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I had no idea William Gibson was so insightful and urbane. I suppose I might have read Necromancer without any appreciation of how early it came in the timeline

I had no idea William Gibson was so insightful and urbane. I suppose I might have read Necromancer without any appreciation of how early it came in the timeline of cyberpunk literature, but I was never able to get into it. After reading this interview, I feel pretty compelled to give Zero History a look.

LiveTheDream 16y ago
Neuromancer?
- Gianteye 16y ago
  Oh my yes. Where's my head at. Neuromancer.
mblakele 16y ago
Gibson does seem like a rewarding conversationalist. I wish I liked his last book more than I did. Everything Gibson said in this interview was interesting and worthwhile. But I found Spook Country mediocre and I am unlikely to read Zero History. I'm trying to come to grips with that. On the surface, I can say that I found it much easier to empathize with Chia or Cayce than with Holly. My best distillation so far is that he used to write about people, technologies, and their relationships, with some peripheral stuff about brands. Now he writes about brands - and people and technologies have become a means to that end. Also the brands used to be fictional, which helped avoid the Spook Country feeling of reading some company's ad copy. Perhaps as a result of the emphasis on brands, his character are less sympathetic. They have always been out of control of their own lives, but they used to try to take control now and then. In Spook Country they seemed more abject, victims of forces far beyond their ken or control. I have no doubt that he has a valid point of view, and he is somewhat upfront about that shift, in this interview. But his interests no longer match mine.
psawaya 16y ago
There's also the William Gibson documentary, No Maps for These Territories. It's very conversational, actually mostly just him talking. You can find it on Youtube.
brudgers 16y ago
I read Zero History over the Thanksgiving holiday (it was on the new arrivals shelf at the library). Because it is set in the present, I wouldn't call it "cyberpunk," but it is thought provoking in many of the same ways as Neuromancer. The writing style is better developed and more coherent though less cutting edge(all as one would expect after more than twenty years). It's a solid read.

LiveTheDream 16y ago

Neuromancer?

Gianteye 16y ago
Oh my yes. Where's my head at. Neuromancer.

mblakele 16y ago

Gibson does seem like a rewarding conversationalist. I wish I liked his last book more than I did. Everything Gibson said in this interview was interesting and worthwhile. But I found Spook Country mediocre and I am unlikely to read Zero History. I'm trying to come to grips with that. On the surface, I can say that I found it much easier to empathize with Chia or Cayce than with Holly. My best distillation so far is that he used to write about people, technologies, and their relationships, with some peripheral stuff about brands. Now he writes about brands - and people and technologies have become a means to that end. Also the brands used to be fictional, which helped avoid the Spook Country feeling of reading some company's ad copy. Perhaps as a result of the emphasis on brands, his character are less sympathetic. They have always been out of control of their own lives, but they used to try to take control now and then. In Spook Country they seemed more abject, victims of forces far beyond their ken or control. I have no doubt that he has a valid point of view, and he is somewhat upfront about that shift, in this interview. But his interests no longer match mine.

psawaya 16y ago

There's also the William Gibson documentary, No Maps for These Territories. It's very conversational, actually mostly just him talking. You can find it on Youtube.

brudgers 16y ago

I read Zero History over the Thanksgiving holiday (it was on the new arrivals shelf at the library). Because it is set in the present, I wouldn't call it "cyberpunk," but it is thought provoking in many of the same ways as Neuromancer. The writing style is better developed and more coherent though less cutting edge(all as one would expect after more than twenty years). It's a solid read.