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All Tomorrow's Parties
Gibson's new book, All Tomorrow's Parties, is a capstone to both Idoru and Virtual Light, forming a trilogy of sorts out of books not explicitly tied together beforehand. The process of re-introducing characters who had reached reasonably satisfying closure feels a little forced though the minor characters from the previous two books who are brought back slip in easily and are played a little differently. There are a number of new characters but, as a whole, the cast seems older and wiser. They have dreamed and had their dreams broken or, perhaps worse, had their dreams come true.
There is a soundtrack to this novel and, to my mind, it is by Nick Cave - with an emphasis on his more recent material. There is a similar feeling of having come out of youth, where all nightmares and delights are still possible, into a maturity where having one breath followed by another is a kind of victory and where hope is balanced by experience. Nick Cave's mental landscape has changed over the years, as has Gibson's. This novelist no longer writes cyberpunk but this novel could not exist without its pure cyberpunk antecedents. The shock of the new is largely replaced by a nostalgia for the past. Whilst there are phases of sharp action these are seen as deadly interruptions to normality rather than desirable states. Death is the end, not a means.
Superficially there is very little actual plot in this book. Both character and idea are at the service of a fascinating surface rather than the constructors of genuine depth. It is a novel of style, which is not a common mode in science fiction. Gibson is often criticised for this approach but it is a natural development of the New Wave emphasis on pure literary values in science fiction. As a novel of style it is a great success: the phrasing and terminology glows, particularly in chapter titles - such as "Mariachi Static" - and the way these are incorporated into the text of the chapter; location and action are minimally but completely defined; some characters are kept as shadowy ciphers whilst others are clearly delineated through glimpses of their mental states.
What may underlie the polished surface of Gibson's writing is very difficult to determine. This has often been the case and it may be easier to simply accept that what would be central in most science fiction simply is not so important in this writer's work. In All Tomorrow's Parties however, it is plausible to suggest that Gibson is displaying how unlikely it is that anyone recognises the world-changing event even if they see it. The most significant moment of the novel is observed by an exceedingly minor character. He has no idea what it means and all the characters who might recognise it are too busy attempting to survive catastrophe elsewhere. This is a cool book (in more ways than one) verging on bleakness but saved by it's human values.
Purchase this book at fatbrain.
Nick Cave
All Tomorrow's Parties Website
William Gibson - too many to mention!
The book was great, funny enough I actually submitted a review of it on Epinions a week or so ago.
It leaves you with the normal "What the hell just happened" kind of mental state when you are done. It's a great book, and like the review said, it is very weak on plot, but is written in pretty much normal Gibson style (over-description and a lot of detail).
The bad guy wasn't very bad. Laney kept talking about the end of the world as we know it, and when the book was over, nothing apparently was different 'cept a minor event, and Gibson leaves you confused as to what exactly happened, but I've come to accept that from him...
Those who talk do not know.
Those who know do not talk.
Keep your mouth closed.
Those who talk do not know.
Those who know do not talk.
Keep your mouth closed.
But I actually liked "Virtual Light" and "Idoru" and this is just as good. More human, fuller characters and people talking about their lives instead of their computers.
Don't get me wrong: I loved Neuromancer etc at the time, but I really feel that my tastes have matured and so has Gibson's writing.
I just know I'm going to get a kicking from the rest of you for saying this, and from almost all fans, but thats how I feel.
Richks
http://totl.net/BeerWitch
I rarely purchase hardcover fiction, I find that more often than not I am dissapointed; having spent $25 bucks on a book that'll quickly end up at the used bookstore. Gibson novels are different, without having read the review I grabbed this book off the shelf. There's only a few novelists who have earned my hardcover trust, Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman, Tad Williams and William Gibson round off the top of this list. I can't wait to read this book.
I picked this up last weekend but haven't had a chance to start it yet. I'm a little trepidatious; I thought Virtual Light was "just OK" and I really didn't find Idoru engaging enough. I guess I still really pine for the edge that the "Sprawl Saga" trilogy had. But the world moves on I guess.
