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mwx1010's review against another edition
4.0
Idoru is the middle entry in Gibson’s Bridge trilogy, bookended by Virtual Light and All Tomorrow’s Parties. I’m rereading these after a long gap (I think I read them on original release and maybe once since, but never in quick succession).
All of the usual Gibson hallmarks are present and correct - minor (and sometimes major characters from previous novels recur), everyone seems to be chasing a MacGuffin around for reasons which seem forced at the least. This is the one that deals with celebrity, fan culture, otaku and the nature of humanity. It’s better than I remembered - my recollection was that this was the week link in the series, but on re-reading it stands up and is in many ways better than it’s predecessor.
All of the usual Gibson hallmarks are present and correct - minor (and sometimes major characters from previous novels recur), everyone seems to be chasing a MacGuffin around for reasons which seem forced at the least. This is the one that deals with celebrity, fan culture, otaku and the nature of humanity. It’s better than I remembered - my recollection was that this was the week link in the series, but on re-reading it stands up and is in many ways better than it’s predecessor.
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
3.0
William Gibson's books are, like Neil Gaiman's after him, almost exclusively predicated on Super Cool Ideas. And the Ideas in question are indeed Super Cool; there was a Black Mirror episode with essentially the exact same concept, because Black Mirror steals nine out of ten of their "ideas" (I didn't watch the actual episode), and it was pretty popular, around two decades after Gibson's Super Cool Idea first hit the market. Anyway, this is Hatsune Miku.
laci's review against another edition
4.0
Quite a bit different from the first one. It took me some time to really get into it, but I ended up liking it.
the_oakland_readers's review against another edition
3.0
Fandom in William Gibson's cyber-punk world allows a 14 year old girl to travel to Japan to see whether or not her idol 1/2 of the cornily named "Lo/Rez" is seriously planning to marry a holographic pop idol or "idoru". Entertaining as always.
termith's review against another edition
3.0
Первая часть показалась получше, потому что, видимо, была первым произведением Гибсона, которое меня заинтересовало. Во втором недостатки проявились более отчетливо.
Самый главный - это странная динамика сюжета. Очень долгая завязка и нагромождение действий в конце. Так было и в первой, и во второй. Кроме этого, сам сюжет во второй части менее интересен.
Однако "экшн" и герои по-прежнему на высоте. Берусь за третью.
Самый главный - это странная динамика сюжета. Очень долгая завязка и нагромождение действий в конце. Так было и в первой, и во второй. Кроме этого, сам сюжет во второй части менее интересен.
Однако "экшн" и герои по-прежнему на высоте. Берусь за третью.
sbossen's review against another edition
4.0
Gibson is a gifted writer. Some people may be put off by his futuristic/technical settings, but the characters are fresh enough that the setting does not distract. Gibson has a sense of the future as it is likely to happen. This book was written in 1996 and often science fiction books begin to get that 'dated' feel, this book does not. One thing that was missing from this book was character growth and prevented it from getting five stars. The main character of this book is a flawed person, but in the end I did not feel like I learned anything new about life or that the main character's life was significantly affected by the outcome of the story. Perhaps I just missed it. Still would definately recommend this book to sci-fi fans.
larsinio's review against another edition
4.0
This book struck me, more than anything, as an attempt to streamline Gibson into something more digestible by a wider audience. This struck me as incongruous with my previous opinions of him... but i guess looking at his later detective stuff, is entirely the direction desired and it seems to start here?
This book has lot of great ideas and description of gadgets, cities, and japanese modern society protocols. Its a vivid depiction of a "Neo Tokyo" type place, *before it was cool*. It also features great characters that seem to have multiple sides and are interesting. This characteristic was a great improvement over Virtual Light in particular. However, the plot falls thin as in barely anything happens. The things that do happen are relatively uninspired and a bit boring. All the action in the book could fit in three chapters. Characters have their advantages discussed ad nauseum and then they never really use them. The book seems like it should be a lot longer. I want to have more book happen.. i would gladly read it. If you combine the good things of Virtual Light with the good things of this one, it would be a really great book.
