William Gibson

[third man girl]

Originally posted by funes

I really dislike it when an author names any product by brand

What if it's really, really relevant? For instance, Mars bars. What other chocolate bar dunks into coffee as satisfactorily as Mars bars dunk into coffee?

He dunked his Toffee Crisp into his coffee, stirred and sucked.
And the crispie turned soggy.

He dunked his Bounty into his coffee, stirred and sucked.
And finished with a good flossing.

He dunked his Smarties into his coffee, stirred and sucked.
And reached for a sieve.

He dunked his Toblerone into his coffee, stirred and sucked.
And chipped his tooth, prising the wedges apart.

He dunked his Mars bar into his coffee, stirred and sucked. Dunked and sucked, again. Dunked and sucked . . .

Sorry, only 'Mars bar' works for me.

Third Man Girl

 

[javelin98]

Originally posted by SillyWabbit
That would be because it is based on a short story by Gibson

Regards
SillyWabbit

Yes, I know -- he actually co-wrote the screenplay, in fact. What I was trying to get at was the challenge of linking each story element to the Gibson story it came from. I think he hit on pretty much every story he had written up through Virtual Light, except for maybe The Difference Engine.

 

[alfinge]

I love his books to!

I'm hooked. He's great.

Has anyone else read William Gibson?

He just released a new book last week called Pattern Recognition. I haven't picked up my copy yet.

I've read Neuromancer, Idoru and All Tomorrow's Parties, all great.

I'd recommend Idoru or Neuromancer for a good first read.


Some say Gibson invented the internet. (In a manner of speaking)

Yeah, i know what u mean, his books is just Greate! And he invented cyberspace.

 

[alfinge]

I agree Gibson is one groovy cat, man! There is one thing about his writing, though I love it, that irratates me a little. Must he name every brand? Nobody ever wears JUST a jacket in a Gibson novel. It has to be a rebook jacket or something lol Just a minor thing

And yeah, you can read the books in any order you wish or independently. They are only linked by theme. My personal favorite is "Virtual Light."

Regards
SillyWabbit

Thats one of the things that i like, all the details

 

[Vellocet]

I love William Gibson's work. His novels have been a defining factor in my life. I started reading his books in 1994. I traded all of his books that I owned at the used book store once, only to re-buy them several years later. The only book of his that I have not read is Agrippa, but I saw parts of it online, it was very strange.

I read an interesting article in a journal dedicated to the Sci-Fi genre, aptly named "Science Fiction Studies" (rawr, I can't post the URL). In one issue it had a great article about how Cyberpunk is dead (long live cyberpunk!). Basically, it reasons that the present has become so fantastic that cyberpunk actually now takes place in our time and is no longer science fiction. As Gibson is the hallmark of cyberpunk I would say this is relatively true. Another argued that cyberpunk has been reformed into "cyberfolk", the technological advancement enabling strengthened communities. That one I don't know so much about, but it is also very Gibson-esque.

I disliked the movie Johnny Mnemonic, and I do believe that the failure of this movie made Gibson refuse to make any more of his works into films, I'd heard rumors of a Neuromancer movie but it got 86'd. However, there is a movie based on one of his short stories, it is called "New Rose Hotel" - it's pretty interesting.

Bruce Sterling is a pretty good author, I've read five or six of his novels, and I have to say The Difference Engine did no justice to either Bruce Sterling or William Gibson. I have actually talked to Bruce Sterling briefly via e-mail back in the early days of The Viridian Project (sorry no link). Sterling is a smart guy.

Back to Gibson...

I'm surprised no one has posted here after the release of Spook Country. Those of you who complained about branding would hate this book. I thought the prolific use of Apple Inc.'s computers in Pattern Recognition was a bit annoying but I got over it because it is a fantastic book. But in Spook Country Gibson uses the work iPod at least 100 times, very annoying, and frankly the book was terrible. Oh well, you can't win them all - and with an excellent track record like Gibson's I will forgive him.

 

[nemilar]

Don't know what it is, but..

I don't know what it is about Gibson, but I've tried three of his novels (Idoru, Neuromancer, and one other that escapes me at the moment) and I just can't stand it! Everyone seems to rave about it, but his writing style is too over-the-top for me. It's been a while, so it's hard for me to remember, but I think it was the way he describes every little detail of every scene, it makes it too difficult for me to get an image in my head. I prefer writers that leave a good deal of the scene to the reader's imagination.

 

[beer good]

In one issue it had a great article about how Cyberpunk is dead (long live cyberpunk!). Basically, it reasons that the present has become so fantastic that cyberpunk actually now takes place in our time and is no longer science fiction.

Absolutely, and to me, part of the great thing about Spook Country is that he actually makes that a plot point; nobody talks about cyberspace anymore because we're living in it - the borders have been erased. Quoting again one of my favourite passages:

"The pop star, as we knew her" – and here he bowed slightly, in her direction – "was actually an artefact of preubiquitous media."
"Of -?"
"Of a state in which 'mass' media existed, if you will, within the world."
"As opposed to?"
"Comprising it."

I'm surprised no one has posted here after the release of Spook Country.

Oh, but we have, and most of us loved it. To me, the whole issue of branding - while it can get annoying - is perfectly necessary to bring one of his points home; people today identify themselves by what products they use. The world is made up of ad campaigns and clever design.

 

[Vellocet]

I saw the Spook Country thread, which seemed to have affected this one. And thought what I had to say didn't really fit with Spook Country but with Gibson as a topic.

While I agree that people identify themselves with the brands they buy, I do not agree with the system that encourages this unhealthy behavior. Although I myself fall prey to It sometimes, how can one avoid it? This is the point Gibson makes in his earlier books. Spook Country, seemed to want to make similar points but couldn't. Gibson seemed too busy establishing the commercialized aspects of the characters that they just feel flat and pointless - aaand then there's the plot, which feels the same way.

I'm not one of those who will say "Oh, that Gibson sold out" (or any other such comments) it is too early to tell. I will eagerly await Gibson's next book, just as I have all the others, but henceforth I shall be skeptical.

 

[sparkchaser]

I don't know what it is about Gibson, but I've tried three of his novels (Idoru, Neuromancer, and one other that escapes me at the moment) and I just can't stand it! Everyone seems to rave about it, but his writing style is too over-the-top for me. It's been a while, so it's hard for me to remember, but I think it was the way he describes every little detail of every scene, it makes it too difficult for me to get an image in my head. I prefer writers that leave a good deal of the scene to the reader's imagination.

He does have an interesting writing style. At times his prose is very difficult for me to decipher. He's certainly not for everyone.

 

[sparkchaser]

I agree with beer good. I enjoyed Spook Country more than I thought I would; however, at times I felt bogged down by the prose and couldn't shake the feeling that he was toying with esoteric sentence structure in an attempt to drive me insane.

I felt that the branding was necessary. Being a contemporary novel, it would have been ludicrous to say "digital music player" when the word iPod would suffice. Ditto for the Phaeton and the Maybach. Using those brands firmly places the time period in the here and now.

 

[angerball]

At times his prose is very difficult for me to decipher.

Yup - that's exactly the problem I had with Spook Country. I'm determined to give him another try though, as so many people rave on about him!