Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but rather flat
Review: If you are a Gibson fan this is worth a read. There are some interesting concepts and charactures. However, if you haven't read gibson before, pick up his first 3 novels and his short story collection before you tackle these. The story "Virtual Light" precedes this one, but really isn't necessary to enjoy the story.
Rating: 
Summary: The epitome of Sci-Fi
Review: If you are not sure what the best sci-fi feels like, read Idoru. This book has it all: drama, sex, tough guys, villains, gadgets, guns, action, humor...I go out on a limb here, but I opine that "Idoru" tops "Neuromancer" in being a completely readable sci-fi novel. A great read for sci-fi and entertainment industry enthusiasts.
Rating: 
Summary: Idoru: A Great Read
Review: If you liked Gibson's Neuromancer, you'll love Idoru. Even if you didn't like Neuromancer, Idoru is still a good read. Gibson has got it all in this book - AIs, characters having flashbacks, and another great virtual reality world. His character development in this novel was much better and the story was easier to follow than Neuromancer as well.As the book progressed, I became more intertwined with the plot. I understood the characters better and, more importantly, could see into some of their inner motivations. Gibson creates a wonderfully fictitious but not-too-distant future environment. Whether you're into cyberpunk or you're just a one-time dabbler, Idoru is a great choice for you to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a satisfying read
Review: If you read the summary on the first page, then you have read all that you need to know about "Idoru." Some, if not all of the quotes by major publications praising this novel made me wonder if I was reading the right book. Anyway, "Idoru" focuses on the characters, hired "netrunner" Colin Laney and teenager Chia McKenzie and their association with the mysterious Rei Toei, who, if I may add, doesn't appear until later in this yarn.This is the first book I read by Gibson, whom I heard is one of the great writers of science fiction. This, however, is not his best work. The premise is alright, but we (the reader) are introduced to too many characters. I had a difficult time figuring out who was who. Plus, this 383 page book could have been reduced to half its length. Idoru is for die-hard Gibson fans.
Rating:
Summary: THEATER OF THE VIRTUAL ABSURD
Review: Imagine a world in which virtual communities flourish on a system called "the world wide web". Imagine graphic representations of people intearacting with each other in that world. Imagine a future in which celebrities remain young forever through the media, able to touch up their photos. Imagine a world in which everyone seems a cyberpunk. Only a writer like William Gibson could dare to construct such an incredible vision of...... HEY, HOLD ON A SECOND! All he's writing about is the world we already live in! What's so exciting and refreshing about that? I came here looking for some science fiction, some cutting edge work, and here is this practically goofy novel looking me in the eye. I guess Gibson was cutting edge in 1984 but unfortunately the world has caught up to his subject and moreover, passed it by. This book is a dinosaur. First of all, let's look at the dumbo plot. A Japanese rockstar named Rez has decided to get married an Idoru, a virtual reality star created much like the American Idol winners, except that she does not have corporeal form. She only exists as a hologram in our world. Various elements in Rez's orgainization want to find out who has put him up to this. They call in Colin Laney, a man with a talent for tracking down information in webspace. Doesn't it sound great? It gets better! Colin's story alternates with another character named Chia McKenzie, a fourteen year old member of Rez's fanclub who tells her mom she's staying with a friend as she sneaks off to Japan to scout out the truth of Rez's forthcoming marriage. Somehow she gets involved with outlaw hackers, the Russian Mafia in Japan, and some low-life smugglers along the way. I guess there were some good things about this book. It didn't take much effort to read? It had some interesting paragraphs? Raised some interesting questions that were never looked at closely enough like the nature of love between a human and a media construct. But a Heckle and Jeckle book like this wouldn't look into a dark soul thing like that. The plot of this book is so ludicrous that it would make a good comedy or satire if Gibson didn't seem to write so seriously. Also good for a laugh is the dustjacket that states that he envisioned the internet and virtual reality before it existed. Please! That's almost as ludicrous as Albert Gore taking credit for it. I don't know why I finished reading this book. I guess because it wasn't awful, just dumb. I was disappointed because I had always heard such good things about the author. Maybe so many people read him simply because its the "cool" thing to do. It just seems so dated, the subject matter. I believe there are many realities about "cyberspace" (he invented that too) that are more fascinating than the "supposed" earthshattering visionary outlook of the futures of William Gibson. This pedestrian book would make good bedtime reading for young cats. And I really mean cats, not the slang. Or other small animals.
Rating:
Summary: Idoru: a new beginning?
