All Tomorrow's Parties by William Gibson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of All Tomorrow's Parties
Book Review: A stimulation to the gray cells...
Summary: 5 Stars
A brilliantly futuristic, `digital' writing style, rich with metaphors that border on the surreal and a thought-provoking storyline leaves the reader with a faint tingling in the peripheral nerve endings. Woven around the principles of tomorrow's sciences - nanotechnology, virtual reality - `All Tomorrow's Parties' is part thriller, part sci-fi and part a work of postmodern literature. In speaking of `wind farms', `money in little tabs of plastic', `nanobots', Gibson fast-forwards us to an era in the future. At the same time, he throws open the door to a new interpretation of history that is definitely mind-bending. His hypothesis: in every epoch, since the dawn of time, there have been `nodal points', the points from which change emerges.
He speaks of such a `change' again...
A set of apparently disjointed events flow in a linear progression until they all converge at a vortex. This is where it all ends, or rather begins - The Golden Gate Bridge. Colin Laney, who has the uncanny ability to predict the future by interpreting the `data flow' around him; Tessa, an Australian media student at Los Angeles; Rydell, an ex-cop; Fontaine, a collector of antique watches; Cody Harwood, a megalomaniacal media mogul; Rei Toei, a beautiful, virtual icon, all converge at San Francisco. They are present at a decisive juncture in space and time to witness something, something which will alter the course of their destiny, their futures.
Grab a copy if you want to stroke your gray cells!
Book Review: A trilogy I could do without
Summary: 3 Stars
I was not impressed with Virtual Light, and only moderately impressed with Idoru, and so I was not surprised that All Tomorows Parties did not quicken my pulse. Maybe Gibson is only good when covering new ground, and the ground he's covered in these books seems tired to any experienced cyberpunk fan. Not that the book is terrible - it is readable, and enjoyable. Just not up to what one would expect from the man who wrote Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Mona Lisa Overdrive.
Book Review: After IDORU Gibson presents this disappointment
Summary: 1 Stars
William Gibson's novel ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES brings together characters from his novels VIRTUAL LIGHT and IDORU and places them into an apocalyptic event in San Francisco that is meant to mean a new beginning for the world.The novel begins with the fact that Colin Laney has gone insane, the inevitable result of being used to test an experimental drug in a federal orphanage. He's living in a cardboard city in a Tokyo subway, living off stimulants and blue cough syrup, obsessed with an approaching "nodal point," an event in history which will change everything. Chevette and Rydell from VIRTUAL LIGHT provide most of the book's action, as Laney in his miserable surroundings rules the plot from the background.
ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES is a disappointment. I've stated in my review for IDORU that Gibson's novels are often showcases for interesting ideas but with poor plots. Here I must confess that even Gibson's usual future speculations are missing. The book's action is sketched with little detail, as if Gibson already knows what's going on and neglects to mention it to the reader. A good comparison is watching a symphony orchestra performing on television with the volume muted; one can see the conductor motioning but the music is not there. I really cannot fathom how the book got past the editor. The only truly interesting scene is the final appearance of Rei Toei, the Idoru, which doesn't happen until nearly the end of the book's 300 pages. Furthermore, Gibson's characters act rather different from in their previous novels, and this creates a continuity problem.
IDORU was a decent book, recommendable to anyone sitting in an airport for a couple of hours with nothing to do, although it certainly isn't great literature. ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES, on the other hand, is a great failure. Even if you've already read IDORU, I would suggest not moving on to this book.
Book Review: Always thought provoking.
Summary: 4 Stars
It's kind of amazing the way Gibson creates disturbing, alternative worlds and makes us believe in them, while at the same time linking them to the present world via surreal cyber connections. It's really a reinterpretation of our reality. There are people, after all, who live on bridges... It's a fascinating book, imaginative and thought provoking and a must read if you like to wonder about the future. Don't strain your brain trying to follow the plot line, just go along for the magical mystery tour.Book Review: Am I missing something?
Summary: 1 Stars
I was prepared for an exciting ending that would tie everything together. What a dissapointment!