Page after page of blank pages!! Why!
Upped to 4 stars after reflection. I do like the character she creates here, the memorable setting, the Rez fanclub, the nifty . Its a big improvement over Virtual Light
This book has lot of great ideas and description of gadgets, cities, and japanese modern society protocols. Its a vivid depiction of a "Neo Tokyo" type place, *before it was cool*. It also features great characters that seem to have multiple sides and are interesting. This characteristic was a great improvement over Virtual Light in particular. However, the plot falls thin as in barely anything happens. The things that do happen are relatively uninspired and a bit boring. All the action in the book could fit in three chapters. Characters have their advantages discussed ad nauseum and then they never really use them. The book seems like it should be a lot longer. I want to have more book happen.. i would gladly read it. If you combine the good things of Virtual Light with the good things of this one, it would be a really great book.
Page after page of blank pages!! Why!
Upped to 4 stars after reflection. I do like the character she creates here, the memorable setting, the Rez fanclub, the nifty . Its a big improvement over Virtual Light
rufus666's review against another edition
5.0
awesome. cool. hip.
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A Book Review of William Gibson's Idoru
Gibson's prose is so solid you can bang your head to it. It is shiny and elegant and compact - like a Macintosh product. Gibson's no-nonsense approach to dialogue is apparent here. It is told in third-person omniscient. There are a lot of interesting characters.
Chia Pet McKenzie. Zona Rosa. Keith Blackwell. Colin Laney.
Gibson has this gift of giving his characters wonderful, hip, names.
The idoru is this virtual superstar in Japan. An idol.
Another character is this aging, world-famous rockstar, adored by millions of teenage female fans. These female fans form fan clubs. CHia is from the Seattle branch of the fan club. ZOna Rosa is from the Mexican branch. Chia is sent to Japan to confirm on the rumor of their famous beloved rockstar marrying the Japanese idoru.
Nanotechnology is involved.
And Colin Laney, the 'quant' ties all these threads together.
Gibson's Idoru is catered to those who have already read his other works - Neuromancer, Mona Lisa Overdrive, etc. Though of course you can read it on its own. One develops a taste for Gibson's style. It then turns into an addiction. And soon one finds oneself having withdrawal symptoms. Right now, I am aching for that novel following this one (All Tomorrow's Parties) which I cannot find in the bookstores here in Manila
Mar 20, '11 10:44 PM
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A Book Review of William Gibson's Idoru
Gibson's prose is so solid you can bang your head to it. It is shiny and elegant and compact - like a Macintosh product. Gibson's no-nonsense approach to dialogue is apparent here. It is told in third-person omniscient. There are a lot of interesting characters.
Chia Pet McKenzie. Zona Rosa. Keith Blackwell. Colin Laney.
Gibson has this gift of giving his characters wonderful, hip, names.
The idoru is this virtual superstar in Japan. An idol.
Another character is this aging, world-famous rockstar, adored by millions of teenage female fans. These female fans form fan clubs. CHia is from the Seattle branch of the fan club. ZOna Rosa is from the Mexican branch. Chia is sent to Japan to confirm on the rumor of their famous beloved rockstar marrying the Japanese idoru.
Nanotechnology is involved.
And Colin Laney, the 'quant' ties all these threads together.
Gibson's Idoru is catered to those who have already read his other works - Neuromancer, Mona Lisa Overdrive, etc. Though of course you can read it on its own. One develops a taste for Gibson's style. It then turns into an addiction. And soon one finds oneself having withdrawal symptoms. Right now, I am aching for that novel following this one (All Tomorrow's Parties) which I cannot find in the bookstores here in Manila
Mar 20, '11 10:44 PM
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valhecka's review against another edition
5.0
I love this, and I loved Virtual Light before it. It's both more impressionistic and at the same time more relatable than the Sprawl sequence, I feel like - and I also feel like I'm starting to get a handle on Gibson's arc concepts, the stuff he really wants to dig into. It's nice.