Investigator Cal Sounder’s latest murder case involves an unlikely Titan. Most people who have received the miracle drug that makes them bigger and nearly indestructible are the elite who can afford its hefty price tag. Roddy, however, is a nerdy doctor who lives a modest lifestyle. One of his most indulgent purchases is the fancy gun that was used to kill him.

The world building is cool, particularly the immortality drug, the way it is used nearly exclusively on the elite, and its weird side effects. I liked the female characters, particularly Layla Catchpole (Cal’s femme fatale neighbor,) Musgrave (the forensic pathologist,) and Susan Green (the victim’s crooner girlfriend.) Smart and savvy Cal made a great hero. The mystery was well-plotted. The satisfying finale and resolution gave the story a nice symmetry.

That said, the execution left something to desire. A bloated cast, overly long monologues (both internal and external,) and a snail-like pace made the process of getting to the end somewhat excruciating.

The literary science-fiction style of the book reminded me of Lincoln Michel’s wonderful book “The Body Scout.”

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

Nick Harkaway builds up a rather successful - and fun-to-read - futuristic-ish crime thriller with Titanium Noir. Harkaway follows the usual crime tropes in following what seems to be an open-and-closed murder investigation. Until it isn’t. And aren’t they all? Harkaway’s protagonist is Cal Sounder, a freelance investigator for the police. He has all of the luck of Philip Marlowe and most of the mouth of Mike Hammer. Fun dude. Harkaway builds the character, the world, and the crime, and lets the reader settle in for something familiar, yet also rather fresh.

The kick of Titanium Noir revolves around the discovery of the wonder-drug T7, which provides the super-wealthy an artificial taste of immortality. This T7 removes sickness, aging, blemishes, and other unwanted proclivities, like listening to Blues Traveller or following Truth social. Recipients are then rebuilt in a new - and giant-sized! - body. These 1%ers of 1%ers are called Titans and make the antics of the Kardashians seem as tame as the Brady Bunch. They are spoiled. They are desired. They are untouchable. Until one of them is murdered.

Harkaway takes Sounder to the usual places to meet the usual suspects. In this world, everyone wants to be with, be around, or be like a Titan. Cal’s great love, Athena, happens to be one but he doesn’t hold that against her, even when the world seems to be conspiring against him. Through it all, Harkaway’s pace remains fresh. The T7 MacGuffin aside, the story, the mystery, is what matters. Technology is not a contrivance, in fact, that hardly registers. Titanium Noir takes place in a relatively unspecified location at an obtuse period of time. Take away the T7 and Sounder could be assembling his suspects in a post-war tea room reveal or running from Buicks down the shadowy streets of LA.

The mystery within is compelling and entertaining and becomes a bold statement for a still-somewhat burgeoning author. Harkaway keeps to the themes of the genre without falling into cliche yet does wrap up the conclusion perhaps too tidy. Of course, you write what you know. And Nick Harkaway, a pseudonym, has struck a writer’s path similar to, yet cleverly enough to hark away from, his father, who possessed one of the best known pseudonyms in all of fiction.

Titanium Noir is a quick, fun read that refuses to use sci-fi as a literary crutch. Any politics as a metaphor remains subdued as Harkaway opts instead for the all-too common gut punch. Something Cal receives plenty of while the reader enjoys the show.


Many thanks to Knopf for the digital ARC and the excuse to finally read a Harkaway novel.

Titanium Noir is not my kind of book, not because of the science fiction but because of the tough guy private eye plot. I requested it because Goneaway World is one of my favorites. Not at all disappointed since I loved this book.
The plot and characters are engaging enough that I feel anyone could become involved.
The violence was vivid but not excessive and always added to the setting and storyline.
Don’t know if the ending makes a second book impossible but I would really like reading more about the future setting and the Titans.

Cal Sounder is an ordinary human being to whom the police turn for assistance in 'certain' investigations. He has a certain expertise, or perhaps more accurately, an affinity for situations involving those members of society that have been enhanced. Such persons are called Titans for their greater size and strength, that is the result of being dosed with T7, a miracle drug that cures what ails you and extends lifespan to near immortality.

