I loved the first book, thought the second was okay, bailed halfway through the third. I discovered that ultimately, I loved Altered Carbon more for the DNA it was building from (Neuromancer, Blade Runner, Dashiel Hammet, Philip K Dick, etc) than for what it actually was.,
The story is similar for the show. I really liked it-- but mostly because it was a great and well-done version of stuff I really like. I love cyberpunk stuff and this was a great entry into the genre. I think the first couple episodes were kind of expository, but once they got all the tech explanation out of the way for the audience it hummed along nicely. JoelMcCinnamon is great, so is Poe. Loved seeing Lester from Vinyl in something else. Lots of pretty people. Cast wise, Ortega is the only weak part for me-- she's not the best actor when it comes to the bigger emotional beats.
Curious about season 2-- will they keep Joel as Takeshi and find a way around him giving Riker his body back-- or will they go all Dr. Who and give us a new Takeshi every season?