It is rather neat that just the day before I first saw this book I'd decided to compare the three versions of the title song I have -- the ones by the Velvet Underground, Japan, and Apoptygma Berzerk. Nostalgia's love, O come to me...
"A blackened shroud, a hand-me-down gown
Of rags and silks, a costume
Fit for one who sits and cries
For all tomorrow's parties"
The soundtrack to the novel was indeed Nick Cave, it seems. I heard William Gibson on the BBC Radio 4 program "Desert Island Discs" this morning, in which he chose the 8 records he would get to have with him if stranded on a desert island. One was Nick Cave's "Are You the One I've Been Looking For", which was also his top choice if he had to narrow it down to one disc only.
Another of the songs was an early demo of "All Tomorrow's Parties" by Velvet Underground. He also picked another John Cale song, performed by someone else. The remaining 5 tracks were by Doc Boggs, Steely Dan, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits and Taj Mahal. It was a great program, and I even looked around to see if it was archived on the web but had no luck. Anyone know if the Beeb has RealAudio archives of programs like this somewhere?
"I believe that the cult of the particular brings only death - for it bases order on likeness." St.-Exupery
I was hoping Virtual Light and Idoru would spawn another trilogy from this excellent author. When is Neuromancer going to be made into a movie? The Matrix was great, but a good director could make an even better movie with Neuromancer.
I don't know how to explain it better than that. I finished _All Tomorrow's Parties_, and I just sort of sat back and said "wow." His books have less of a linear flow; but when you are done with them, a full picture has been created in your head that makes you think.
His stories also have a depth that is lacking in many other stories. I have read _Neuromancer_ many times and after every read I have picked up another facet of the story I didn't understand before.
Gibson is truely a talented writer and I look forward to rereading _All Tomorrow's Parties_ again and the details I know I missed the first time.
'Mariachi Static' is from a Warren Zevon song.
I sorry to say that I was disappointed with All Tomorrows Parties. I
suppose it's unfair to compare this work to previous books by Gibson,
but there was nothing new there. Nothing to hold on to.
I found myself constantly hoping for a character I could enjoy as much
as I enjoyed Molly, or Case, or Automatic Jack. These were characters I
cared about and who filled my imagination with ideas.
I've heard it said that Gibson never liked the term "CyberPunk". If
that's the case, he's certainly gotten as far away from that original
idea as he could. Nothing here inspires like Cyberspace, nothing evokes
the shear awe of vat grown street ronin. It's a shame really, because I
enjoyed the high/low fantasy of those books more than this near future
that has been vision corrected for the new millennium.
Although I've never been pleased with the final story arcs from Gibson,
this series was particularly disappointing. It was predictable beyond
the scope of even the last book, with heavy foreshadowing back in Idoru.
I didn't like the way the Neuromancer/Count Zero/Monalisa Overdrive series
ended, but at least I didn't see it coming.
I still enjoy the turn of a phrase and intense detail Gibson brings to the
table, but I fell in love with Neuromancer and this pales by comparison.
Neo -
Anyway, I see the All Tomorrow's Parties too has a home page.
In the newsgroup alt.cyberpunk there was a reference to an early script which was rather different from the book. Incidentally, the new book has been discussed at some length there already, you may wish to pop in to have look.
I thought the Card attribution sounded funny. Ursula seems to be making a hobby of mapping great SF writers onto mainstream writers--try to find a Bhil Dick novel without "Dick is our own Borges" on the cover some time.
It's a dirty job but someone has to do it.
Saw this guy on TLC here in the US. I give him credit. Who will ever really know how many lives he may have saved with his work.
The above post is an editorial, the poster cannot and will not be held responsible for all or in part for it's contents
... Wouldn't Mr. Gibson be a perfect candidate for a /. interview? Please?
--
I strongly believe that trying to be clever is detrimental to your health. -- Linus Torvalds
I made a tape of the programme. The only mention of the programme at the BBC's website is on today's schedule.