A Titan is dead and believed to be a suicide. Roddy Tebbit is large, but only so much so that he must be a one dose Titan. His circumstances seem to indicate that he is not among the elite who can afford the treatment. Cal is skeptical that it is suicide as he investigates other possibilities.

Stefan Tonfamecasca is the head of his family and the organization that bears his name. He is the discoverer of the T7 genetic therapy responsible for the few thousand Titans in the world.

Tonfamecasca. When I first came across this name, along with the name of the Titan stronghold in the city, Cersenesos, I had to stop and sound both out like a first grader. Somehow, getting these words to flow - Ton-fa-me-cas-ca and Cer-se-ne-sos - was important to me, unlike reading novels set in Russia, where I picture the long names without needing to actually be able to say them. What can I say? The mind adapts as it will to the difficult and unknown.

TITANIUM NOIR has all the twists and turns that are requisite to a good noir mystery along with an investigator that would make Sam Spade proud. The glitz and glamor of the Titan world is well contrasted with the seedier side of town populated with mere mortals and Titan wannabees. It is a genre bending tale that will appeal to the mystery buff as well as the speculative fiction aficionado. Both will find it a fascinating read with a blockbuster ending.

This book takes a bit to get up to speed with the world building but handles it fairly well. I enjoyed the mystery and callback to gumshoe detectives of old. Adding the Titans was a nice twist. That being said, this book just was not for me. Maybe this was too 'hard boiled' for me as the constant expletives seemed unnecessary. It was distracting enough that, by the end, I did not care that much.

Cal Sounder is a private detective in a futuristic world where the rich and powerful Titans are pretty much untouchable, but Cal works with the police to investigate crimes involving them anyway. The Titans are "created" when a serum called T7 is invented that has healing properties and promises to give them long lives, but more often than not, this comes with some significant physical changes, worse the more doses you get. Your bones become more dense and you grow taller and wider, but there are often psychological changes as well.

Cal is investigating the death of a Titan, which becomes a very, very involved investigation, leading Cal down trails that lead to increasing danger to him when he is forced to confront some of the most powerful Titans around. Oh, and his ex is one of them.

I loved this book because Cal made me think of the old gumshoe detectives, with Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon my favorite character. Cal had the same doggedness and inability to quit investigating until he solved the mystery, regardless of the toll it took on him personally .

As for the world building, it was phenomenal! It set the mood perfectly. There were also plenty of well developed secondary characters, some of whom were very colorful and interesting, as well.

All in all, I enjoyed this detective story very much and highly recommend it.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor Publishers, and Nick Harkaway for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A completely enjoyable romp. It takes a minute to get acclimated to the world in which we find ourselves, but once settled, it's a great ride. Great plotting, unpredictable twists and turns, and well drawn characters. Highly recommend.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

In TITANIUM NOIR, by Nick Harkaway, Cal Sounder is a detective who works mostly on special cases involving Titans. In this future world, affluent and/or influential people can inject themselves with T7, a drug that resets the aging process in their bodies but also makes them larger, hence the label Titan. Cal is brought in to investigate a case that begins rather routine, but quickly it becomes clear to Cal that not only is this Titan special case, but it is part of a larger conspiracy that could change the face of Titan creation forever.
By being a classic detective mystery where if the protagonist keeps following the evidence, he will unveil the truth, coupled with a sci-fi twist that is entertaining and thought-provoking, this book is a very unique and fun read. So many colorful characters, including a shady bar owner, a mysterious and attractive former lover, a sinister mob boss type, and a jealous relative to name few. Harkaway does a good job making Cal Sounder so appealing and three dimensional, but his ability to also tell a great story and create this one-of-a-kind world and intertwine those great characters into it all is remarkable. The ending is a surprise, but still quite logical and consistent to the rest of the book.
I really enjoyed this book and I recommend TITANIUM NOIR to anyone who likes mysteries, sci-fi, good writing, and strong characters. You really can't go wrong reading this book.

