Idoru (Hardcover)

I could not escape the comparison as I was reading the book, and chances are you won't be able to either. It makes the story that much more powerful and scary.

Gibson takes us to a place where the Internet may be in the future. The richness that he ascribes to it is far beyond where we are today, and shows us what may be possible using the latest VR technology at the end of the decade. He also gives us glimpses into the complex social issues surrounding the increase in "Reality" media and the unparralled access the media channels have into celebrity and everyday lives. For those reviewers who seem to think he is writing about the Internet as it exists today, I would suggest they re-read the book. I work in Technology, and some of the concepts he describes sent shivers down my spine. Others simply made me sit back and go "WOW!"

I found it refreshing that an author also knows how to tell a story and move on. While this does leave some filling in of the characters to be done by the reader, it makes for a compelling, exciting read.

I could not put the book down!

First, the idea of a srich, spoiled, pampered and out-of-touch with reality pop star wanting to mary a computer generated woman isn't really unusual given the context. It's no more strange than something Michael Jackson, Prince or any of their ilk have actually done. I also think that there could have been a subtle homoerotic subtext to the whole premise considering the only programmers of the idoru that were mentioned were all men who apparently created their idealized woman from a PC rather than go out in the world and find a real woman. Basically after reading this the original premise now seems uninteresting.

I might have even liked the premise better if the writing had been better. It was confusing, disjointed and nearly impossible to follow what there was of a narrative for most of the book. The characters were completely unbelievable as was most of the action. Much of the seemingly interesting ideas that were brought up such as an earthquake destroyed Tokyo being rebulit by nanotechnology were mere sidebars that went nowhere.

it seems to me that Gibson has great ideas, but then does all the wrong things with them. The only other book of this that I have read is "The Difference Engine" cowritten with Bruce Sterling. This book suffered from the same problem. A great idea that went nowhere and didn't explore the real potential of the original premise.

I'm still going to give Neuromancer a try, but if it is no better than what I have read so far I will never read Willam Gibson again.