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sisteray's review against another edition
4.0
When Virtual Light came out I was excited to see Gibson’s approach to near future. It was packed with fun futurist ideas injected into a wild action story
I started Idoru when it came out, but I lost my copy and despite liking what I read, I never went back to it. I figured after a time I wouldn’t remember where I was and I’d have to reread the thing again. So 25+ years later here we are.
Idoru is far more about showcasing Gibson’s ideas about media, AI, stardom, communication platforms, information retrieval, and privacy than it is about plot. The characters while having their own story arcs are more vehicles to bump into and present concepts and ideas for living in a near future and the plot is far less about high action or danger.
Most Gibson that I have read starts throwing the reader into a lot if disjointed gobbledygook, and the fun if it is figuring out what the hell all the jargon is referring to. This is no different. But as I sank into the book I was deeply compelled to keep the pages turned.
It’s tough to keep a reader engaged flip-flopping back and forth between two main characters with disjointed stories, but honestly I was always excited to dig back into where we left the last character. One of the characters has ADD, so the tone of flitting back and forth with short chapters was perfect.
The predictive concepts are fun to examine 25 years later as some ideas are still futuristic, some are present today and some are horribly outmoded. It looks like Douglas Adams still wins for the Hitchhiker’s Guide being closest to a cell phone.
I screamed through the last hundred pages in one late night sitting because I was so into it. Totally glad that I returned to this.
I started Idoru when it came out, but I lost my copy and despite liking what I read, I never went back to it. I figured after a time I wouldn’t remember where I was and I’d have to reread the thing again. So 25+ years later here we are.
Idoru is far more about showcasing Gibson’s ideas about media, AI, stardom, communication platforms, information retrieval, and privacy than it is about plot. The characters while having their own story arcs are more vehicles to bump into and present concepts and ideas for living in a near future and the plot is far less about high action or danger.
Most Gibson that I have read starts throwing the reader into a lot if disjointed gobbledygook, and the fun if it is figuring out what the hell all the jargon is referring to. This is no different. But as I sank into the book I was deeply compelled to keep the pages turned.
It’s tough to keep a reader engaged flip-flopping back and forth between two main characters with disjointed stories, but honestly I was always excited to dig back into where we left the last character. One of the characters has ADD, so the tone of flitting back and forth with short chapters was perfect.
The predictive concepts are fun to examine 25 years later as some ideas are still futuristic, some are present today and some are horribly outmoded. It looks like Douglas Adams still wins for the Hitchhiker’s Guide being closest to a cell phone.
I screamed through the last hundred pages in one late night sitting because I was so into it. Totally glad that I returned to this.
jonmhansen's review against another edition
4.0
Huh. Interesting, some times a bit difficult, but impressive the things it gets about the Interwebs despite being written twenty-odd years ago, when the World Wide Web was just getting off the ground.
scifimagpie's review against another edition
5.0
The first time I read this some years ago - I was still in university, I believe - I definitely didn't get it. There were lots of cultural and scientific things that went over my head. Reading William Gibson novels can be like speeding through a multilevel overpass in the dark on the way into an enormous city - beautiful, fast, confusing, and surreal, with too much for the mind to encompass fully. However, with knowledge of social media, influencer culture, basic nanotech, sex toys, David Bowie's and Brian Eno's music, and the fascist cultural resurgence in the States, and transhumanism, as well as vocaloids, I could actually follow along this time.
The prose is rather beautiful, and often witty, although there were still a few cartoonish moments - a particular Russian Kombinat member sticks out. That being said, there's a nuance and grace to the depictions of various characters that impressed me. He actually managed to make a 14-year-old girl both believable and likeable without sexualising or romanticizing her - which, for authors in this genre, is actually worth commenting on. (Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash, for instance, does not treat its teenage female character quite so thoughtfully.)
The one criticism I'd probably levy is simply that his books are dense, and while it's still a thrilling ride if you don't catch all the little details, it could probably be really confusing.
Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to rereading other books in the series and picking up from where I left off. Comparing what he got right to what's different in our world will be really interesting.
The prose is rather beautiful, and often witty, although there were still a few cartoonish moments - a particular Russian Kombinat member sticks out. That being said, there's a nuance and grace to the depictions of various characters that impressed me. He actually managed to make a 14-year-old girl both believable and likeable without sexualising or romanticizing her - which, for authors in this genre, is actually worth commenting on. (Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash, for instance, does not treat its teenage female character quite so thoughtfully.)
The one criticism I'd probably levy is simply that his books are dense, and while it's still a thrilling ride if you don't catch all the little details, it could probably be really confusing.
Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to rereading other books in the series and picking up from where I left off. Comparing what he got right to what's different in our world will be really interesting.
billd's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
William Gibson has been hit or miss for me. There are times I just don't get and don't want to get his books; The Difference Engine (w/ Bruce Sterling) and The Peripheral for example. I gave up on both books. But when it works and, for the most part I'd say it does, it really works. The Bridge Trilogy, Virtual Light (#1), All Tomorrow's Parties (#3) and now Idoru (#2) are perfect examples. I enjoyed this whole trilogy, having given 5 - stars to Virtual Light and now to Idoru.
Gibson's take on Sci-Fi, like Philip K Dick and others is unique. Idoru is a wonderful mix of Sci-Fi and excellent, sympathetic characters and just a downright excellent story. I won't say I understood all of the technology, but what the heck, for such a great story, it didn't matter. I just sort of swam in it and enjoyed the ride.
