Rating: 
Summary: Fast-paced and Suspenseful
Review: Virtual Light is a good read. Although very different than Neuromancer, William Gibson's cyberpunk classic, it is still very well written. The book is not only suspenseful, fast-paced, and imaginative, but it has just a hint of humor throughout. All of these things make you want to keep turning the pages, just to see what Chevette and Rydell will do next. Chevette is a bicycle messenger with an attitude. After some tough luck, she finally has her life pretty much on track and doesn't want to screw it up. Rydell went through some rough times too, but finally has a job that looks promising. He gets hired to help with the hunt for Chevette after she steals a pair of glasses, and something goes wrong. The plot of the book jumps around at first. It's a bit confusing, but after a few chapters you get the hang of it, and kind of figure out what is going on. The use of technology in the book was surprisingly sparse, compared to many other cyberpunk novels. What I especially liked was Gibson's use of humor. It was thrown in, in all the right places, which really made the book more interesting. Gibson describes all the characters in the book very vividly. It is very easy to sense what they are thinking and feeling. He also creates a vivid setting. Rydell moves from Tennessee to what used to be California, but is now NoCal and SoCal, two different states. All aspects of the setting are believable and conceivable. This is only the second Gibson novel I've read, but I liked it better than Neuromancer. Everything was much easier to believe and understand, and the entire novel was action packed. The suspense of the book wouldn't let me put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Gibson's More Humane, Near Future Cyberpunk Fiction
Review: "Virtual Light" reveals yet another dimension to William Gibson's splendid writing. Largely absent are lyrical passages describing cyberspace technology that are among the hallmarks of his "Cyberspace" trilogy and "Sprawl" series of short stories. Instead, he emphasizes personalities at the expense of technology. He seems fascinated with how that technology interacts with the seeemingly mundane lives of his downtrodden characters. Both Rydell and Chevette are among his most intriguing creations since Case and Molly; how their parallel tales weave and ultimately intersect is an outcome that I found most rewarding. Once more, Gibson offers some sly, thoughtful commentary on our media-dominated culture; a persistent theme throughout his "Virtual Light" trilogy, including "Idoru" and "All Tomorrow's Parties". Those who've enjoyed Gibson's crisp, lyrical prose, but have searched in vain for well rounded, three-dimensional characters will not be disappointed with "Virtual Light". Although less intense than "Neuromancer" as a literary joyride, it stands alongside Gibson's award-winning debut as among his finest works of fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: I read this once before, and it was called Snow Crash
Review: While reading this book, I got the distince impression that Gibson got the inspiration for this novel right after he finished reading Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash". They both have a bad-ass protagonist who is down on his luck (this one is a former cop working a crappy security guard job, Snow Crash has a sword figher/hacker working as a pizza driver). They both have a young female main character (this one has some punk kid, Snow Crash has a courier skater chick). They both have some rich guy trying to take over the world, and only underworld types to stop them (this one has the 'villiage people' from the bay bridge and some mysterios hacker group, Snow Crash has the protagonist's hacker buddies and the mafia). The plot and characters are basically borrowed from Snow Crash. This book as a *few* memorable parts, but is pretty boring. Snow Crash, however, is an interesting, exciting rollercoaster ride of a book. Skip this, and go read Snow Crash. If you are jones'in for some Gibson, go read (or reread) the Neuromancer series; it seems that Bill blew his creative load on those ones, because everything he wrote since Mona Lisa Overdrive is garbage.
Rating:
Summary: A different side of Gibson
Review: Virtual Light is very much a departure from the world of Neuromancer, showing instead an insidiously closer-to-home look at a possible near future. The grittiness and vivid bleakness are still there, but they make up a different picture: our own society, just a little bit worse. The result is a bit more believable, but neither better nor worse; it's just a slightly different perspective. Similar in style to Neuromancer's sequels (yet with a bit more substance), the story is actually composed of several stories that meet up throughout the course of the book; each is important. Gibson manages to get a strong feeling of tension going as the characters become more deeply mired in their plight. The story's villain, Loveless, is creepier and more dangerous than expected, adding a sense that the stakes are higher than they seem and that nothing is predictable. Idoru, set in the same universe as Virtual Light, I'd say is slightly better, but Virtual Light shouldn't be missed. No Gibson fan should pass this up; anyone new to his work should start with Neuromancer and read Virtual Light next.