I am thinking about typing up a transcript and putting it on the web. Does anyone have an opinion about that? Am I likely to get in trouble? I haven't come across transcripts of other interviews but I would imagine William Gibson does a few interviews like this each year. Is there any demand?
He lifted a lyric directly from Cave's song "Red Right Hand" off of the album "Let Love In" at one point, which set the tone of the book rather nicely, I think.
You're one microscopic cog in his catastrophic plan, designed and directed by his red right hand...
-Akikage
Personal opinion, generally irrelevant to Gibson, per se.
I found myself constantly hoping for a character I could enjoy as much as I enjoyed Molly, or Case, or Automatic Jack. These were characters I cared about and who filled my imagination with ideas.
Actually that has been the same problem I've had with a lot of Anime (Japanese animation) in the 90s. Mind you, I'm refering to the more mature stuff, not the Pokeman and Sailor Moon flaptrap that the states keep getting nowadays. The strength of the series that were produced in the 70s and 80s (esp Macross) was as much or more in its characters. Nothing the 90s and the OAV revolution, however strong the "art" or the animation is, has reached that for me. There is nothing in the characters they present that is worth associating with. Most of that has to do with the lack of a long-term storyline; OAV releases tend to be one-shots, with a few exceptions (and some of those exceptions, such as Dirty Pair and Ranma, each started out as a series).
The plot of a story means nothing if you don't care about the characters enough to be interested in what happens to them.
All the action (or perhaps in Gibson's case, philosophy); all the "art" at that point ends up like icing eaten straight outta the can, w/ no cake. Tastes great at first, but leaves you empty inside when its over, especially when you've had too much of it...
"But remember, most lynch mobs aren't this nice." (H.Simpson)
-- Joe
Yeah, I like the Neuromancer series (used Neuromancer as one of the books in my senior thesis for Honors Lit in high school; my first exposure to that book), but I will say this for Idoru: there is one big Usenet reference when discussing the history of the City. I liked that (what can I say, I grew up on Usenet -- still don't care for this young newcomer "web" thingy...)
You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
I personnely liked this book the most out of the Virtual Light series. I love Gibsons writing style, he seems to have the ability to explain everything in excutiating detail yet still allow your imagination to run wild. After reading the Sprawl series numerous times, and even going as far as reading a complete dissection of Neuromancer I found on the web as to get as much out of it as possible, I am left with a question after ATP's. Laney mentioned the change before, the one that had begun with Currie dying, I am wondering what people thought that might be. Theirs a weird moment in the book where Fontaine is examining an old watch which has the last year of repair as 1945 and there is mention of radiation burns (be it from the radium in the paint or somewhere else). This leaves me to believe Gibson to be hinting at the the creation of the Atomic Bomb as the last change. Any other theories? It really would make sense, I mean, after 1945 look what began... Cold War, Space Race, Supercomputers, changed everything completely. Flintoft
Maybe it's just me, but I never felt that ATP was lacking in plot. The plot was merely...subtle, as was the denouement. Subtle and oddly satisfying, to me.
However, the consensus is right in one respect: Gibson has never really been about plot, nor, certainly, about theme. Gibson has always been about the characters; the plot is sort of window-dressing for that, Gibson's illustration of the things that people do to themselves, and each other.
That, in my humble opinion, is where his genius lies, and it is very evident in ATP. Rei Todei is in the book for an almost indescribably short time, and yet she is more fully realized than many writers could have made her had they spent five hundred pages trying to do it.
Chevette and Rydell, then, get more time, and by the end, you start reading things into them; they're familiar enough, real enough, that you start to infer and induct things things about them, making art imitate life.
I think William Gibson would be a super-kickass interview, as would Neal Stephenson or Douglas Adams or...
Also, I must diagree with the reviewer. The soundtrack for this album is Vanessa-Mae's Storm. A compulsive blend of the old with the new. It's funky, but it works. "Bach Street Prelude" for the final 10 pages. And I'm not even a classical music fan.
