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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
This might be the best of the Blue Ant trilogy; a densely woven and deeply paranoiac take on the early 21st century, again centered around the enigmatic Hubertus Bigend and the krewe of misfits he collects around himself, in furtherance of incredibly abstruse ends.
What separates this one from the others is that Gibson finally takes the trilogy full gonzo. The previous two books I read and thought something like "That's it? I see weirder stuff in my inbox before breakfast." I refuse to spoil Zero History, but finally the objects of desire are worthy of Gibson's innate weirdness.
As always, the language is a masterpiece of materiality, the perfect post-industrial rendering of designs and artefacts. The characters, are, well, Gibson characters, but then you read these books for the sentences, and the sparks of strangeness that seem to be ripped from the headlines.
What separates this one from the others is that Gibson finally takes the trilogy full gonzo. The previous two books I read and thought something like "That's it? I see weirder stuff in my inbox before breakfast." I refuse to spoil Zero History, but finally the objects of desire are worthy of Gibson's innate weirdness.
As always, the language is a masterpiece of materiality, the perfect post-industrial rendering of designs and artefacts. The characters, are, well, Gibson characters, but then you read these books for the sentences, and the sparks of strangeness that seem to be ripped from the headlines.
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gibson’s characters are all such unicorns, it’s a bit difficult to relate: they’re retired rock stars transitioning into investigative journalism, or mind-bogglingly rich business moguls cool-hunting the latest trends, or super secret fashion designers jetting between London and Tokyo. They speak in cryptic utterances, just to drive home how in the know they are, and how behind the times you—the reader—are, mired in the present moment. They live in a future just three seconds from now, that is also somehow a decade from now. I guess that’s to be expected from an author whose most common quote is “The future is already here—it's just not very evenly distributed.”
It’s interesting to read this trilogy, then, about ten years after he wrote it. Many things still feel relevant, especially the technology embedded in all of his storylines. Other things—like social media—seemed to have escaped his crystal ball entirely. (Or perhaps he doesn’t care to write about our withering attention spans and addiction to novelty and outrage?) For this outing, he’s taken all of his interests (art, fashion, technology) and wrapped them up with some heist hijinks plus some very special denim. It felt supremely silly, and I was a little disappointed: it’s not as though one reads these for the character development. I was counting on some higher stakes! That’s not to say I won’t read more of his books, but I'll feel less intimidated by the important-sounding people, knowing as I do now that
It’s interesting to read this trilogy, then, about ten years after he wrote it. Many things still feel relevant, especially the technology embedded in all of his storylines. Other things—like social media—seemed to have escaped his crystal ball entirely. (Or perhaps he doesn’t care to write about our withering attention spans and addiction to novelty and outrage?) For this outing, he’s taken all of his interests (art, fashion, technology) and wrapped them up with some heist hijinks plus some very special denim. It felt supremely silly, and I was a little disappointed: it’s not as though one reads these for the character development. I was counting on some higher stakes! That’s not to say I won’t read more of his books, but I'll feel less intimidated by the important-sounding people, knowing as I do now that
Spoiler
they are probably running around London, dodging assassins and henchmen in pursuit of a swell jacket.
The Blue Ant novels all told are interesting and engaging, but not necessarily Gibson’s most captivating. More than anything it’s interesting, 15 years on, to see what Gibson predicted correctly and what feels really dated. As always, great style.
Engrossing and fascinating commentary on the value of knowledge, secrets, and the modern surveillance state. Excellent work outlining the present day that seems at once both familiar and futuristic while highlighting both the great and terrible things "living in the future" can bring.
Zero history was a fascinating read. Gibson has a real talent of creating plausible yet otherworldly stories set in the world of cool somewhere behind our mundane world. The characters live by their own rules and seem to be oblivious of the worries, or even existence of normal people. Gibson’s books are adult daydreams: If I wanted to be a superhero after reading comics when younger, I now want to be ex singer of 90’s cult rock band, or a clothes designer, after reading Zero History.
Ordinarily I would only give 1 star to a book I didn't finish. However despite the unengaging story, Gibson's prose is as poetic as ever.
One of the things I love about Gibson's writing style is that most of the story is set-up and putting pieces in place for a relatively short but exciting climax. The downside of this is that things can drag-on if you don't click with the situation he is setting up. I got into "Spook Country" faster because it introduced the idea of spies working toward some kind of end goal almost from the start. With "Zero History" I was happy to be reading the continuing story of characters I liked but found the overall subject matter a bit tedious because it didn't seem to have a strong reason for being interesting. So this time, the last 20% of the book was the most engaging for me.