Rating:
Summary: Second only to Neuromancer
Review: This is the first book in the trilogy (Virtual Light, Idoru, All Tomorrows parties), and a good place to start if you are new to Gibson. In my and most peoples opinion, it is only second to Neuromancer, not because of style or content, but because it's not as revolutionary and original. William Gibson is excellent in describing characters, technology and environment. This book represents a 'new' style for him (as opposed to Neuromancer, Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive). He focuses more on the characters and their travel to the new semi-dystopian world of technology. At the end you'll want to get your hands on a copy of the sequels (Idoru, All Tomorrows Parties). What the heck! Just buy them too right now!
Rating:
Summary: I read this once before, and it was called Snow Crash
Review: While reading this book, I got the distince impression that Gibson got the inspiration for this novel right after he finished reading Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash". They both have a bad-ass protagonist who is down on his luck (this one is a former cop working a crappy security guard job, Snow Crash has a sword figher/hacker working as a pizza driver). They both have a young female main character (this one has some punk kid, Snow Crash has a courier skater chick). They both have some rich guy trying to take over the world, and only underworld types to stop them (this one has the 'villiage people' from the bay bridge and some mysterios hacker group, Snow Crash has the protagonist's hacker buddies and the mafia). The plot and characters are basically borrowed from Snow Crash. This book as a *few* memorable parts, but is pretty boring. Snow Crash, however, is an interesting, exciting rollercoaster ride of a book. Skip this, and go read Snow Crash. If you are jones'in for some Gibson, go read (or reread) the Neuromancer series; it seems that Bill blew his creative load on those ones, because everything he wrote since Mona Lisa Overdrive is garbage.
Rating:
Summary: Gibson the Great does it again
Review: This is one of Gibson's best works, as good as Neuromancer. It does have a few flaws, but they don't detract too much. What's good about it? The prose style, to start with: rich, dense, polished: all the usual Gibson attributes. The plot (most of the time) tugs you along; the characters; the background; the humor (the quiet sort, that has you gently chuckling about once every two pages and is usually based on parody/satire of current trends). The richness of the weave. Gibson is obviously an adherent of Checkhov's "gun hanging on the wall" philosophy: there isn't an unused incident in the entire complicated work, nothing that happens is just-for-local-color, everything ties up with something else. Usually with two or three something-else's, with an unspoken invitation to start thinking about the implications of this in society. A few times I found myself thinking "why is he including this?", but there was always a reason further along the line. The book lends itself to this strand-in-the-weave approach, being written at least some of the time in very short chapters, so that we move from one scene/set of characters to another in an approach that comes to resemble the textual equivalent of sound-bites or video clips. After a series of several 1 1/2 page chapters, I found myself recalling Eliot's "The Waste Land": These fragments have I shor'd against my ruin Don't know if Gibson intended that particular allusion, though of course it fits in so well with the general background of the book. But the video-clip approach to writing is surely saying something about the age the book is set in. What are the bad points? To start with, it was written in 1993, and the blurb says it's set in 2005. Reading it today, in 2003, it would be much more believable if it were set in around 2020. In general, it seems to me a bad idea to write a sci-fi novel set only 12 years in the future, if only because you're limiting the period of time during which it stays believable and therefore you can sell it. Moreover, if Gibson intended the date to be 2005, he has problems here and there with his characters: most of them are in their 20s, they can't really not remember everything from the 1990s; the one who says he wasn't born in 1980 must have been born by around 1981, which is cutting it pretty fine. And he has problems with the time-scale in general: given the post-catastrophe setting, there hasn't been time, in 12 years, for the series of catastrophes that resulted in the present world situation, the development of the political situation as a result, the rebuilding, and the settling down into a new equilibrium, which must have existed for several years, since several of the characters don't remember what it was like before. But I think Gibson is much too experienced and intelligent a writer to make this sort of mistake, and in fact I couldn't find any reference to an exact year in the text itself. Just disregard what the blurb says. Secondly, the ending: surprisingly weak and also rushed-over, considering how good the plot has been up to now. But by the time you get to the ending, believe me, you've had your money's worth. Gibson makes you work hard, fitting the pieces together. In general this is a Good Thing, but occasionally degenerated to the level of irritating. I had a slight problem with the narrator: after the first few chapters ask yourself, who is the narrator? Most chapters are told in the style used by that chapter's protagonist, which makes you feel, even though the narration is 3rd-person, that you're seeing the world through that character's eyes. But why the sparse, timeless, almost dreamlike style of the two chapters that describe the courier's action? Very far removed from his personality, if you consider his actions and believe the comments on him by the other characters. Must be a reason but I couldn't figure it out. So why 5 stars? Because, even though nobody's perfect, not even Gibson, I've yet to see anybody else do it better.