-k. ^-^ ^D
For me, All Tomorow's Parties doesn't have the power that the earlier books have. It's still a good read, and Gibson is a master of "setting the scene" (I would say 'the master', but I think P.K. Dick is equally skilled), such that the things he describes seem so unequivocably "right" and "true" that they become part of one's world-view. But I don't think I'll pull it off the shelf to re-read as often as I do with his other books.
ai731
--
"I use the words you taught me. If they don't mean anything any more, teach me others. Or let me be silent"
I went and checked before I posted (and love myself all the more for it). The back cover of the paperback Urth of the New Sun sez Le Guin. It makes more sense, too. Card isn't a quarter the prose stylist Le Guin and Wolfe are.
I do wish the last chapter was a bit more explicit about the changes that happened.
Like everyone else in this discussion (it seems) I just finnished All Tomorrows Parties, but I was only moderately impressed with it. To me this book did not offer much more than its predecessor Iduro, which I thought was rather disapointing.
The character of Laney, with his ability to spot patterns in the data flows of society, is very fascinating, but Gibson doesn't build on him at all in this book, leaving just a more insane version of what we saw in Iduro. I have always enjoyed the depth and variation of Gibsons characters, but lately he has been falling into some pretty bad stereotypes. In Iduro he had the girl who tells people she is a street fighter in Mexico City on the Internet and turns out to be an invalid, and in this one he has crypto-cracking street kid (if Bruce Willis beat you to it, you know you're not quite original). Which is a shame because the Silencio is otherwise a pretty cool character (though Alex Garland wrote the part a lot better in his recent _The Tesseract_ (a must-read)).
I also never hooked onto the idea of the Iduro. While liking the idea of a fictionous idol attaining an identity, I feel Gibson treats her like just another Pinnochio figure. And what is the meaning (spoiler ahead) with making a great event out of the emergent system making herself human in a Lucky Dragon nanofax system? Isn't the great event of the future rather the opposite, that man is gaining ever greater ability to turn itself into the immortal iduro?
Finally, while I don't mind (in fact, I like) a book that doesn't tie all the ends together, I sort of feel that a book tagged as the conclusion to a triology should. While fun reading, as always with Gibson, this book really left me more with a feeling of "what now?" than "wow".
-
We cannot reason ourselves out of our basic irrationality. All we can do is learn the art of being irrational in a reasonable way.
Uh, I thought The Matrix was based on Neuromancer. Well, I know it's based on something Gibson wrote. Anyone know what it is?
The story does move along better towards the end, however. I kinda get the feeling that this may have made a better screenplay... I'm not sorry I purchased it, but I wouldn't recommend anybody buy it unless you are a really big Gibson and/or cyberpunk genre fan. If they ever made a film based on it, though, I'd probably be first in line to buy tickets.
I was quite startled by this book. I thought prior Gibson novels got a little sloppy in the writing and plot. Lots of great ideas, interesting characters but far too much was crammed into the book detracting from the appreciation of language and individuals. This book is in a completely different style. This is a work of real precision writing - exact use of the language to communicate. In my opinion this was easily the best written book Gibson has done to date, and a finely polished gem. The only other science fiction author I have seen write on this level is Ursula LeGuin. Bravo!
You're in a maze of twisted little Flash pages, all unreadable.
I'm half way through at the moment, and the book's been sitting on my side table for two days (unusual for me). It's very "put downable" whereas Neuromancer has you hooked.
I can't empathise with any of the characters, the plot? is weak, it's decidedly slow paced.
To be honest I don't think he should have bothered. Idoru was heading in this direction.
On to the new Tad Williams book I think.
Deleted
I read ATP, and it was worth every penny (though the local bookstore has an *autographed* copy that might be worth a few more pennies)...
And I would just like to say one thing: Chapter 68 of ATP was probably one of the most unique, fun, scientific and enthralling chapters I've ever read. If you haven't read ATP, just wait until you get to Chapter 68... all one and a half pages of it. Pure Gibson pleasure!
