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I agree with a lot of this. He's said himself that when he got the contract for a novel, he didn't know how to write one, and was kind of panicked about being b

by beat 8y ago

I agree with a lot of this. He's said himself that when he got the contract for a novel, he didn't know how to write one, and was kind of panicked about being boring. That's why the first 60 pages or so of the book (through the Sense/Net strike to get the Dixie Flatline's cartridge) is like a nonstop adrenaline rush. It's so exciting! I had no idea science fiction could be like that, the first time I read it. I strongly agree that his best work was in Burning Chrome. Unfortunately, the only film adaptations of his work we have are two stories from that collection, and they were both awful in different ways. Johnny Mnemonic misses all but the barest outlines of the story - where's Molly? I can't believe they gave up the fight on the "Killing Floor" with Molly vs the vatgrown ninja in favor of blowing up a bridge. Sigh. New Rose Hotel, on the other hand, hewed very close to the original story - which was fine, except the story was only six pages long. As an aside, I have a band called The Gernsback Continuum, after the short story.

rlonstein 8y ago
> ... Gernsback Continuum... I agree with the thread sentiment that the short stories are better than the novels and novellas, though I enjoyed them when I read them in the 1980's and again, maybe less so, recently. But Gernsback Continuum really resonated with me and I love the idea and metaphor that these zeigeist-driven unrealized futures exist and shimmer at the edge of reality. Visible to the tired, drugged, and crazy it's solidly in the same camp as Burroughs and Dick.
- beat 8y ago
  Yeah, I love it too. The band name followed on the musical inspiration for the band, which was to play "What the future used to sound like". I'm inspired by the grand history of science fiction themed music - early electronic soundtracks like Forbidden Planet, Afrofuturist sounds like Parliament-Funkadelic and 1970s Miles Davis, Ziggy-era Bowie, Blade Runner, huge swaths of prog-rock... And here we are, living in that future, and it doesn't sound a damn bit like what we were told it would sound like. I'm also writing some songs that are actually science fiction short stories, set to music. It's an interesting challenge.

by beat 8y ago

rlonstein 8y ago

> ... Gernsback Continuum... I agree with the thread sentiment that the short stories are better than the novels and novellas, though I enjoyed them when I read them in the 1980's and again, maybe less so, recently. But Gernsback Continuum really resonated with me and I love the idea and metaphor that these zeigeist-driven unrealized futures exist and shimmer at the edge of reality. Visible to the tired, drugged, and crazy it's solidly in the same camp as Burroughs and Dick.

beat 8y ago
Yeah, I love it too. The band name followed on the musical inspiration for the band, which was to play "What the future used to sound like". I'm inspired by the grand history of science fiction themed music - early electronic soundtracks like Forbidden Planet, Afrofuturist sounds like Parliament-Funkadelic and 1970s Miles Davis, Ziggy-era Bowie, Blade Runner, huge swaths of prog-rock... And here we are, living in that future, and it doesn't sound a damn bit like what we were told it would sound like. I'm also writing some songs that are actually science fiction short stories, set to music. It's an interesting challenge.