The book turned out to be quite enjoyable. I liked the world building, where they invented a life potion, but it costs astronomical money and makes people grow bigger and taller, thus the name of titans. The main character is a detective who tries to figure out who killed one of the titans. There is a lot going on in the story, and it reads fast and exciting. It was hard to put down. The ending was satisfying. The book is well written and I had fun reading it

I received a free digital copy of the book from NetGalley

Oh, this was really good!

It’s a seamless mix of SF and Crime that should please readers of either genre.

I loved Cal and the all the Titan stuff was terrific. However, it also works wonderfully as a crime/detective novel and I was completely engaged in a very dark murder investigation.

The book is fast paced and entertaining and every single character was engaging.

Would love to read this author again!

• ARC via Publisher

3.5/5. On paper this sounds right up my alley, and the premise and plot did capture my interest for the first 25% or so. But my interest steadily waned, and given that I did not complete his most popular book 'Gone-Away World', maybe this author is just not for me.

I wanted the world to be fleshed out more. The idea of an elite class of Titans was interesting, but it felt like the ramifications of their existence was barely explored except in the service of the murder plot. And by the end of the book I barely cared about the resolution to that plot.

Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway was surprisingly amazing.
My first time picking up a book by Harkaway and I’m thrilled to say he sucked me deep into a story I was not wanting escape from.
What I enjoyed most is the fascinating world-building he has created.
This dystopian noir type story was well written and honestly very interesting.
The mystery was gripping with well written characters.
A fast-paced and thrilling ride from start to finish.
The complex characters and twisting plot will keep readers turning the pages and eager to finish this exciting new read.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Knopf for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Screams noir from the very first (excellent) sentence. Cal Sounder — hard-nosed detective (with a heart, of course) -- specializes in “socio-medical criminal investigations.” In other words, he gets called in on highly sensitive cases — those concerning the Titans, the medically enhanced elite who run … everything. In this case he gets thrown a murder -- of a very odd Titan.
I liked this book a lot — it made me think, it surprised me (after 50+ years of reading SF, this is difficult to do), and it was quite well-written. The banter between characters was edgy and often laugh out loud funny (in the wry snorting kind of way); the plot kept twisting in unexpected directions; and the rich inner life of our hero often featured struggles with confusing philosophical issues. I really liked the way being / becoming a Titan had a cost. Nothing about the story was straightforward. A side note in the story — writing with a pen engages theta rhythms and parietal lobe activity in the brain leading to better and faster retention. I knew it!

Great for fans of John Varley’s Irontown Blues — one of my favorites.

Some good quotes:
“No need to waste a perfectly good bit of bad news with conversation.”

“In her hands, a corpse is like one of those old Bibles chained up in a dusty room, not only the printed text and the rich colours of the pictures, but the records of marriage and birth and deaths in the back pages, the history of a town.”

“If either one of them was possessed of a rich and healthy interior life, we wouldn’t be meeting at Victor’s.”

“But at the end, he clapped, the way people clap when they’re crying inside.”

“She hates old movies and TV shows. A lot of people do, without knowing why. It doesn’t occur to them to notice that we’re locked to the patterns of life in the moment T7 was developed, as if there can’t be new things because the old ones aren’t going away.”

“I should have preferred him discursive. I suspect his death is very much of his own engineering, thought of course one always looks to the employer in such a context.”

Very enjoyable detective thriller set in a slightly futuristic world where medical engineering has created a group of super human individuals. Context of power and greed. Excellent read. Thank you to #netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to review

4 stars
This was an enjoyable read. I loved the classic noir feel in the more modern time. It was a fun guessing game with all of the twists. I’ll certainly be looking up more books by Nick Harkaway.

We open with a dead nerd, a small caliber slug still rattling around in his brainpan. We're supposed to believe it's a suicide, but who orders take out before taking himself out? The dead nerd leads to sirens of various sorts, the loud, the vivacious, and the duplicitous. And things just keep unraveling from there.

