Ooh, new Gibson? Not looking, but marking the post, oh yeah.
Jayne: Well... I don't like the idea of someone hearin' what I'm thinkin'. Inara: No one likes the idea of hearing what you're thinking.
'Objects In Space'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
brenda m - Aug 07, 2007 3:52:28 pm PDT #3597 of 28199
If you're going through hell/keep on going/don't slow down/keep your fear from showing/you might be gone/'fore the devil even knows you're there
Hil R. - Aug 07, 2007 4:18:30 pm PDT #3598 of 28199
Sometimes I think I might just move up to Vermont, open a bookstore or a vegan restaurant. Adam Schlesinger, z''l
I absolutely loved Cryptonomicon. Got about halfway through Quicksilver, then lost interest. Haven't tried Snow Crash.
DavidS - Aug 07, 2007 4:26:35 pm PDT #3599 of 28199
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Jessica - Aug 07, 2007 4:34:58 pm PDT #3600 of 28199
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
like he has to get out every tiny bit of information he knows about a subject whether or not it is relevant to the story.
His earlier stuff was much tighter. I love his current rambling mode too, but at one point he did write books you could life with one hand.
Ginger - Aug 07, 2007 5:16:00 pm PDT #3601 of 28199
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
I really like Stephenson, but I'll confess I haven't tackled the last two books. I felt like I needed to do more weight lifting to prepare. I'm a Gibson fan too, but they're very different writers. I really liked Snow Crash. It caught me up immediately with its contention that there are four things the United States does better than any other country: movies, music, software and high-speed pizza delivery.
sj - Aug 07, 2007 5:18:46 pm PDT #3602 of 28199
"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."
William Gibson's book tour
Damn. We're supposed to be having dinner with my not!mil on the day he's going to be in Cambridge. Maybe she'll cancel.
His earlier stuff was much tighter. I love his current rambling mode too, but at one point he did write books you could life with one hand.
Thanks. I'll have to look for some of his earlier stuff.
§ ita § - Aug 07, 2007 5:32:30 pm PDT #3603 of 28199
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I tried rereading Snow Crash a few years ago and found it tediously smug. I think I've lost the cyberpunk love. At least, the sheen is off the rose.
I'm currently finishing up the Tad Williams cyberpunk trilogy, and it's making me like cyberpunk even less--not because of the implementation of it in the book, but just because the book is pointlessly long.
Laga - Aug 07, 2007 7:14:08 pm PDT #3604 of 28199
You should know I'm a big deal in the Resistance.
I loved the smugness of Snow Crash but The Diamond Age has replaced Joe Haldeman's The Forever War as my favorite SF book. I find Sterling less challenging that Gibson and therefore more approachable but I can still get into a Gibson book if I have enough time to read the first few chapters in one sitting. My favorite is Mona Lisa Overdrive but I almost said Islands in the Net which begs the question: What do you guys think of Bruce Sterling?
DavidS - Aug 07, 2007 7:33:29 pm PDT #3605 of 28199
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
What do you guys think of Bruce Sterling?
I really liked Islands in the Net.
I also really loved some of his short stories, but his novels are less effective for me.
For cyberpunk I prefer Pat Cadigan (Synners) and Greg Bear (Queen of Angels) - both very cool books.
Nutty - Aug 07, 2007 7:34:36 pm PDT #3606 of 28199
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
just because the book is pointlessly long.
I have yet to read a Tad Williams novel that doesn't suffer from this problem.