485 pages
English language
Published Nov. 6, 2014 by G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Depending on her veteran brother's benefits in a city where jobs outside the drug trade are rare, Flynne assists her brother's latest beta-test tech assignment only to uncover an elaborate murder scheme.
"William Gibson returns with his first novel since 2010's New York Times-bestselling Zero History. Where Flynne and her brother, Burton, live, jobs outside the drug business are rare. Fortunately, Burton has his veteran's benefits, for neural damage he suffered from implants during his time in the USMC's elite Haptic Recon force. Then one night Burton has to go out, but there's a job he's supposed to do-a job Flynne didn't know he had. Beta-testing part of a new game, he tells her. The job seems to be simple: work a perimeter around the image of a tower building. Little buglike things turn up. He's supposed to get in their way, edge them back. That's all there is to …
Depending on her veteran brother's benefits in a city where jobs outside the drug trade are rare, Flynne assists her brother's latest beta-test tech assignment only to uncover an elaborate murder scheme.
"William Gibson returns with his first novel since 2010's New York Times-bestselling Zero History. Where Flynne and her brother, Burton, live, jobs outside the drug business are rare. Fortunately, Burton has his veteran's benefits, for neural damage he suffered from implants during his time in the USMC's elite Haptic Recon force. Then one night Burton has to go out, but there's a job he's supposed to do-a job Flynne didn't know he had. Beta-testing part of a new game, he tells her. The job seems to be simple: work a perimeter around the image of a tower building. Little buglike things turn up. He's supposed to get in their way, edge them back. That's all there is to it. He's offering Flynne a good price to take over for him. What she sees, though, isn't what Burton told her to expect. It might be a game, but it might also be murder"--
"New novel from New York Times bestselling author William Gibson"--
A wonderful world to visit, a classic Gibson story that leaves you gasping "that escalated quickly"
This had been on the list for a re-read for a while. However, the news that a TV adaptation was about to land in October moved it to the top of the list.
I read this on release and my recollection of my impressions of this book were not positive. Yet again more evidence that past me was very different from now me. Maybe I was distracted or just not in a place to get this but it definitely resonated now.
Gibson is using the device of a future, parallel timeline that can interact with his primary timeline (in a very limited fashion) as a lens to explore the upcoming androgenic climate apocalypse. He calls it the 'jackpot' and posits that only the very rich, 'the klept' will survive.
As is usual with Gibson there is a lot going on here, too much to summarise in a small review. There …
This had been on the list for a re-read for a while. However, the news that a TV adaptation was about to land in October moved it to the top of the list.
I read this on release and my recollection of my impressions of this book were not positive. Yet again more evidence that past me was very different from now me. Maybe I was distracted or just not in a place to get this but it definitely resonated now.
Gibson is using the device of a future, parallel timeline that can interact with his primary timeline (in a very limited fashion) as a lens to explore the upcoming androgenic climate apocalypse. He calls it the 'jackpot' and posits that only the very rich, 'the klept' will survive.
As is usual with Gibson there is a lot going on here, too much to summarise in a small review. There is also that sense he always conveys of being about 5 minutes ahead of the zeitgeist.
A total banger of a book that set me up quite nicely for the upcoming TV show.
Read about 2/3s of the way, at which point I just got... bored of the whole thing? I dunno what I was expecting, I was never that big a Gibson fan in the first place.
EDIT: ok, powered through. If you like getting into an alt-future with no introduction to the world or terminology, William Gibson does it twice.
features all the Gibson favorites: messy bedrooms, custom-made tech, fancy clothing/body mods, reality show stars AND corporate takeovers.
