Virtual Light is my Gibson of choice. It is one of those books I have a real absolute love for. He created a world that I understood how it came to be. Might be time for a reread.
and seconding Davids' recomendation of Synners.
I have not yet read Cryptonomicon or Quicksilver . DH keeps wearing out our copies of the first. Unfortunately I seem to have a fear of big books right now. Too Mnay books are takeing me oo long to read. Which means they really aren't that good ( Fairy Godmother ) but just interesting and easy enough to read that I keep going. big books that I am expecting to enjoy I Keep putting off. I recently realized that I though it was me - not reading like I used to . Actually , it is just too many bad books. and an inability to tell if it is me or the book.
I loved Cryptonomicon, despite the fact that Stephenson couldn't write a solid ending if his life depended on it.
I'm telling you, Zodiac has a solid ending. Honest. I was shocked.
It was. Tight, crisp, and totally unlike his other stuff.
I haven't checked Zodiac out. Will, soon, probably. Especially on the rec.
Also, my father loaned me Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, which I'm really looking forward to. Didn't someone else here read it recently?
I've read it in the past year or so, and rather enjoyed it. I think there was someone else here too, though.
Actually, Plei, you're right. Zodiac has a good ending. I think. Been a while. What I remember most about that book is the brilliant description of a bicyclist trying to cross three lanes of traffic to take a left turn off of Commonwealth Ave in Kenmore Square in Boston.
why didn't you like O Jerusalem
Mary Sue, Mary Sue, Mary Sue. Mary Russell learns Arabic in six weeks, shoots like a sniper, understands the complex local politics, convinces their misogynistic guides that a woman can be as cool and tough as they are, flirts and captivates diplomats at the embassy soiree.... Mary Russell is perfect and everyone lurves her! Gah. Even her "flaws" are the approved ones: stubborn, decisive, too intelligent and independent for her time. Bleah.
Just once I want to see a historical novel where the flaw of the character is that she's too passive, and everyone around her recognizes it.
I liked A Darker Place but I'm worried that if I reread it I'll find it too self-indulgent and fanficcy.
I like
Diamond Age,
(NeoVictorians! Hee!) and just accept the fact that he can't manage to write endings.
Are you guys familiar with a vampire book that features a new vampire who is obsessed with finding her collection of shoes that had been disbursed by her family when she died?
My first thought was "Huh. I bet if I became a vampire, I would do that." Sad, really. But now I must track down more info on that book.
I find it less fun than Snow Crash and less impressive than Cryptonomicon/Quicksilver but I think I might like it better than any of them.
Ooh. Snow Crash was great, and I'm 300 pages from finishing Cryptonomicon. I'm in my third month!
And yes, after Snow Crash, I'm not expecting it to have an ending. It's odd, because I've been reading it for so long I want to finish it so I can move on to other things, yet I almost feel like I don't want it to end. Because then no more random tangents about Cap'n Crunch, or productivity vs. time since last ejaculation, or stocking fetishes. And the on-topic bits about information flow are fascinating.
Cryptonomicon was awesome, as your post reminded me. I should read it again.
Right now, I've retreated again into silly fantasy.
Summers at Castle Auburn
by Sharon Shinn, to be precise.
I really like Sharon Shinn. Her works are basically innocent romance novels with interesting characters (especially interesting females), set in fantastic locations. The Samaria novels are her most famous, beginning with
Archangel,
and actually become much more science fiction than fantasy, later in the series. They remind me of Orson Scott Card's Earth series a lot.
Recommended, if you enjoy fantasy.
