British science fiction writer Richard Morgan, best known for his novel «Altered Carbon,» which was adapted for Netflix, spoke to Ukrainian readers. He talked about whether his new books will be published on the Russian market and mentioned his work with the game studio Gunzilla Game, which has an office in Kyiv.
British science fiction writer Richard Morgan, best known for his novel «Altered Carbon,» which was adapted for Netflix, spoke to Ukrainian readers. He talked about whether his new books will be published on the Russian market and mentioned his work with the game studio Gunzilla Game, which has an office in Kyiv.
The conversation with Morgan was broadcast by the Star Fortress project, which popularizes science fiction in Ukraine. During a Q/A session with readers, the writer was asked what he thought about publishing his books in Russia.
«It seems like my publishers won’t publish anything of mine in Russia. If they come to me with a contract for a Russian book, I won’t sign the deal,» said Richard Morgan.
He considers such a situation unlikely and added that, in his opinion, most European publishers do not work with the Russian Federation due to sanctions.
«I can say with my hand on my heart that I personally will not sell the rights to the fucking Russians. Fuck those uncles,» the writer declared.
He recalled that he cooperates with the Ukrainian-German video game company Gunzilla Games, which creates the battle royale Off the Grid, and had visited Kyiv several times before the Russian full-scale invasion.
«They hired me in 2020. I have good relationships with a lot of people from Ukraine. I really liked Kyiv. So for me it’s a personal story. So for me it’s like this not only because it’s morally right, but it’s also a personal anger that I feel very deeply. Because these people, my friends. It’s personal. I worked with them. It’s real. I was there. They’re shelling Kyiv, and I was walking those streets,» Morgan said.
According to him, the Russians are «the closest modern equivalent of the Nazis.»
«You can go through the list of who the Nazis are and mark them. Are they ethnoracists? Of course. They want to invade Ukraine for ethnic reasons. Do they use torture and commit war crimes? Absolutely. Go through the list and it turns out that they are fucking Nazis. That’s obvious,» the author of «Altered Carbon» explained.
Previously, director Neill Blomkamp, known for the films «District 9» and «Elysium», said that he had been thinking about a project in the gaming industry for several years, and finally got the opportunity. According to him, Richard Morgan contacted him and said that he was working on a game Off the Grid, which was inspired by the aesthetics of «Elysium»; he asked if Blomkamp would be interested in working together.
Gunzilla released Off The Grid in early access on PC (on the Epic Games Store) and consoles in 2024. The game features NFT items, and the game map features Ukrainian locations, such as «Little Kyiv.»
