Titanium Noir (Cal Sounder Series)

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Titans are Cal's specialty. Only a few thousand Titans exist worldwide, with the Tonfamecasca family among the most elite thanks to their discovery of the T7 therapy. As it happens, Cal’s ex-girlfriend, Athena, is a Titan and the daughter of Stefan Tonfamecasca, the head of the Tonfamecasca empire. Cal Sounder, a detective known for working on sensitive cases, is called in to investigate a homicide at a local apartment. The victim, a Titan - one of the genetically-altered elites, is over seven feet tall and appeared to be a typical techie at first glance. On closer inspection, he is found to be ninety years old despite looking no older than thirty, clearly a result of the T7 genetic therapy. The victim's murder is not only big news but also an unimaginable crime.

Learning to live with a body that’s been extended is no joke. Some (not many) have had several T shots over time—a long time.

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It's worth remembering that angry and ridiculous people can do bad and effective things just like anyone else. What if each dose resulted in the recipient becoming larger and heavier until they were several times the size and weight of an undosed human? 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. Cal's speciality, and the reason why the cops in Othrys call him in even if they don't always like him very much, is working on cases involving Titans—a new kind of humanity, rejuvenated and vigorous and very long-lived, but also literally bigger than life.

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. The mystery is well-crafted, and the characters are well-developed and engaging. The book takes us on a thrilling journey from opulent, affluent locations to the seediest bars and life-and-death cage matches. The world-building is excellent, and the story keeps readers guessing until the very end. The story is a little hard to get into at first, something to do with the writing style which seems a bit confusing, like looking through a foggy mirror. Cal has a history with Titans, being madly in love with one named Athena whose family owns the drug business, so part of the early difficulty is figuring out these past relationships and what they have to do with the crime at hand. And who is now trying to stop Cal from investigating.

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. 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. While I had a reasonably good time with the story and appreciated both the craft and the imagination on display, I felt somewhat distanced from it. Harkaway's writing becomes quite dense and as impressive as it is, it can detract from the story. Now, I'm sure many readers will appreciate this "literary" layer of the story. For me, it didn't always work. In other words, I appreciate how good and clever this book is but the fact remains I had to push myself here and there to continue reading it. Hence the rating.