Virtual Light by William Gibson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Virtual Light
Book Review: Dreck by the alleged master of cyberpunk
Summary: 2 Stars
I picked up this book on a whim since the description on the back cover sounded really cool. It sounded like it would be in the vein and vision of James Cameron's "Dark Angel", one of my favourite T.V. shows of all time. Also the No-Cal and So-Cal concept sounded neat. However, the back cover summary turned out to be the best thing about this mess; this novel is terrible. The main thing I have to complain about with Virtual Light is the author's writing style. It is immensely confusing and short-phrased. After the first few chapters, I felt completely lost, and thought to myself: Who is this? What is that? Obviously Gibson did not feel the need to develop characters. I completely agree with an earlier reviewer who pointed out that Gibson writes as though him and the reader are sharing some kind of inside joke. I have 3 words for Gibson; Background, Character, Development!! One can not get thrown into the middle of a story without any development whatsoever and be expected to figure out things by himself but this is exactly what Gibson does to the reader. I'll admit that Gibson has a very active imagination, however the way he writes frustrates me to no end.
So for those of you looking for a good cyberpunk read, I would recommend looking elsewhere. I'm going to try Neal Stephenson's "snow crash" next, hopefully I won't be as dissapointed.
Book Review: Excellent cyberpunk.. couldn't put it down!
Summary: 5 Stars
Gibson is most definitely one of science fiction's best writers. The characters in this book are very vivid and the technology he describes is fascinating. The bridge was a great concept, as was the Shapely sub-story, I also was intrigued by the television watching Christian sect. This book, and others like it, are what make reading a great form of escape and entertainment for me and thousands of other people. Check this one out!
Book Review: Fast-paced and Suspenseful
Summary: 5 Stars
Virtual Light is a good read. Although very different than Neuromancer, William Gibson's cyberpunk classic, it is still very well written. The book is not only suspenseful, fast-paced, and imaginative, but it has just a hint of humor throughout. All of these things make you want to keep turning the pages, just to see what Chevette and Rydell will do next. Chevette is a bicycle messenger with an attitude. After some tough luck, she finally has her life pretty much on track and doesn't want to screw it up. Rydell went through some rough times too, but finally has a job that looks promising. He gets hired to help with the hunt for Chevette after she steals a pair of glasses, and something goes wrong.
The plot of the book jumps around at first. It's a bit confusing, but after a few chapters you get the hang of it, and kind of figure out what is going on. The use of technology in the book was surprisingly sparse, compared to many other cyberpunk novels. What I especially liked was Gibson's use of humor. It was thrown in, in all the right places, which really made the book more interesting.
Gibson describes all the characters in the book very vividly. It is very easy to sense what they are thinking and feeling. He also creates a vivid setting. Rydell moves from Tennessee to what used to be California, but is now NoCal and SoCal, two different states. All aspects of the setting are believable and conceivable. This is only the second Gibson novel I've read, but I liked it better than Neuromancer. Everything was much easier to believe and understand, and the entire novel was action packed. The suspense of the book wouldn't let me put it down.
Book Review: Faster moving,even if not "true cyberpunk"
Summary: 5 Stars
I enjoyed this book immensely, and I have tried to read Gibson's books "in order" (Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa, and then this one). Although some people may be quite right in claiming that this book contains not quite the technological visions in the great quantities that were in his previous writings, the plot moved along at a quick pace.Yes, his writing style would be considered sparse, and in this one even more so than usual, but the characters were interesting, and I guess I found the habitation of the Bridge to be fascinating. I think if you are wanting hard core tech, look elsewhere. However if you enjoy a writing style which to me personally was more a mix of pulp and some sci-fi, than you will enjoy this book.
Book Review: Finally a plot!
Summary: 4 Stars
no descriptions of what it is eg: polygons etc, but how people interact with and deal with tech, the Gibson three b rule applies here Bridges, Bums, and Billionares A reasonable read