What a fun read full of interesting concepts. Harkaway isn't the first author to write sci-fi noir, but his take is fresh and just delightful. The noir wordplay is over-the-top and Harkaway is fully aware and fully in control. He does everything but break the fourth wall, "Hey, you know. I'm in on the joke. And so are you!" This is a great strength of this book. A less skilled author could never pull it off.

So while the execution of the noir concept is amusing, the plot is quite serious and a little disturbing. The contrast is refreshing. It pulls us through a compelling mystery story full of fun surprises.

I received a digital copy from Knopf via NetGalley in exchange for this review and no other compensation. I generally give generous star ratings to pre-published books I enjoy and decline to review books I didn't. I'm delighted to recommend it to readers of sci-fi. It is an immensely fun read.

Review of Uncorrected Proof

In Chersenesos, private detective Cal Sounder is consulting with the police; thus, he finds himself investigating the murder of ninety-one-year-old Titan Roddy Tebbit. And the Titans, humans turned into long-living giants thanks to the controversial drug Titanium 7, are Cal’s specialty.

The murder of a Titan is almost unimaginable. Humans modified using the T7 genetic therapy discovered [and controlled] by Stefan Tonfamecasca, experience immense growth. But there are only a few thousand of these almost-immortal beings; the cost of the T7 therapy is prohibitive. And the Titans, along with their wealth, are society’s powerful elite.

So who killed Roddy? And, perhaps more importantly, why?

=========

The world-building in this near-future dystopian tale is commendable; readers are sure to find the inventive plot quite intriguing. In true classic noir fashion, the mystery surrounding the murder of Roddy Tebbit exposes secrets, offers readers unexpected twists, and keeps them guessing with well-placed red herring.

The characters are spot-on for the tale; the hero is both resourceful and clever. The pace is quick, the unfolding tale compelling. The book is recommended; however, readers should be aware that it suffers from extensive overuse of a particularly offensive expletive; this lowers the rating for the book.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, Knopf and NetGalley
#TitaniumNoir #NetGalley

I don’t usually like to compare books with other books, but I have to admit that I agree with the blurb that this is sort of a mashup of Philip K. Dick and Raymond Chandler. Cal Sounder is Philip Marlowe transplanted to some vaguely dystopian future, a city called Cheresenos, probably somewhere in the Balkans, but it doesn’t matter. The point is that this is a place where, like Chandler’s Los Angeles, there are two sets of rules depending on where you fall in the city’s power structure. And like Marlowe, Cal doesn’t have power, but he is often called upon by both the police and the powerful to deal with those tricky cases that might be problematic or downright impossible for the police to involve themselves in.

The powerful in Cheresenos are Titans, especially those in Stefan Tonfamecasca’s family, which includes Stefan’s daughter Athena, Cal’s girlfriend before she became a Titan. So what is a Titan? It’s somebody with enough money and power to buy themselves T7 therapy, which gives the recipient back their youth, with the advantage/disadvantage that it also makes the recipient around seven feet tall. There are other side effects too, and they morph when and if the recipient gets more doses.

There are only a few thousand Titans in the world, making it particularly notable when one is found murdered. He’s a puzzling case, since he was apparently given T7 by a benefactor and worked a real job. Cal is the obvious choice to investigate, which he does doggedly, touching base with his many contacts on the seamier side of Cheresenos as well as the Titan community—and getting regular life-threatening assaults along the way.

This is a wildly colorful techno-futuristic hardboiled detective story—with a heart. Another winner by the reliably inventive Nick Harkaway, who deserves to be much better known.

This was a fun and different book to read. The author nailed the noir feel - the story transported me back to those old-style tough detective books. But the setting was modern and interesting - a group of "titans" exist among regular humans, and our detective Cal Sounder is called in for the unusual cases that might be tricky/involve the titans. There is murder (of course), intrigue, and I really enjoyed discovering what happened. But I especially enjoyed the atmosphere along the way.