Count Zero by William Gibson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Count Zero
Book Review: My favorite cyberpunk novel
Summary: 5 Stars
I am an expert in computer malware and computer security. That's what I do for a living, is to be a pundit on these topics. The road that put me to this is a story unto itself, but let's just say the last twenty some years of my life are all about hackers, cybercrime, and malicious computer code. (bear with me here--there's a point to be made)
In 1986 I was working at Eagle Computer with my high school buddy, Keith. (Keith was one of those ultra competent people who could do whatever he set his mind to, and usually do it pretty dang well) Keith had gotten me into the computer industry for the second time, and we both read the works of William Gibson and smiled the secret smile of the insider.
You see, we knew hackers. Famous (infamous is probably closer to the fact) hackers of the 1980's, we had 'handles' on 'elite' BBS systems, we had copies of the Technical Reference Manual, the Pink Shirt book, and many other arcane reference.
And we read Gibson.
Count Zero describes a world so fully lit that it has nearly come to pass in reality. From the mincome arcologies of the sprawl, to the drug dealer transformed into an underground icon of the Finn. (Mister Gibson, we love the Finn!) to Bobby Newmark, whose own abilities are not as important as the protective guidance of eldritch computer gods and dumb luck. (this part of Count Zero is stark realism, we are all dependent on dumb luck or providence in most ways.)
The point of telling you who I am is this. I meet these characters wherever I go. The Bobbies...the Jaylenes, the Turners--THESE PEOPLE EXIST! In Moscow and Dubai and New York and San Francisco and Sydney and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah---the modern world is populated with the characters from Count Zero. Every Hat (white black gray or blue) I have met is one of these people. And it goes without saying that everyone in the world of computer security has read this book.
Monday I taught a class in malware taxonomy and basic principles in England (to new sales and marketing types in our UK office) and I gave away a copy of this book as one of a clutch of prizes.
Mister Gibson, if you read this review, can you give us an origin story on the Finn? Your other work is just as brilliant, each in it's own way, but this is the prime cut.
The best Science Fiction not only predicts the future, it invents it. The next time you encounter a botnet or identity thieving keylogger, think of this novel.
persevere,
Book Review: On receiving an interrupt, decrement the count to zero.
Summary: 5 Stars
If you loved Neuromancer, you'll love Count Zero. Great read.
Check it out.
Book Review: Pretty awesome story
Summary: 4 Stars
Kudos to Gibson for inspiring computer sci majors to lift his material. Did Gibson get $$$ for the Matrix films? I don't know, but Gibson kept me on the edge the whole way through this book. It's believable, mysterious, and very interesting. Lots of action here too.Book Review: SF NOIR...POETIC DREAMSCAPES OF A DISTOPIC FUTURE...(Part 2)
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read this masterpiece (together with the other two of the Sprawl series: NEUROMANCER and MONA LISA OVERDRIVE) during my university years, about a decade ago. Since then I have re-read it countless times.
Of the three this is my favorite: good and evil voodoo legbas as AI cyberspace avatars; life in the Sprawl comes into focus, sharply. The eye-watering smog and the ozone smell of new electronics surround a storyline that moves on deserted highways with the assurance of an armored hovercraft..
Even reading only some pages brings up powerful imagery, unforgettable prose...
Start with NEUROMANCER. Then this one. And then MONA LISA OVERDRIVE.
A Masterpiece Trilogy!!! Own them all!!!
Book Review: Stylish cyberpunk
Summary: 5 Stars
Gibson holds high standards, so this makes for a fast-moving, engrossing read. There's the vastly wealthy but secretive tycoon, guiding events from behind the scenes with power and money. Net-surfers of the future run their scams and battles in an electronic underworld. A slightly naive art historian tracks mysterious artworks to an semi-abandoned space station. You know, the usual.
The memorable touch comes from reference to Joseph Cornell, a real-world artist. He created desktop glimpses into baffling worlds, some of most moving artworks I've ever experienced. The mysterious artworks in this plot echo Cornell's work. For me, that's plenty of reason to be obsessive about them.
So, it's the best of both. SF noir with style, and an homage to one of the most brilliant artists of recent times.
-- wiredweird