Rating: 
Summary: After IDORU Gibson presents this disappointment
Review: William Gibson's novel ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES brings together characters from his novels VIRTUAL LIGHT and IDORU and places them into an apocalyptic event in San Francisco that is meant to mean a new beginning for the world.The novel begins with the fact that Colin Laney has gone insane, the inevitable result of being used to test an experimental drug in a federal orphanage. He's living in a cardboard city in a Tokyo subway, living off stimulants and blue cough syrup, obsessed with an approaching "nodal point," an event in history which will change everything. Chevette and Rydell from VIRTUAL LIGHT provide most of the book's action, as Laney in his miserable surroundings rules the plot from the background. ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES is a disappointment. I've stated in my review for IDORU that Gibson's novels are often showcases for interesting ideas but with poor plots. Here I must confess that even Gibson's usual future speculations are missing. The book's action is sketched with little detail, as if Gibson already knows what's going on and neglects to mention it to the reader. A good comparison is watching a symphony orchestra performing on television with the volume muted; one can see the conductor motioning but the music is not there. I really cannot fathom how the book got past the editor. The only truly interesting scene is the final appearance of Rei Toei, the Idoru, which doesn't happen until nearly the end of the book's 300 pages. Furthermore, Gibson's characters act rather different from in their previous novels, and this creates a continuity problem. IDORU was a decent book, recommendable to anyone sitting in an airport for a couple of hours with nothing to do, although it certainly isn't great literature. ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES, on the other hand, is a great failure. Even if you've already read IDORU, I would suggest not moving on to this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Life on the Lower Level
Review: Hidden from general readers for some years, Gibson's Neuromancer remains the best speculative fiction novel. Almost a sequel, the Idoru trilogy carries forward his ideas of what the future is likely to hold. Never a simple read, this book stands out in displaying Gibson's writing ability and his speculations about tomorrow. Gibson's talent in portraying a future world has few peers. The future looks grim, indeed, depending on your perspective. In Gibson's view, the perspective is from below. His characters are people rarely seen in "normal" life, but clearly, they are here among us. They live out of the "mainstream," Tokyo subways, landslide ravaged Malibu and the Bay Bridge. Gibson has them caught up in events not of their making nor choosing. They are no less instrumental in carrying out Gibson's designated roles for all that. Colin Laney, hidden in the subway among other indigents, his enhanced senses foretelling coming changes, becomes the chess master. He moves distant people as pawns in dealing to deal with a future even he sees only dimly. His pawns react to his plays, unable to comprehend his direction, but just as unable to resist. Chevette, in particular, becomes a pivot for Laney and Rydell. She moves adroitly through the many crises Gibson confronts her with, a strong character who should give pause to those claiming men can't write about women. As a Westerner, Gibson is sensitive to the power of earthquakes. Under his discerning scrutiny, he sees the power of continental drift as modifying not only the landscape, but society as well. In this story, tremblors around the whole Pacific Rim have generated social adjustments. San Francisco, so vulnerable to earth movements, has given rise to a subculture on the Bay Bridge after the Big One renders it unsafe to traffic [Interesting that there is no attempt to restructure the bridge, nor to devise newer forms of transportation. Gibson's love of technology is in data streams, not engineering challenges.]. He uses the Bridge as a backdrop instead of the focus of the whole story, which lesser writers have done. The Bridge becomes a haven for Rydell and Chevette, Laney's most active pawns. They must come together because Rydell has the mysterious "thermos" carrying the Idoru. Rydell is captivated by the image of "all desires" but why he's carrying her remains a mystery to the end. Even when the conclusion arrives, why Laney was so insistent that "everything is going to change" isn't entirely apparent. This approach remains the basis of Gibson's genius. He refuses to end his tales cleanly, giving his readers much to ponder and contemplate. If Gibson isn't the reason Harlan Ellison urged the term "speculative fiction" be substituted for "science fiction," he should be. Reading groups will have much to ponder and discuss over this book. In the end, none will be correct, and none wrong. Until the future justifies Gibson's predictions of where we're headed.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but comparatively weak
Review: Gibson's stories.... You never care anything about the low-life scumbags that serve as his main characters, and sometimes you can't even figure out what's going on. But despite that, Gibson has always been one of my favorite authors because he writes such intensely interesting anecdotes, and describes such brilliant twisted scenes, from a near-future that is disturbingly close to our present. This book has its share of interesting moments - ruminations on "nodal points," "existential sociology," disposable cars, and the first explanation I've ever read about why computers have until recently always been made in that damn boring beige - but on the whole, it's less interesting than his other books (it doesn't have any plot whatsoever, as far as I'm able to discern), and it has a lot of sections where the descriptions are extrememly hard to visualize and the flow of the action becomes altogether incomprehensible. I'd only recommend this book for the die-hard Gibson fan. Neuromancer remains the best book for first-time Gibson readers.