Review: In all Gibson has done a better job accommodating his readers that are used to the fast pace of books like Neuromancer and Count Zero than he did with Virtual Light Idoru is the second book in the series that includes Virtual Light and All Tomorrows' Parties. Although in saying that it's not quite a sequel to Virtual light but rather another beginning for the series. The characters and situations from Virtual light are only mentioned in passing. Think of Virtual Light as the prototype for Gibson's new 'neo modern' technology and Idoru the production model. Idoru contains more references to technology and its cultural effect. The future he envisions is close to ours but still far from the Neuromancer future. Within Idoru you see more of the origins of the advanced Internet that will later become the MATRIX in Neuromancer. Idoru is a wonderful mix of neo Japanese and pop culture sprinkled with visions of what could be. Idoru revolves around the relationship between a Rock star and a virtual woman (Idoru) Gibson writes about two separate investigations into the relationship, one handled by Chia McKenzie a 14-year-old fan of the rock star. Her story is full of idiosyncrasies of fan culture and all things Japanese. The other conducted by Colin Laney a slightly unstable Data analyst with an unusual gift discerning patterns (nodal points) from large amounts of data. Both Laney's and Chia's tales bring light onto the particulars of the technology that Gibson envisions will be available. If you're new to Gibson start with 'Virtual Light' then read the others in the series. Now brace yourself and take the leap to 'Neuromancer' and its series of books. On the other hand if you've already read 'Neuromancer' or its sequels then read Idoru before Virtual Light and try to put aside the lack of technology and just enjoy the story
Rating:
Summary: through thick and thin
Review: It was stated in the Book Review that Gibson's reality was "part hell and part paradise".The same is true of his writing. While at times his spontaneous, in-the-moment style is both powerfully engaging and magnetically provocative, the majority of the novel's immediacy simply stutters. It is so choppy that it feels like a film in fastforward; the words are so hopelessly muddled and distorted that they simply blur together, while the images are so abstract that the reader frantically grabs onto the ones that he can. The rest he just lets fall behind, because he must be prepared for what's next. Gibson's speed is extreme, but Idoru becomes both a race against plot with an earnesty for more, and a race against one's attention span, with a lustful desire to simply finish the book. Idoru truly IS a hellish paradise.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly surprised
Review: It's funny reading most of the reviews which took a very negative review of this book because I loved it! I never made it all the way through Neuromancer which I found very muddled to read, and have found a lot of cyberpunk-like works to be a bit difficult and too "out there" for me, but found this book to be engaging and entertaining. I found myself at the edge of my seat reading it, wanting to find out what was going to happen. The action is rather slow-building, but it definitely gets interesting. The characters I found very good, and development of them was entertaining. This book made me want to read more of his works.
Rating:
Summary: A book any Gibson fan will love...
Review: My first foray into the mind of William Gibson began with 'Neuromancer'. A novel, and an experience I'll never be able to quite put into context. How else can you describe what it's like reading a novel that's a miasma of futurism, design, and language that's slowly entreaching intself into our very own society? Gibson is a stylist , a genius, and perhaps even a madman. Not in the sense of insanity, but simple that it's difficult to see one man responsible for coining the terms: virtual reality and cyberspace. Which leads me to 'Idoru', a story that's a lot more contemporary. At least, by Gibson's standards. 'Idoru' takes place in the not-so-distant future in which Tokyo, brought to near ruin by an earthquake, is rebuilt through the use of nanotechnology. The idea of nanotechnology is nothing new to me. Yet, Gibson seems to to use it here very liberally. Nanotech is responsible for the rebirth of an entire metropolis. Enter 'Lo-Rez': a member of one of the hottest rock groups in the world. Rez makes a decision to head to Tokyo (I feel the need to refer it to 'Neo-Tokyo' for some bizarre reason) and marry Rei Toei, the most recognized idol singer in Japan. There's just one catch: Rei isn't real. Rei Toei is the 'idoru', and she doesn't exist. Along with data-miner, laney, Rez travels through the seedy underbelly of the Tokyo underworld in order to find the idoru, and make his fantasies come true. It's certainly not one of the deepest of plots, but it doesn't downplay the novel to much. I enjoy Gibson for his stylistic flourishes, and the way he develops the world in which his characters exist. The counter-culture bar, and the 'west' world are some of the places that Gibson lays down for the reader. I enjoyed reading some, and dread sloshing through others. There were often times when I felt like Gibson has fallen in love with the development of his world, and has lost sight of his plot (such was the case with Laney's enemies shuffled in for cameo's sake). Nevertheless, 'Idoru' was a decent enough read. If you're a Gibson fan, chances are you've already given this book a once over. If you're not however, I still urge you to give this novel a try. You'll either love it or hate it. There's very little gray area when it comes to Gibson. A fun read for me.
Rating:
Summary: The future of you and me
Review: Now, when I have finally finished the future I will certainly live in, it seems to me as one of the best book I've ever read. (The last of the best books being 'Burning Chrome', which, in it's short-story-esque way, seems to tell the truth better and with stonger emotions than any novel could.) 'Idoru' is deep, virtual/real, and it's firmly intertwined with my own ideas of our near-future. I remember taking it up about six hours ago and reading the first page, and realizing that I'm back in the Realm of Gibson, in the realm of highly crafted sentences, in the realm of subtle references, in the realm of true feelings hidden between the black&white lines on the paper... I recognized almost instantly the branches that the sprouts of our modern technology had become. Recognized the things I will be able to do in the Net in the future that are currently merely suggested by the last reformations. Recognized the origins of idoru as a healthy motley of holograms, AI, and Ananova.com. Gibson seems to dissect all aspects of our present-day pop culture in this book. He probes the artificial minds of tomorrow's computers to find evidences of humanity. He burrows deeply into various layers of stardom in search for the hustling power behind it, never underestimating the force of contemporary fan-base. He understands completely the multicultural society we're becoming. And he seems to place all the right details to where they belong, no matter how remote. After reading 'Idoru' it hit me that I had actually seen and felt it all in the Sony ad-mag I flipped through the other day, in the first big-credit anime 'Ghost in the Shell', in the last Wired issue in my inbox... And I knew that reading the lines on the paper was more visual than 'Matrix' ever would. P.S. It still amazes me, though, how Gibson managed to overlook the doubel n in Tallinn in his constant drive towards accuracy.
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