Saturday, October 16, 1999
Title: All Tomorrow's Parties
Author: William Gibson
Publisher: Viking
My first contact with William Gibson's work was with Mona Lisa Overdrive, I then went on to read Count Zero and Neuromancer. His work was a revelation, as far as I was concerned, it was the hardest SF I had read and was steeped in high tech - my first contact with "cyber-punk". It was also difficult to follow, though as it turned out I had read his Sprawl Trilogy in precise reverse order. Reading the three in the correct order made a lot of difference.
To follow this series he started his second trilogy with Virtual Light, which is considerably more near-future and perhaps realer for that. Though for me it lacked the hard edge I demanded, but rereading did it favours as I enjoyed it for what it was. The second novel in the series was Idoru, a book I picked up having stumbled across a signing on a visit to London. Returning home I read Idoru in a day - just loving that buzz.
Since then I have seen dozens of books with quotes from Gibson being used to sell them. I have commented on this in the past, and it is something that annoys me greatly. While that to some may come across as me partaking in the "sell-out" syndrome (i.e. slamming him cause he's big now). But it is not that, I read books on their merits (an appropriate description, a couple of pages - not a good quote) and a publisher using a popular author to sell a book strikes me as cheap advertising. In reality I have considerable respect for Gibson
Rumbles had it that a new novel was due out, curious I looked about not sure whether I would fork out for the hard back or not. Finding All Tomorrow's I read part of it in the shop - a paragraph of Gibson's prose was enough. I bought it instantly. Though unlike Idoru I have not had the time to read it in a day, so instead I teased myself through it - only reading chapters at a time.
All Tomorrow's Parties reunites characters from Virtual Light and Idoru - events converging back to the bridge where it all started in Virtual Light. Laney has becomes close to the idoru Rei Toei and in doing so has realised that a major nodal event is going to occur. Though he is now living in a cardboard box and his health is fading he is able to contact Yamazaki to have him contact Rydell. Continuing his run of shit jobs, Rydell is persuaded to return to San Francisco as Laney's man on the street. Meanwhile the idoru has vanished and her management are keen to track her, Chevette also finds herself returning to her old home, and a mysterious killer stalks the moment of the bridge. All these events become integral and the encounters and ramifications build to conclusion.
The continuity of this trilogy is more straightforward and as he goes on he becomes more capable as a writer. So where the Sprawl Trilogy, for all its classic status, had a certain degree of awkwardness which added to its hardness, this story is much more readable. The imagery he conjures from the denizens of the walled city to someone crossing the street is vivid and exciting. Each page is turned with a certain hunger, his increasingly poetic vision increasingly addictive. After experiences with loose endings (i.e. novels finishing as though they were short stories) which almost render hundreds of pages worthless, I admit I did start to fear that would be the case here. However the conclusion works well, wrapping up issues, tying loose ends and witnessing magnificent events. I could say more, but for fear of spoiling your pleasure I'll end here. William Gibson - All Tomorrow's Parties - maybe I'll read all three together now...
RVWR: PTR
October 1999
Title: Teranesia and Luminous
Author: Greg Egan
Publisher: Millennium
Prabir's parents have traveled to a remote island in the Indonesian Ocean to study a strange strain of mutant butterflies. The island is so small and insignificant that it has no name, but 9 year old Prabir gives it the name Teranesia. But even in the year 2010 the politics of the region mount towards war. As a result his parents are killed and he flees to Canada with his sister Madhusree. With time's passage, Madhusree has become a biology student, and with the emergence of a number of other mutants she is going to return to her birthplace. But Prabir is driven to protect her and sets out after her. Separately they arrive in the region on the trail of inexplicable genetic changes.
Teranesia is Greg Egan's fifth novel and perhaps his most human to date, less hard-core than much of his previous work. Which gives a greater element of readability that no doubt makes this novel an easier starting place for many new readers. In many ways he is focusing on the characters and what drives them more than on blowing our minds. Although, of course, there's a background steeped in SF which slowly expands from simple mutations to an ever-expanding impact on reality.
My reading Teranesia comes close after finishing Egan's Luminous. His second collection of short stories following the mind-blowing and extremely recommended Axiomatic. Which initially I did not really get into, perhaps reaching a point where I had become numbed by having my mind blown so often. Not that I didn't enjoy any of the stories, I had just overdosed and reached a point where I needed each story to have a bigger headfu/-/ck. Which becomes difficult when it is being done by someone as good at it as Egan. Taking a break from my expectations I returned to Luminous refreshed and devoured the second half of this collection. There are many brilliant authors, but Egan is undoubtedly unique.
RVWR: PTR
October 1999