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
For some of his prose, I suggest Smoke & Mirrors. It's a short story collection that highlights the depth and variety of story of which Gaiman is capable.
Also, if you get a chance, go see him speak. It's very much worth your time, and not just 'cause he's cute & has a lovely accent. He does a wickedly funny Harlan Ellison impression, and he's a thoughtful, intelligent, funny speaker.
Think like a person of action, act like a person of thought. --H. Bergson
One might also find interesting the emphasis on rare and fine mechanical watch collecting in ATP. Some months before the book came out, William Gibson wrote a piece for Wired magazine about his eBay experiences bidding on collectable wrist watches. Perhaps a writer can declare such purchases as tax deductible research expenses. By the way, find a rental copy of the "Wild Palms" videos... there's a walk-on role Gibson plays as himself at a cocktail party.
I think Gibson is the most poetic of the Cyberpunks. He's the one who deals in imagery more than hard science. His novels are series of snapshots. He paints small moments in time that add up to huge events, and ATP truly illustrates this. As a writer, Gibson's the most lyrical of the bunch. I think he's more a poet than a prose writer. The Virtual Light, Idoru, All Tomorrow's Parties trilogy is more like an extended series of prose poems than three novels, and I think this may be what turns a lot of hard SF folks off to them. A poster above called this book a "put-downer," which illustrates this point. Instead of a "put-downer," I'd call these three "ones-to-slowly-savor." THe characters and the images unfold like a flower blooming, and it's gratifying to spend the time truly appreciating the process instead of zooming through them.
What I'd like to see is some of Gibson's poetry if he writes it. I'd also like to see a fourth novel in this series, and then see him move onto something else. It'll be something new & exciting as Gibson always is.
All in all, I'd say this has been a good Speculative fiction year. We got Crytonomicon, which was nothing short of amazing, and this week, Neil Gaiman released Sandman: Dream Hunters amongst other worthwhile offerings. There've been great stories published in the magazines & Fantasy & Science Fiction celebrated its 50th year. Looking back on the decade, we've gotten mind-blowing stuff from the likes of Rudy Rucker, Paul Di Fillipo, Connie Willis, Nancy Kress, Bruce Sterling, Nalo Hopkinson--the list can go on & on and on. My point? Basically, it's a good time to be alive & to be a fan of SF. Read ATP & enjoy the magic of the way words can be used.
Think like a person of action, act like a person of thought. --H. Bergson
I read the last page in full without knowing it *was* the last one. Next phrase (on next page) was: "THANKS. To everyone who waited for this one blah blah blah May 10, 1999 Vancouver, B.C.". Reminded me a chapter in "Godel, Escher, Bach", about fake endings.
You have an option of clicking the box that says "no score +1 bonus" when posting a comment that isn't quite so insightful. If you read /.'s moderation faq, you'd find that Rob wants moderation to happen this way.
;)
Of course, you have better things to do, so I'll step out of your way now.
"If one is really a superior person, the fact is likely to leak out without too much assistance" -- John Andrew Holmes
"...sometimes it's easier to desire and pursue the attention and admiration of 100 strangers than it is to accept the love and the loyalty of those closest to me"
sound familiar?
I can't remember if the following bit was in there as well:
"...I'm suffering from the worst type of loneliness. The loneliness of of being misunderstood, or more poignantly, the loneliness of being afraid to allow myself to be understood."
At any rate, I didn't see any mention or accreditation for Mike Franti or TDHOHH in the book.
Bastard!
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William Gibson - Idoru - Viking Australian paperback edition page 95 - (c) 1996
"If we could ever once stop talking about the music, and the industry and the politics of that, I think I'd probably tell you that it's easier to desire and pursue the attention of tens of millions of total strangers than it is to accept the love and the loyalty of those closest to us."
The Disposable Heroes of HipHoprisy - Music and Politics - Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury - (c) 1992
"If ever I would stop thinking about music and politics, I would tell you that sometimes it's easier to desire and pursue the attention and admiration of 100 strangers than it is to accept the love and loyalty of those closest to me"
So there you go.
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