Rating: 
Summary: A real Gibson treat!!
Review: I greatly enjoyed this Gibson novel; the only down side being the nagging feeling that it eventually had to end. Exciting action and scenes peopled by a curious lot on the bleeding edge of a distopian society. I found them all interesting and followed their interwoven paths with relish. I particularly appreciated the Zen-like assassin who was just barely there as he so skillfully glided through the tale leaving a trail of bodies in his non-wake. This is not a ponderable exposition; it is a brief tearing blazing no holds barred look into the marginal lives of the unfortunates drawn inexorably into a vortex of great change centered on the post-quake Oakland Bay Bridge. There's plenty of Cyber, there's plenty of Punk; this one really rocks and I loved it!
Rating:
Summary: A Stellar Finish to Gibson's "Virtual Light" Trilogy
Review: "All Tomorrow's Parties" is one of William Gibson's finest novels, and is the best of the trilogy which started with "Virtual Light". Here, he makes a partial return to his hard boiled, dense literary style of "Neuromancer" and "Count Zero", coupled with his expansive view of characters first seen in "Mona Lisa Overdrive". Rydell and Chevette from "Virtual Light" return, along with Laney from "Idoru". Approached by freelance Japanese anthropologist Yamazaki, Rydell undertakes a mission for Laney, who has fled from the rock band Lo/Rez, and is now living inside a cardboard box somewhere in Tokyo. Laney is obsessed with finding the "nodal points" of history, and believes that one is rapidly drawing near. Meanwhile the Idoru, Rei Toei, has disappeared. What follows is marred slightly by a weak finish, yet is told with some of the finest, most lyrical prose Gibson has written to date. As much as I admire the writing of noted cyberpunk writers such as Bruce Sterling and Neal Stephenson, Gibson is still the master when it comes to writing effective terse, yet lyrical prose, which borders on poetry. However, those who were dazzled by Gibson's electrifying prose in "Neuromancer" and "Count Zero" may be disappointed, since his vivid prose isn't rich with the brilliant ideas and dazzling scenes of his "Cyberspace" trilogy. Still, I strongly recommend "All Tomorrow's Parties" as a fine tome worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: A worthy successor to Idoru
Review: If you enjoyed Idoru and wondered where that untidy ending would lead, here it is. All Tomorrow's Parties is slick, amusing and eerie all at the same time. It has the trademark components of a Gibson novel (a frenetic plot, a sly sense of humor and a cracked view of a near future that's too twisted not to believe) that put ATP in the upper ranks of his other novels. Well worth the time to read.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely well thought out book
Review: Gibson has always been a strong writer. Neuromancer was drowning in awards and critical acclaim, and that was his first book, written twenty years ago. He's gotten better over the years, at least in terms of sheer writing ability. All Tomorrow's Parties has Mr. Gibson's vivid, and often very odd, metaphors. It also showcases very well his knack for painting interesting characters in quick broad strokes, letting you know who they are and what makes them tick very quickly, and then coming back to fill in the details as the book progresses. One thing I noticed about this book that probably wasn't the case in some of his previous works was that the tone of each of the protagonists' chapters was very distinct; even if the author didn't tell you immediately whos point of you were watching from, you knew simply by the diction and tone of the thoughts you were being made privy to. In general I'd say that this book was better written than Gibson's previous novels. His weakness, if you want to call it that, has been that he's too clever for his own good. This has also become more pronounced over the years; Neuromancer was occaisionally difficult to follow, whereas in Idoru some of the plot details were downright obscure. This book, then, requires you to make a few death-defying leaps of logic, which can be off-putting and discouraging, but pays off enormously when it all comes together in the end. There is no expositive tell-all chapter in this novel, telling you what the hell was going on, which makes figuring it all out that much more satisfying. The danger, of course, is that it would be very easy not to figure it out at all, and simply be left hanging. What I'm getting at, I suppose, is that I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't perfect, and was a bit frustrating at times, but in the end I can say that any book that involved me as much as this one did was well worth my time. William Gibson is an excellent writer, and All Tomorrow's Parties does not dissapoint.