Rating: 
Summary: wow
Review: The first cyberpunk novel I have ever read. I was not disappointed one bit and was even pleasantly surprised with how much i enjoyed it. The ideas in this text were amazing and really got my mind thinking. The social structure built on the bridge, a collage of scrap that, together made up peoples lives. The religion based around television, The computor based dictatorship - all totally believable and even probable as the human desire and dependence for and upon technology increases daily. The charcters are difficult to penatrate but dont be fooled into thinking that they are superficial or underdeveloped, they are as deep and real as you and I and are worth the effort spent in the uncovering of their layers.
Rating: 
Summary: Dreck by the alleged master of cyberpunk
Review: I picked up this book on a whim since the description on the back cover sounded really cool. It sounded like it would be in the vein and vision of James Cameron's "Dark Angel", one of my favourite T.V. shows of all time. Also the No-Cal and So-Cal concept sounded neat. However, the back cover summary turned out to be the best thing about this mess; this novel is terrible. The main thing I have to complain about with Virtual Light is the author's writing style. It is immensely confusing and short-phrased. After the first few chapters, I felt completely lost, and thought to myself: Who is this? What is that? Obviously Gibson did not feel the need to develop characters. I completely agree with an earlier reviewer who pointed out that Gibson writes as though him and the reader are sharing some kind of inside joke. I have 3 words for Gibson; Background, Character, Development!! One can not get thrown into the middle of a story without any development whatsoever and be expected to figure out things by himself but this is exactly what Gibson does to the reader. I'll admit that Gibson has a very active imagination, however the way he writes frustrates me to no end. So for those of you looking for a good cyberpunk read, I would recommend looking elsewhere. I'm going to try Neal Stephenson's "snow crash" next, hopefully I won't be as dissapointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Writing, Thin Plot
Review: Let me preface this by saying that I love William Gibson. I think he is a phenomenal writer who is wonderfully intelligent and imaginative. In every one of his books, he spins fanciful, thought-provoking yarns that are utterly absorbing and linger long after the last page has been turned. So if this is true about Virtual Light (and it is), why three stars? Well, unfortunately VL felt to me like Gibson spent a lot more time worrying about some of the really neat ideas in the book (the homeless community on the Golden Gate Bridge, which was wonderfully described, the Costa Rican data havens, the TV Christian cult, etc.) than about the story. Several of the characters felt quite underdeveloped, a few even unnecessary. This is not uncommon in Sci-Fi, even in Gibson (though his characters are usually very good, and several here are, too), but here it felt like it detracted from the story significantly rather than being a minor nuisance. Additionally, the plot, though interesting, didn't actually go far until the end of the story. Things you might expect to happen in the first 100 pages weren't happening until 250, and the horribly deus ex machina ending occurred so quickly that I could hardly believe the book was over. Not that what Gibson did in the end was bad, necessarily (minus the "divine" intervention that allowed it to happen). It's just that he took 100 pages worth of plot and condensed them into about 10. Having said all that, though, the book wasn't that bad. I was very absorbed in it while I was reading, and almost all of the ideas in the story were very interesting. However, I'm glad this wasn't the first or even the third Gibson novel I read. I'd recommend you start with Neuromancer or his new one, Pattern Recognition, if you are new to Gibson's writing. If you aren't, this is still a worthwhile read, as long as you can forgive its flaws.
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