I'm reading Gibson... again.  This time his last three books - in reverse order for no real reason.  I just happen to pick up a copy of All Tommorrow's about a month ago and then read a couple of reviews mentioning the connection to Idoru and Virtual Light.  So now... I'm reading Idoru.  I'm about 1/2 done.  Gibson is a real easy read. 

"Idoru lacks ambition. Just when Neal Stephenson is reaching out further into the future with The Diamond Age, Gibson pulls back into a closer, blander tomorrow. And loses his lyrical style and plot originality at the same time. Both of which were still strongly evident in Virtual Light. " The Poet Hiccups - a review of William Gibson's Idoru

I'm not sure what lyrical style The Poet is looking for, but I believe the story to be pretty solid so far.  Perhaps, all the hub-bub over the being the "father" (man, I would hate that label if it hung on me) of cyber-punk is just too much for some people to stomach. 

Personally, I can't speak for the reference to Stephenson (i'll add him to THE list though),  but I do lean toward agreeing with this review on WIRED - Gibson's 'blander tomorrow' is really today reflecting back...

Gibson claims he does not write about the future. His novels, he maintains, are reflections of the present.

Check out the words of Gibson himself (if you're interested), in this Salon article.  It offers some insight into Idoru as well.

I wonder... am I enjoying these stories because I'm reading them in reverse order written?  Maybe that's the key... or maybe, I just simply like Gibson's 'bland' style.

Next up... Virtual Light.  After that my wife's got a vote in for Timeline by Chrichton.  She's neck deep in quantum theory as spun by one of mainstream fiction's masters.  I love it.

8:27:23 PM    

Just finished reading Gibson's All Tomorrow's Parties this past weekend.

I found it a very enjoyable and easy read thanks to Gibson's usual "blunt" writing style.   I guess I really can't  agree with the majority of the reviews on Amazon, as I have not read the prior novels that this book supposedly brings togther.   Perhaps, that's why I was able to really enjoy it as I didn't have any pre-concieved notions of 'sequel' as I dived in to the  storyline and subplots being weaved together. 

In defense of Gibson, a Salon.com article had this to say which I find myself agreeing with:

"...Gibson has trouble making his endings as vivid and precise as all the details leading up to them, and "All Tomorrow's Parties" suffers in this respect. The ultimate conflict has to do with introducing nanotechnology....Outrunning the future can be tough in the digital age. You have to hand it to Gibson for managing, once more, to stay at least one step ahead."

Although not a complete letdown, the ending did leave more than a few questions left unanswered.   Open options on another book perhaps?

8:33:40 AM    

"I added support for Barnes & Noble and Powells links to the Weblog Bookwatch. So if you link to individual books at these stores (the ISBN must be in the URL) and notify weblogs.com when you update, they'll be included in the mix. It's books only, so the MediaWatch won't be affected by this."

BookWatch expands services.  What is BookWatch: The top books in the blogshphere.

Also, check out Paul's photo gallery, I can only aspire to be so good a photographer...

9:35:35 PM    

Our recent bus trip allowed me time to complete a couple of interesting reads:

The Difference Engine and Eaters of the Dead

9:49:40 AM    

"So if you are interested in learning about tomorrows way of organize and build structures read this book. Are you already in to this area I don't think it will give you so much more." [ on kerusan.org ]

kerusan.org sums up the book Emergence pretty well.

8:17:33 AM    

"The Old-Folks Home for Books:". How do bestselling novels end up on the bargain table at bookstores? The acrane, bizarre economies of the publishing business.... [ReRead]

"...For publishers and booksellers, it's all pretty slick and efficient. Unfortunately, the system leaves authors out in the cold. A typical book contract gives the author a royalty on each book sold in the first round. But in most cases, if the book is remaindered, the author gets nothing except the right to buy his or her own book for a song."

ReRead points the way to this Boston Globe article.  I feel bad for the authors, but at the same time this is a great way for people like myself to stock up on expensive technology manuals you'd normally spend a good portion of your weekly wages on.

8:45:27 AM    

John llinks to Woods Hole article discussing the prospect of a mini ice-age triggered by... global warming.  It's a lengthy, but extremely well written piece, with lot's of diagrams to explain the processes at work. 

"...We are walking toward the edge of a cliff—blindfolded. Our ability to understand the potential for future abrupt changes in climate is limited by our lack of understanding of the processes that control them." 

8:35:27 AM    

"New Scientist . Scientists generate complete polio virus from scratch using little more than commonly known data and widely available tools. This was anticipated but never done before.
Frankly, this process sounds too easy. What's not mentioned is that low cost DNA manufacturing machines could make it possible to mass produce the virus in a couple of weeks (most of the older model equipment can be bought at low cost, it's just a little slower). I suspect that this process would also work in building designer proteins (like prions). Note: this kind of work can be done in a very sloppy manner and still generate signficant results.
Let me announce that this little experiment makes it officially the day that one person with a $50 k basement lab could declare war on the world, and make it an even fight. Very, very scary thought. No need to wait for nanotech grey goo, or nuclear proliferation, etc. Too bad that almost nobody will pay attention to this. Read " The White Plague " ASAP."
On John Robb's Radio Weblog

8:00:49 PM    

"You bet I recognize Venor Vinge's works!"

With the affinity Doug and I share for books, this one will have to added to the waiting list. :)

8:12:07 PM