Count Zero by William Gibson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Count Zero
Book Review: The Father of Cyberpunk...
Summary: 4 Stars
It is interesting reading from the authors that sparked a new generation and quite possibly influenced a burgeoning technology. William Gibson is certainly one of those unique authors who have certainly earned their place in their genres. Count Zero is a continuation of a place, both online and in the physical place called The Sprawl. There is but one character found in both, The Finn, who played but a minor role, so the trilogy is a series only loosely.
The narrative style is a little flighty. Gibson focuses on three characters, with each represented by successive chapters: three chapters, three narratives, then loop again and again. It works in some ways because the reader isn't drowned in too many characters and can focus on the storyline, but at other times you are left wanting for of a specific scene or character, only to know that you now must wait. In the end this narrative style is only a minor nuisance that doesn't detract too much from the story.
I wish the book were longer, or that the Sprawl was described more, or that the "religious" deities were explained a little more, but who knows, maybe this will all come in the final book in the trilogy. Nonetheless Count Zero is a definite recommend.
4 stars.
Book Review: Why do I keep doing this to myself???
Summary: 3 Stars
I don't know why I keep doing this to myself. I run across a William Gibson novel, this time Count Zero. It's cyberpunk, so I know I like the genre. I remembered long ago liking Neuromancer. But then I check back on my last ten years of reading logs and find that I've consistently given Gibson 2's and 3's on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high). But I'm sure it'll be different this time... And once again, the answer is no. Love the writing, love the images, and am absolutely and totally lost when it comes to the plot (or what passes for one). I guess I'm just not sophisticated enough to "get it".
This mercenary is brought back into play by an agent to recover a coveted scientist from a rival company. The mercenary is actually "regrown" as he was blown to bits in a prior mission. But now he's back and pretty much a new person. But at the time the scientist is supposed to rendezvous with the extraction team, things go to pieces. And instead of the scientist, he actually sent out his daughter. Meanwhile in plotline #2, a woman is hired by an extremely rich individual to trace down the maker of a certain art item... a box of seemingly random items. But the rich guy is actually kept alive in an ever-expanding vat of chemicals while he apparently tries to figure out a way to inhabit a healthy body. And plotline #3 involves some guy who is a cowboy hacker and nearly gets killed running an online incursion using some unfamiliar security software that a friend asked him to try out. During his escape, he lost the software in his software deck when he was mugged. And now a number of murky characters really need to get that software back before bad things happen. And somehow, all three of these plotlines come together at the end. Just don't ask me to explain it, as it was beyond me...
Gibson can paint a cyperpunk scene better than nearly anyone. His contraptions and constructs aren't always explained, so you often have to keep reading, assuming that you'll piece it together later. Where I consistently come up short with his writing is with the story-line. As in, I don't get them, they're extremely obtuse, and you have to be either way smarter than I am or a complete sci-fi geek to understand. I'll admit to not doing "subtle" well, but "subtle" would be a step up in clarity for this book. I kept reading as I loved the imagery, but I knew about halfway through that I wasn't going to understand one of the plots at all, nor was I likely to get the ending, whatever it may turn out to be. I was right...
I won't argue with the conventional wisdom that Gibson is a master of the cyberpunk genre. I'm just sorry that, at least for me, the story-lines don't match up with the quality of the imagery.
Book Review: almost time for the ball to drop
Summary: 5 Stars
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the end is here.
Jamaican warriors, that's what Gibson's trilogy was about. & virtual reality. & viral art projects released by cyberpunks too pure for money.
A true blue patriot: william gib son.
esoteric memory games.
a bit intimidated by all the indentifications triggered upon the hacker populous. but they'll have fun reading
code.
two clicks: name t
hen
A. dress
one of the best books I've ever read, all I can do is attempt
a
tribute.
left
stag
growling.
Book Review: wonderful cyber prose
Summary: 5 Stars
You need to start with Neuromancer to get into this author but if you do, William Gibson will take you on the ultimate escapism read. He has been so far out in advance with his story lines, but not so far as to be complete nonsense, if you have ever used a computer, his style of fiction will draw you in. Maybe it mattered to me that I was in Japan at the time but the cyber-style books by Gibson really seem to make semi-sense and provided me with hours of enjoyable reading...