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kcrouth's review against another edition
3.0
an interesting, fast moving story of both large and small people each playing a significant role in a elaborate plot. An exciting and enjoyable read.
songwind's review against another edition
1.0
This was the most elegantly written bad book I have read in a long time.
As usual, Gibson's use of language was excellent and evocative. He clearly researched his topics.
The problem comes from the fact that several of the topics were completely unnecessary, and added little or nothing to the story. Hollis Henry and the locative art angle, and by extension Bigend, Ollie, Odile, and the various artists were completely useless. There was no consequence to their actions. Nothing in the main plot involving the mystery box ended up being affected by their actions. But we still get dozens if not 100+ pages about them, and locative art.
The same is true of Milgrim and his heresy obsession. Milgrim performs one action, one time. There is no reason Brown couldn't have had his skill set, or a computer programmed to do the same thing. Instead we get page upon page about Rize, Ativan, and middle ages heresy. For nothing.
The Santeria angle is equally unnecessary, but at least it is background into Tito, who has the singular distinction on actually accomplishing something. Even then, he was just a foot soldier taking orders, not an actor in his own right.
To be honest, this book reads as though Gibson laid out a list of his current interests (messianism, Santeria, rich people, locative art, product placement, freerunning) and decided to see how he could shoehorn them into a book.
I was so very disappointed.
As usual, Gibson's use of language was excellent and evocative. He clearly researched his topics.
The problem comes from the fact that several of the topics were completely unnecessary, and added little or nothing to the story. Hollis Henry and the locative art angle, and by extension Bigend, Ollie, Odile, and the various artists were completely useless. There was no consequence to their actions. Nothing in the main plot involving the mystery box ended up being affected by their actions. But we still get dozens if not 100+ pages about them, and locative art.
The same is true of Milgrim and his heresy obsession. Milgrim performs one action, one time. There is no reason Brown couldn't have had his skill set, or a computer programmed to do the same thing. Instead we get page upon page about Rize, Ativan, and middle ages heresy. For nothing.
The Santeria angle is equally unnecessary, but at least it is background into Tito, who has the singular distinction on actually accomplishing something. Even then, he was just a foot soldier taking orders, not an actor in his own right.
To be honest, this book reads as though Gibson laid out a list of his current interests (messianism, Santeria, rich people, locative art, product placement, freerunning) and decided to see how he could shoehorn them into a book.
I was so very disappointed.
jason_pym's review against another edition
2.0
I love the cyberpunk stuff, because even when I didn't know what was going on there were lots of fun things to look at on the way. This is a straight forward thriller, and after 200 pages I didn't know what was going on, but this time it wasn't fun.
mg_in_md_'s review against another edition
1.0
good writing...but that didn't make up for the fact that i didn't enjoy reading this one at all. i had a hard time finishing the book and kept turning the pages hoping i'd eventually get into it. that didn't happen. i forced myself to finish the book and decided this wasn't the genre for me. i had high hopes and thought it would be more of a spy-vs.-spy thriller...well, it didn't thrill me. at least i can check it off of my "to read" list.
ruskie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
i11iane's review against another edition
1.0
Not quite sure if it's just Gibson, or the combination of the reader and Gibson that made it impossible for me to get into the book.
pezski's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Much better than Pattern Recognition - the constant brand commentary in that left me rather cold, perhaps I have some of Cayse's allergy to it.
Here. we have three plot threads that seem unrelated, but collide in the final fifth of the book. Gibson's terse, matter-of-fact yet observant style works well, keeping the interest throughout. I still can't quite give it a solid 5/5, but 4.5 rounded up.
I'm intrigued to see whether the final part of the trilogy brings the first two together.
Here. we have three plot threads that seem unrelated, but collide in the final fifth of the book. Gibson's terse, matter-of-fact yet observant style works well, keeping the interest throughout. I still can't quite give it a solid 5/5, but 4.5 rounded up.
I'm intrigued to see whether the final part of the trilogy brings the first two together.
sl0w_reader's review against another edition
2.0
Slow to get started, and with anti-climactic ending, it's not Gibson's best for sure. He can get the adrenaline going and pique your curiosity, and I really enjoyed character Tito's daemon oddities, but somehow the hint of some kind of strange new cyber technology didn't quite live up to expectations or seem to involve more than tracking a shipping container full of money, which itself seemed to be unimportant in the great scheme of things. What were these characters all so worked up about? In the end it was hard to tell, or to care.
elctrc's review against another edition
3.0
I was going to skip this one after hearing what most had to say about it. I loved his last (the first in this series), but this one starts off rough -- it felt juvenile and wonky. But I pushed through the first 50, and was soon pulled in just like with all of his work. Disappointed as usual with the ending, but all in all a fun read.