Rating:
Summary: Why don't you fax me one from...
Review: Disappointing. Gibson tries too hard to pull in too characters from IDORU and Virtual Light. This books feels like Gibson is just going through the motions and his heart is really not in it. For the first time he reiterates (several times) parts of other books which is very irratating. If someone is reading this book then they should have read his earlier work. I hope he is not trying to make his books stand alone to sell more books. Problems with this book: Chevette's ex-boyfriend is following her to beat her up because?, Laney is online in a cardboard box in the subway (high speed internet connection for the homeless?), Chevette and Rydell do not meet until page 215, Harwood does not conclude that the Lucky Dragon nanofaxes are the big historical point when they are being installed on the same day as when something big is going to happen, Silencio is gifted with online encryption skills, how does the nanofax create humans?, another weak ending. The highlights of this book are: the Lucky Dragon concept is great (especially the monitors), Boomzilla (we all know this kid), and Laney obsessed with Harwood. Gibson only had half a book but he stretched it out with too many characters and subplots. The ending is awful. I hope Gibson come back with another great book because it has been a long time. If he would focus more on characters and the ending then we could get back to good books like Neuromancer and Virual Light. I still recommend reading this book but be prepared for disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Didn't Idoru end?
Review: If you love William Gibson's take on science fiction, this is probably a good book for you. If you liked Idoru (the prequel to this book), you might also enjoy the story. But if you're growing tired of Gibson's constant provocation of massive change in his book world, you might feel that this is just another twist on the same form. Characters from Idoru return for this second go at changing the world. Berry Rydel is undeniably the most interesting character in this book, even if his personality doesn't seem to go any deeper than his Lucky Dragon bulletproof apron. I did not like the deteriorated state of Colin Laney, since he seemed in Idoru to be more of a centerpiece figure. And how can you beat a portable Rei Toei hologram? The book has the usual peculiar cadence into which Gibson's novels seem to fall. Although, if you're like me, somehow you manage to read it faster after struggling with the first chapter or two. Readers who are new to Gibson's work may not enjoy his writing style. The main issue I have with this book is its need to be nearly apocalyptic. Sure, every book needs to have some kind of conflict, but it would please me if Gibson could write something that did not have all of the characters saying "it's the end of things as we know it". The concept has lost a little class from the brilliantly executed Neuromancer. Otherwise, the book is rather entertaining, and offers a sci-fi future view that is unique to this author.
Rating: 
Summary: More than you ever wanted to know about wristwatches
Review: I desperately wanted to like William Gibson's All Tomorrow's Parties, but I just couldn't enjoy it even a little. Once upon a time, Gibson's tales of net-running were surreal glimpses into the fertile imagination of a master computer geek. With this book, we get a look into the imagination of a wristwatch fanatic. The book is loosely about the end of the world. Unfortunately, this world ends not with a bang but a fizzle of river water on burning bridges. At times, Gibson tries to add a bit of comic relief to lighten the tedium, but the jokes tend to flop like a half-dead trout. If you're looking for interesting technologically-based fiction, try something by Neal Stephenson.
| 
