Honestly feels more like a setup for the next book than a work on its own. It wasn't bad, but it seriously lacks the wow factor of the previous two inHonestly feels more like a setup for the next book than a work on its own. It wasn't bad, but it seriously lacks the wow factor of the previous two installments in the series. Things just kind of... happened. And then it was over. Bright spot: Europa, though even that feels a tad undersold.
There were also an unusual number of typos, though that may have just been peculiar to my edition....more
I love cyberpunk. I have since I was a freshman in high school and watching Ghost in the Shell for the first time and just starting to work out who thI love cyberpunk. I have since I was a freshman in high school and watching Ghost in the Shell for the first time and just starting to work out who the fuck William Gibson was. Cyberpunk is something that lends itself naturally to transgressiveness--of place and time, of geographical borders, of identity, of what's real. So it also lends itself naturally to sex, and in this case to sex that reaches outside the norm of a lot of what I see in erotica. There's death in here. There are sociopathic people, and sex that has very little meaning outside of two pieces of meat slamming into each other. There's sex that provides a kind of healing to a profoundly damaged person, with faint echoes of The Matrix. There's technology fetishism in here, which I found especially evocative, and which made me wonder: if a lot of sexual expression is culturally constructed, what will people's kinks look like in fifty years? In a hundred?
Almost all of these stories are also about power and resistance, which is interesting in itself. Corporate power, governmental power, the power of massive institutions, and then the power that individuals exert over each other, and the power that someone can have over themselves. The power that the past has over the present and the future. The possibility of resisting external and internal control.
This is my third anthology with Circlet Press so far, and I have to say: I think it's my favorite. And not just because I'm a contributor. There's just so much to love in here. Circlet always puts out quality stuff, but I really think this is top of the line even for them. This isn't just good porn, these are great stories, and I'm very happy that mine is among them. I can't recommend it enough. ...more
I came to this book years after reading Idoru, and as such I feel like I missed some things that would have otherwise made perfect sense. As this is tI came to this book years after reading Idoru, and as such I feel like I missed some things that would have otherwise made perfect sense. As this is the third book of a trilogy, that makes a certain amount of sense; still, it's worth knowing going in. Aside from that, this is an enjoyable enough read and at times moves up into the truly wonderful. Gibson's prose is as fabulous as ever, and even when you're not entirely sure what's going on--the frequency of which may grate on some people--it is at least a pleasant kind of uncertainty. Or so it was for me....more
The good: Dares to imagine what a society based on eugenics would be like if it DIDN'T suck. Don't know if I buy it, but points for effort and extra pThe good: Dares to imagine what a society based on eugenics would be like if it DIDN'T suck. Don't know if I buy it, but points for effort and extra points for guts.
The bad: It feels to me like someone stuck two separate books together. It might be personal preference, but I found the narrative flow a little jarring.
Not one of Heinlein's best, but solid nonetheless....more
I wanted to like this book. In parts I did: the feeling of dread is very well constructed and the payoff is correspondingly dreadful. The premise is eI wanted to like this book. In parts I did: the feeling of dread is very well constructed and the payoff is correspondingly dreadful. The premise is engaging in itself. But in other parts... eh. King goes a bit of a cliched route with the villains and the ending feels a little too neat; also, the meta thing he likes to do falls pretty flat here. I was consistently entertained, though, so all in all I'd say it's a decent enough read....more
I've recently come back to Gibson after some time away, and I'm not sorry I did. This is the first of his books that I've read that's generally set inI've recently come back to Gibson after some time away, and I'm not sorry I did. This is the first of his books that I've read that's generally set in the present day, and this provides an interesting feeling of being thrown off-balance; I'm so used to futurism from him that I found myself reacting to descriptions and depictions of mostly familiar things as though they were strange and unfamiliar. This only adds to the overall dream-like feeling of the story itself and the effect is wonderful. It's a meditation on the nature of art and the relationship between art and artist, the audience's ability to make their own meaning, and the vanishing line between art and commerce, which is a familiar theme for Gibson. Very recommended....more
The chapter on cosmopolitanism gets a little pie-in-the-sky for my tastes, but that aside, this is a fascinating examination of the global and local mThe chapter on cosmopolitanism gets a little pie-in-the-sky for my tastes, but that aside, this is a fascinating examination of the global and local mechanisms behind new trends in modern warfare, and what they could mean for our understandings of war in the future. ...more
Absolutely stunning. At times it can be difficult to access, but it's entirely worth the effort. Scarry is a fabulous writer as well as a fabulous thiAbsolutely stunning. At times it can be difficult to access, but it's entirely worth the effort. Scarry is a fabulous writer as well as a fabulous thinker, and lovers of philosophy and good prose alike should find things to enjoy. Highly, highly recommended....more
Again, biased, since I'm a contributor, but the two stories besides mine are fun, sexy, and well-written. Recommended for all lovers of fine m/m erotiAgain, biased, since I'm a contributor, but the two stories besides mine are fun, sexy, and well-written. Recommended for all lovers of fine m/m erotica....more
I'm in this one so I'm biased, but I really enjoyed it. All the stories (leaving aside mine since again, biased) are well written and interesting takeI'm in this one so I'm biased, but I really enjoyed it. All the stories (leaving aside mine since again, biased) are well written and interesting takes on familiar tales, and in places the prose is simply lovely. Recommended, even with author bias....more
