When Netflix canceled Altered Carbon in 2020, I was devastated that the story of Takeshi Kovacs hadn’t made it past the second season, but the ending of Altered Carbon season 2 eventually caused me to engage with the franchise in a way I may never have done otherwise. I love sci-fi, and Altered Carbon season 1 immediately pulled me in. The show’s premise was unlike any I had ever seen, and it was at a time when Netflix was favoring the genre and creating sci-fi projects with stunning visuals.

Sure, Altered Carbon season 2 didn’t quite live up to the quality of the show’s inaugural run, but I feel it was still good enough to continue. However, even now, I still feel strongly that Altered Carbon season 1 is one of the best shows on Netflix. I believe the saga could have redeemed itself if Altered Carbon season 3 had been greenlit, but I’m quietly grateful the adaption of the Richard K Morgan book trilogy was axed.

Netflix Canceling Altered Carbon Made Me Buy The Book Trilogy (Which Is Far Better)

Richard K Morgan’s source material made me fall in love with the story even more

I was incredibly frustrated when I heard the news that Altered Carbon season 3 wasn’t happening. As well as just generally enjoying the ride, it felt clear to me that the story was headed somewhere big. So, I was delighted when I found out the show had been adapted from a book trilogy by Richard K Morgan. I ordered the novels shortly after to find out what would have happened if Netflix’s version of Altered Carbon had continued. By the end of book one, also called Altered Carbon, I was thoroughly impressed by how well Netflix had translated the story for the screen.

As I began book two, Broken Angels, I was gobsmacked by how different Altered Carbon season 2 was by comparison. Furthermore, I was overjoyed to discover that the books weren’t just equal to the show, but far superior to Netflix’s efforts. I’m aware it’s not a contrarian opinion to say the source material is often better, but my main point is how severely Netflix neglected the books after Altered Carbon season 1. In short, I’m relieved the show ended, as it led me to pick up the books and enjoy them to a much greater extent than the live-action version.

Why The Takeshi Kovacs Trilogy Is Better Than The Netflix Show

Netflix’s Altered Carbon strays too far from the structure of the books

The Altered Carbon source material is semi-anthological. The three books are connected, but not in an incredibly overt way. Any arcs across the trilogy are so subtle that they’d be incredibly easier to recapture even if the reader went years between installments. Netflix clearly didn’t want to commit to this framework, but instead engaged in a half-baked version of what Morgan had laid out. The Altered Carbon TV show tried too hard to serialize the saga, with returning characters and direct continuations of storylines – neither of which are especially prominent in the books.

Despite its intentional lack of traditional flow, the Takeshi Kovacs book trilogy does form an epic story that spans decades – with the franchise’s hero present in some form throughout. Instead of honoring the roughly standalone structure of Morgan’s three books, Netflix’s attempts to alter the story’s structure ultimately harmed the overall project. In addition, the author’s work was largely ignored after the first book, with the studio using his universe as a playground to create an original yet underwhelming follow-up to Altered Carbon season 1.

I’m Still A Little Disappointed Altered Carbon’s Other Books Were Never Adapted

The final 2 Takeshi Kovacs books were largely ignored by Netflix

While Altered Carbon season 1 was incredibly faithful to the first book in the trilogy, Altered Carbon season 2 borrowed no more than a handful of elements from Broken Angels to build its narrative. The final book in the trilogy, Woken Furies, was ignored completely. As a result, most of the source material never made it to the screen during Netflix’s adaptation process. Although I might never have read the books had the show continued, I’d still love to see the final two novels given the same respectful treatment that the first received.

There are several storylines and big set pieces in both Broken Angels and Woken Furies that would have been beautiful to watch unfold in a big-budget production like Netflix has proven capable of pulling off. What makes it even more annoying is that the story Netflix put together for Altered Carbon season 2 was incredibly lukewarm when compared with the source material, making the entire endeavor seem like a waste. Thankfully, I’ll always have the books to ease the pain of Altered Carbon‘s decline and eventual cancelation.