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- Paperback: 277 pages ;
Dimensions (in inches): 0.78 x 8.45 x 5.80
- Publisher: Ace Books; ;
(August 8, 2000)
- ISBN: 0441007554
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Book
Description
"William Gibson's rich
protopointillism coins a wireless future where reality is only
proxy and proviso. Made all the more beautiful and frightening
by its probability, and by characters who somehow tweeze hope
from the polymer." --Chris Carter, creator of The
X-Files
"One of science fiction's greatest literary
stylists...Gibson wouldn't be Gibson if he spelled it out, if
he eliminated all the ambiguity. His specialty is hanging on
to that fractal edge without ever going over the brink."
--Wired Magazine
"All Tomorrow's Parties hits on all
cylinders." --Seattle Times
"More ultra-cool cyberpunk... This familiar, vigorous,
vividly realized scenario is set forth in the author's unique
and astonishingly textured prose." --Kirkus Reviews
"The post modern gospel according to Gibson, the patron
saint of cyberpunk literature." --Entertainment Weekly
"It's as if Raymond Chandler had written a novel in which
Philip Marlowe drops acid, learns Microsoft Word 98 and winds
up eating Thai food at a funky San Francisco dive...the most
delicious of reads: genre with real literary spunk." --New
York Daily News
"All Tomorrow's Parties is immensely engaging,
alive on every page and as enjoyable a weekend entertainment
as one could want."--The Washington Post Book World
Although
Colin Laney (from Gibson's earlier novel Idoru)
lives in a cardboard box, he has the power to change the
world.
Thanks to an experimental drug that he
received during his youth, Colin can see "nodal
points" in the vast streams of data that make up the
worldwide computer network.
Nodal points are rare but significant
events in history that forever change society, even though they
might not be recognizable as such when they occur.
Colin isn't quite sure what's going to
happen when society reaches this latest nodal point, but he
knows it's going to be big. And he knows it's going to occur on
the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, which has been home to a sort
of SoHo-esque shantytown since an earthquake rendered it
structurally unsound to carry traffic.
Colin sends Barry Rydell (last seen in Gibson's novel Virtual
Light) to the bridge to find a mysterious killer who reveals
himself only by his lack of presence on the Net.
Barry is also entrusted with a strange package that seems
to be the home of Rei Toi, the computer-generated "idol
singer" who once tried to "marry" a human rock
star (she's also from Idoru).
Barry and Rei Toi are eventually joined by Barry's old
girlfriend Chevette (from Virtual Light) and a young boy
named Silencio who has an unnatural fascination with
watches.
Together this motley assortment of characters holds the
key to stopping billionaire Cody Harwood from doing whatever it
is that will make sure he still holds the reigns of power after
the nodal point takes place.
Although All Tomorrow's Parties includes characters
from two of Gibson's earlier novels, it's not a direct sequel to
either. It's a stand-alone book that is possibly Gibson's best
solo work since Neuromancer.
In the past, Gibson has let his brilliant prose overwhelm
what were often lackluster (or nonexistent) story lines, but
this book has it all: a good story, electric writing, and a
group of likable and believable characters who are out to save
the world ... kind of.
The ending is not quite as supercharged as the rest of the
novel and so comes off a bit flat, but overall this is
definitely a winner. --Craig E. Engler
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