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specs's Reviews (135)
Eh. This was ok. I finished it mostly to see how Newman spun the Reichenbach Falls, not really because reading was all that fun. If I had read more Sherlock, this might have been much more enjoyable.
I liked the first half so much better than the second, in which I lost track of the scheming, military British guys.
I loved how ambitious this was! While I love a good, claustrophobic zombie story, if you're going to really dig into the science and the fall of modern society, do it this way: go big.
This was...not good. The first fantasy book I've ever read that I really didn't enjoy. Is this what people think fantasy is like? Can we blame Wizard's First Rule for all the fantasy stereotypes?
I finished this a while ago and I'm trying now (a few months later) to remember something I liked about it. I liked the dragon? And the first few chapters weren't bad. But there's some bizarre, transparent S&M side story, and then the author gets all libertarian and "PEOPLE ARE SHEEP" and ugh. UGH. Nothing here is unconventional or interesting enough to get over the bad writing and the inane political philosophizing.
I finished this a while ago and I'm trying now (a few months later) to remember something I liked about it. I liked the dragon? And the first few chapters weren't bad. But there's some bizarre, transparent S&M side story, and then the author gets all libertarian and "PEOPLE ARE SHEEP" and ugh. UGH. Nothing here is unconventional or interesting enough to get over the bad writing and the inane political philosophizing.
This trilogy is so, so good. Another one that were great when I was a teenager and still hold up to rereading as an adult.
Gibson is always good. Even on his worst days (which, this may be one of them) he's still got better ideas and characters than other authors at their best. But this wasn't great. The world-building took too long and didn't figure prominently enough in the wrap-up to be worth it. Maybe this is because post-apocalyptic cityscapes are old hat now (...that we live in The Future?), so readers (I) don't need chapters of description. You can do a minimum of sketching of a culture of squatters living on a defunct bridge and I can fill in the rest of the picture.
I think the emphasis on VR put some other readers off, but I enjoyed it. Is this old enough to be retrofuture? In any case, it's very 90s, which I found charmingly nostalgic. It's like going through old yearbooks, if your yearbooks included a "what will things be like in THE FUTURE" section. And if they were full of people you'd actually want to see again.
I think the emphasis on VR put some other readers off, but I enjoyed it. Is this old enough to be retrofuture? In any case, it's very 90s, which I found charmingly nostalgic. It's like going through old yearbooks, if your yearbooks included a "what will things be like in THE FUTURE" section. And if they were full of people you'd actually want to see again.
I liked this one much more than Virtual Light, although neither are his best work. But this one felt more human, which is interesting given the plot. Having a hard time coming up with anything intelligent to say about this, so... thumbs up! I liked the characters, liked the concept, and as always, loved his lean writing style.