Let's see, the story in brief. Two characters, teenager Chia and middle-aged? man, Laney find themselves in Tokyo. They are there for different reasons but their lives will become intertwined. Chia is a rep from the American fan club for an experimental internettish band, Lo-Rez who has been sent by her club to find out what's the what with Rez, the band's leader. It seems that Rez has fallen in love with an internet, hologram, the Idoru and they plan to marry. Laneey used to work for a ... um.... public relations sort of company, Slitscan, but was fired after a girl he was tracking online (he uses nodal research... see what I mean about technology??) committed suicide. Laney is trying for a new job working for Rez's security team, using his nodal abilities to find out about Idoru.
So, that's it, sort of. There are a few little twists. Mary Alice, who flies to Tokyo on the same flight as Chia, slips some kind of contraband into Chia's backpack, without Chia realizing. This will bring the Russians, the Kombinat, and Mary Alice's boyfriend into the picture as they try to find Chia. Laney's old boss, Kathy, is after him, trying to blackmail him to helping them get Rez.
There are fantastic characters in this story. Besides, Laney and Chia, there are Blackwell, the Aussie man mountain who protects Rez. There is Mr. Yamazaki, the mild assistant to Blackwell, who will make another appearance in All Tomorrow's Parties. There is Masashiko, brother of one of the Tokyo fan club members of Lo-Rez, who is a member of The Walled City, a 'free' internet site who will assist Chia so very much. My favorite character is Arleigh, who works for Blackwell as well, and who, while a reasonably minor character, helps Laney so very much. She's just lovely, common sense, brave... Even Mary Alice is nat. Not to forget Chia's fan club member Nona Rosa, a troubled character whose story, such as it is revealed, will hit you in the heart.
It's such a well-crafted, drawn story. Future Tokyo is fascinating, the story moves along at a steady, attention-grabbing pace, each chapter alternating from Chia to Laney's storyline. As their lives become more intrinsically linked, thanks to the Idoru, the pace picks up and your involvement with the story and characters will deepen. Fascinating, excellent story. Loved it so much. It reminded me of why I enjoy Sci-Fi so very much. Thank you, William Gibson (5.0 stars)
Gibson's take on Sci-Fi, like Philip K Dick and others is unique. Idoru is a wonderful mix of Sci-Fi and excellent, sympathetic characters and just a downright excellent story. I won't say I understood all of the technology, but what the heck, for such a great story, it didn't matter. I just sort of swam in it and enjoyed the ride.
Let's see, the story in brief. Two characters, teenager Chia and middle-aged? man, Laney find themselves in Tokyo. They are there for different reasons but their lives will become intertwined. Chia is a rep from the American fan club for an experimental internettish band, Lo-Rez who has been sent by her club to find out what's the what with Rez, the band's leader. It seems that Rez has fallen in love with an internet, hologram, the Idoru and they plan to marry. Laneey used to work for a ... um.... public relations sort of company, Slitscan, but was fired after a girl he was tracking online (he uses nodal research... see what I mean about technology??) committed suicide. Laney is trying for a new job working for Rez's security team, using his nodal abilities to find out about Idoru.
So, that's it, sort of. There are a few little twists. Mary Alice, who flies to Tokyo on the same flight as Chia, slips some kind of contraband into Chia's backpack, without Chia realizing. This will bring the Russians, the Kombinat, and Mary Alice's boyfriend into the picture as they try to find Chia. Laney's old boss, Kathy, is after him, trying to blackmail him to helping them get Rez.
There are fantastic characters in this story. Besides, Laney and Chia, there are Blackwell, the Aussie man mountain who protects Rez. There is Mr. Yamazaki, the mild assistant to Blackwell, who will make another appearance in All Tomorrow's Parties. There is Masashiko, brother of one of the Tokyo fan club members of Lo-Rez, who is a member of The Walled City, a 'free' internet site who will assist Chia so very much. My favorite character is Arleigh, who works for Blackwell as well, and who, while a reasonably minor character, helps Laney so very much. She's just lovely, common sense, brave... Even Mary Alice is nat. Not to forget Chia's fan club member Nona Rosa, a troubled character whose story, such as it is revealed, will hit you in the heart.
It's such a well-crafted, drawn story. Future Tokyo is fascinating, the story moves along at a steady, attention-grabbing pace, each chapter alternating from Chia to Laney's storyline. As their lives become more intrinsically linked, thanks to the Idoru, the pace picks up and your involvement with the story and characters will deepen. Fascinating, excellent story. Loved it so much. It reminded me of why I enjoy Sci-Fi so very much. Thank you, William Gibson (5.0 stars)
dzengota's review against another edition
4.0
While not as sharp as Virtual Light, and not delivering as fully on the philosophical promise of adaptive AIs and their sociological implications, Idoru still continues the form and vibe of the Bridge trilogy extremely well.
This book has some of my favorite cynical impressions of the future. I love popstar fanclubs as international corporations. I love international corporations as celebrity obsessed stalkers. And I especially love clubs entirely tone-deaf to the implications of being themed around Franz Kafka.
This book has some of my favorite cynical impressions of the future. I love popstar fanclubs as international corporations. I love international corporations as celebrity obsessed stalkers. And I especially love clubs entirely tone-deaf to the implications of being themed around Franz Kafka.
ndz's review against another edition
3.0
Termine leyéndola mucho después que "All Tomorrow's Parties", pero es hasta ahora mi favorita de Gibson. Mejor ritmo. Toda la novela sigue a dos personajes principales, alternando capítulos, que intervienen en el mismo acontenciomiento pero no se enteran gran cosa uno del otro. "Popular culture is the testbed of our futurity" es una delcaración de principios. También tiene mejores chistes, varios de ellos a costa de un programa traductor que tiene serias dificultades con expresiones como "otaku" y "chinga tu madre".
geofisch's review against another edition
5.0
Much better than Virtual Light, which was really very good.
joshmaher's review against another edition
5.0
Page turner start to finish, loved the characters, the culture, the imagination. I the end... well I liked the end too, so will you.