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smoochbelly's review against another edition
5.0
this is my favorite of the old sci-fi gibson.
i know it has something to do with nanotech and virtual idols and i think fame.
all of his books have run together in my head. i just have flashes of characters and moments in his big, mediated, digital, bleak world.
sorry you can't get the cool cover here in the U.S. i was on a trip and picked it up in a foreign airport. best airport book i ever bought.
i know it has something to do with nanotech and virtual idols and i think fame.
all of his books have run together in my head. i just have flashes of characters and moments in his big, mediated, digital, bleak world.
sorry you can't get the cool cover here in the U.S. i was on a trip and picked it up in a foreign airport. best airport book i ever bought.
rocketiza's review against another edition
4.0
Extremely relevant novel that explores fame and the cloud and makes you want to ask Gibson for some lottery numbers because 20 years before it happened he's somehow written commentary on today wrapped in a perfectly paced thriller.
ynoirb's review against another edition
5.0
I have never been a massive SF fan, but I really really enjoyed this book.
silverseaslug's review against another edition
I stopped reading this book because it reached terminal levels of cynicism. Not the fun sort of cynicism that John Scalzi writes, but the so-edgy-its-trying-too-hard annoying cynicism that hipsters embrace. It's possible that William Gibson was reading a lot of Phillip K Dick at the time and thought "Hey, I could do that!" But instead of creating a dark, introspective mood, he just goes around his version of a near-future distopia pointing out all the stains on the rug and the burnt-out light bulbs. This book was described as "immersive", but it's like being immersed in an apartment with bad lighting, scattered with empty pill bottles and unwashed dishes, and trying to identify that awful smell while scraping rancid egg off your shoe. No thanks!
I also realized that this was the second book in a series. I doubt I'll be going back to read the first one any time soon...
I also realized that this was the second book in a series. I doubt I'll be going back to read the first one any time soon...
rennissence's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
ladyjedi's review against another edition
3.0
Gibson doesn't do it for me. I liked this book much better than Neuromancer. I will read some of his other stuff, but not too crazy about him.
erikars's review against another edition
2.0
This page turning piece of fiction left me wondering whether or not there was any substance underneath the excitement. Gibson is an excellent painter of worlds and moods. But the plot is thin and the characters like store models, detailed on the outside but hollow on the inside. Overall, I would be happy to read another Gibson novel if one came into my hands, but I am not motivated to seek them out.
justiceofkalr's review against another edition
3.0
The first book in this trilogy, Virtual Light felt like it was missing something, though I could never quite put my finger on it. This book felt much improved to me and has convinced me to read the last book in this trilogy instead of dropping it. While it definitely wasn't Neuromancer, it was a fun read, especially the parts focusing around Laney and the relationship between Rez and the idoru Rei. Rei reminded me somewhat of the Puppetmaster from Ghost in the Shell. Chia's part of the story felt a little flat, probably because most of the action happened to her and she was usually passive and made few moves of her own volition. A couple characters from the first book make brief appearances, but most of the cast is all new.