Titanium Noir

A Novel

By: Nick Harkaway

Narrated by: Davis Brooks

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. • “Cross-genre brilliance from the superbly talented Nick Harkaway.” —William Gibson, New York Times best-selling author of Agency

"An exemplar of its genre, Titanium Noir twists and turns between excellent fun and deep melancholy." —The New York Times Book Review

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.

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 . . . a murdered Titan is unimaginable. But these modified magnates are Cal’s specialty. In fact, his own ex-girlfriend, Athena, is a Titan. And not just any—she is Stefan’s daughter, heir to the massive Tonfamecasca empire.

As the murder investigation intensifies, Cal begins to unravel the complicated threads of what should have been a straightforward case, and it becomes clear he’s on the trail of a crime whose roots run deep into the dark heart of the world.

©2023 Nick Harkaway (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“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." —The New York Times

“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.” —The Washington Post

“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." —The Wall Street Journal

darn good entertaining listen

A fun pulpy story that doesn't insult your intelligence. Looking forward to more like this.

Davis Brooks ROCKS!!!

Davis Brooks has so many voices, you'd think it was A PLAY happening. Great story.

Always love Nick Harkaway

And this is classic Harkaway. I always love the way he crafts a story, all the little bits that come together. Also, all the enjoyable characters, even if they’re minor. This makes me want to reread gnomon and the gone away world now. You can already read what the summary says, so I won’t repeat all that, just had to say that this book was extremely enjoyable and the voice actor really grew on me and I think fit the book well. I usually read his books on kindle, but this book has me wanting to do my rereads on audible.

A gripping sci fi noir

Although there is nothing truly innovative here, and the metaphor made flesh of the Titans is a bit on the nose, it’s great fun. Noir is an intrinsically exaggerated style, and it works perfectly here to telling a well paced and entertaining story. I’m not sure if there’s room for a sequel, but it’s a reminder of how sometimes good work can just be good, without needing to be groundbreaking.

Disappointed

I pre-ordered this book months ago when I saw a new Nick Harkaway story was coming due to my absolute love of Angelmaker and Gone Away World, both of which I’ve read several times over. This book is not them. It’s an interesting world I guess, but not really fleshed out or described in much detail. Nick seems to be trying to channel the 1930-40 style of Dick Tracey detective story, and the language used in this book is much more stunted in this style compared the previous two books mentioned here. i just found nothing about this case or story interesting. And worse, the things in the world that could have been interesting were completely glanced over. Tell us more about the titans for example! The history, where it started, the life of the oldest titan, etc. The story came to a resolution and all i could think was “ok”.

The narrator was ok, fairly bland. Again chosen likely to fit that same dry detective style.

Hopefully we get something again closer to Angelmaker or GAW in the future.

Fun listen

Great premise. Fun, twisty, suspenseful story. Perfect narration. Will be trying the author’s other books for sure.

The protagonist is an amazing character.

This is a gritty, old school detective story with a futuristic twist. The Detective is a charismatic character with heart, grit, and integrity. I sincerely hope this begins a series.

Main character depth

The backstory of sounder was great and I really enjoyed how every part of who he is played part in the case I would recommend this one

Down the rabbit hole

Loved the twists, turns, and backflips as our detective weaves between the haves and have nots while unraveling the mystery.

Amazing detective story with great twists

Just fantastic writing and well narrated adding a level of weight to the noir angle with cool sci-fi