Reviews

I don't know if it because I have recently read two of his other novels. But I found the entire book very predictable and unoriginal when compared with his other works. Pattern Recognition and Idoru are heavily similar. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I choose this because I enjoy Gibson. It just wasn't as special as previous ones.

smoochbelly's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

rocketiza's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Go to review page

5.0

I have never been a massive SF fan, but I really really enjoyed this book.

silverseaslug's review against another edition

Go to review page

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...

rennissence's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Go to review page

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.

More...