First published in 2004 by Victor Gollancz Ltd, the book is Morgan's third novel, the first two being part of the Takeshi Kovacs series. "Market Forces" satirises corporate practices and globalisation and carries the theme of competition throughout the story. Violence is used as a metaphor for the mechanisms underlying capitalism and assumptions about haves and have-nots are challenged. It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 2005 and was nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award. Though book reviewers gave it a mixed reception, Morgan's descriptive writing and action sequences received praise.