Idoru by William Gibson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Idoru
Book Review: Amazing
Summary: 4 Stars
I am a big fan of Gibson's Sprawl stuff, and have shyed away from Virtual Light and Idoru for a while. I finally have read Idoru, and after finishing it, I am amazed.It would be easy to dimiss it as a book about a hologram and an aging rock star, but what Gibson is really talking about is what exactly it means to live in the information age. And think about it -- do you know what it means? Think about the parts of us that already exist, independent of us, from our physical selves -- your Equifax credit report, tax records ... and what is the next logical creature to take hold? A creature of pure information. Who is Rez? An aging rock star with good spin control. Who is the Idoru? A creature of pure information. Who is Laney? A medium between the physical and the digital. Who is Chia? A collector of information about Lo Rez. What binds them together? Information, and the convergence between the hard and real (the physical) and the symbolic and abstract (information). Gibson is addressing where the information age is taking us, the metamorphasis we are all going through. That is his genius.
Book Review: Amusing story but I am left bewildered about Rez and Rei Toei
Summary: 3 Stars
This book is a non-typical story of an aging rock star named Rez who wishes to marry Rei Toei, an idoru, a Japanese computer program of a beautiful woman (it's a bit more complicated than that). This outrageous premise is not explored to an extent that I personally would have liked. Many questions left unanswered there. Maybe Gibson intentionally wanted it to be that way.
The heart of the story, however, lies with Chia and Colin Laney. Chia is a teenage female fan from the Seattle chapter of Rez's fan club and travels to Tokyo to learn more about this "rumor" of Rez's engagement with the idoru. Laney is a guy with a talent for finding "nodal points" on computerized data for a particular person. Laney is hired to find the nodal point for Rez, to perhaps foresee what will happen to Rez.
Positives about book:
1. The construction of the future world and its metropolitan technologies and businesses is detailed and does not seem far-fetched.
2. I wanted to know more about what a nodal point is. I had to read to the conclusion of the book (from Laney's analyzing of Rez's fan-based data) to find the results.
3. The Walled City: the happening cyber place to be
4. The Blackwell character: mammoth, badly-scarred bodyguard of Rez
Problems:
1. Rez and the idoru. Gibson does not flesh out Rez enough, who is a minor character in the story. He just seems to be the stereotype of a rock celebrity who is mega-rich, flaky, capricious, and spoiled. A positive side to Rez is that he did not turn to drugs in his stardom nor ever was arrested for anything. So he's a goody-goody rocker--ever-popular and aging respectfully. He seems to have a fresh crop of female fans every several years.
To me Rez's love of the idoru needs more explanation because it is the driving force behind what's happening to Chia and Laney. How did Rez come to be enamored of this idoru, and what does she offer him? Does she provide cybersex for Rez or inspiration for his music to take on a new dimension? Does he want to exist in virtual reality with his love forever? I believe the book would have been better if Gibson wrote more about the relationship between these two "lovers."
2. What the heck is a nodal point again? I feel like an idiot. But I will have to do another reading to answer this question.
Perhaps this book will be better if I do reread it thoroughly. Or maybe if I read the sequel book it will help clear the muddiness.
Book Review: Another Glimpse into the Near-Future
Summary: 4 Stars
When an author writes a first novel as inventive and as startling as Neuromancer, everything that follows cannot possibly compete, no matter how good it is. So it is with Idoru. Gibson's speculative thriller follows two main characters: Colin Laney, a man whose brain has been altered by experimental drugs and who searches the internet for "nodal points" that explain reality at a level most people can't understand; and Chia Pet McKenzie, a Seattle teenager who belongs to a fan club chapter devoted to the rock group Lo/Rez. Laney is hired by Rez's security detail in Japan when the rock star announces that he will marry Rei Toei, a virtual reality pop idol. Rez's people are worried because they believe Rez must be under the influence of someone they haven't yet identified, and they need Laney to uncover the truth. Meanwhile, Chia also races to Japan, to see if the rumors of Rez's marriage to the non-woman are true. Subplots involving a vindictive former boss, nanotechnology, and Russian gangsters increase the stakes as both Laney and Chia find themselves skirting danger in both the real and the virtual worlds. The plot, while thin, is well-paced, and it has the trademark Gibson edginess.
Gibson writes well and convincingly, even with lyricism. He incorporates the specifics of his futuristic world with such confidence that the reader can suspend disbelief for the duration of the novel. The problem is, he has done it better before, and with greater detail, so fans are not likely to forgive him for a simpler world and story. Still, reading any Gibson book is a treat, especially compared with much of what's out there. His ability to incorporate near-future technology with an exciting story that fits perfectly inside this fabricated world is astounding even on this smaller scale.
I recommend this highly-readable novel for cyperpunk/sci-fi fans, as long as they don't expect this to be another Neuromancer. The lackluster ending is a disappointment, but the rest is vibrant enough to capture the imaginations of most readers.
Book Review: Best Gibson Book?
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a book about the future by someone who has obviously been there. It is news that stays news: even though it is now a few years old, it feels brand new. Gibson's thing is not telling us what gizmos the future will hold; his thing is telling us how we will relate to them. Meanwhile, he tells a gripping story of stuggle, sacrifice, victory, loyalty, betrayal, and loss. With plenty of action. I'd give up two internal organs to have written this.Book Review: Boring, plotless, derivative, annoying...save your money
Summary: 1 Stars
Being a Gibson fan, I was looking forward to Idoru. Gagh, what a waste. Throughout the entire book I kept wanting to chuck it. There's nothing new here, and the rehash is of substantially lesser quality than Gibson's earlier fiction. The plot is unoriginal and plodding; the characters are *very* poorly developed, even for Gibson (I didn't give a damn about any of them, except maybe Blackwell the incidental bodyguard); and the "style" (if you can call it that) was cheap, flashy, substanceless, and very derivative. The silly tense-switching device Gibson used was amateurish and fell completely flat -- he should read Heinlein's Moon is a Harsh Mistress to see how to play with grammar convincingly. Blech, this book was an insult. Gibson must've needed the bucks in a hurry, or something. If you're not a Gibson fan, skip it; and *especially* if you're a Gibson fan, skip it and spare yourself the disappointment.