''Black Man'' (published as ''Thirteen'' in North America and later UK editions) is a

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel by the British author Richard Morgan. It won the 2008

Arthur C. Clarke Award The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award i ...

Premise

Carl Marsalis is a

selectively bred Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant mal ...

human ("genetic variant") known as a "Thirteen", characterized by high aggression and low sociability. Bred to serve in a military capacity, Thirteens were later confined on reservations or

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

d to

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

. Carl, having won by

lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...

the right to return from

, works covertly, tracking down renegade Thirteens.

Related works

Morgan's 2018 novel '' Thin Air'' is set in the same reality, with another genetically-modified protagonist but with all the action taking place on Mars.

References

{{Arthur C. Clarke Award 2007 British novels British science fiction novels Novels set on Mars Novels by Richard Morgan Victor Gollancz Ltd books