Rating: 
Summary: Gibson's crystal ball is unflawed
Review: William Gibson remains the best example of why "speculative fiction" should replace "science fiction"
for the generic term "SF". His temporal reach carries today's people into logical extensions of
society into a world where the growth of today's technology is likely to confront them. Idoru
is a superior example of Gibson's talent in making the projections he's rightly noted for. Like
all his best work, technology here is present, but it's the characters, their outlook and dealing
with events, that chains the reader's attention. Don't expect dashing heroes, attendant ladies,
stygian villains performing in ways to divert you from reality. Gibson brings tomorrow's
realities to his pages, realities you may be facing in your lifetime.The pivotal element is the desire of a rock star to marry a hologram. Idoru is an electronic
construct, the symbol of universal desires. She, too, is an entertainer, a "synthespian" in future
Hollywood jargon. The term is pure Gibson, projecting today's fascination with special effects
and animation supplemented films. Colin Laney, who bears special analysis skills has been
hired to search the data streams to determine the reasons for this unusual liaison. It's a
daunting task, and Gibson provides us many glimpses of our future while guiding Laney
through the corporate entertainment world. Laney also carries a dark secret, the suicide of a woman whose data he was tracking. She had
perceived his observing her and he's concerned about who else might be detecting his surveys
of information. His talent had always enjoyed anonymity. If Alison Shires could detect his
intrusion, who else more powerful might also be watching? The idoru, whose visible
projection Laney assesses as the "tip of the iceberg of an Antarctica of information" evokes
fears of what powers may lie behind the projected image. Most of the story takes place in New Tokyo, a rebuild of the city destroyed by the Great
'Quake which, have no doubt, is certain to come. Here, Gibson engages in subtle forecasts of
how today's technologies will unfold in many ways over the next few decades.
Buildings will result from enhanced forms of biotechnology enabling them to "grow" instead
of being constructed. Even something as mundane as sewage treatement receives his
attention in taking his characters through their world. Your world, tomorrow. Take note of
how Gibson forecasts it as the story unfolds. Any one of you might be tomorrow's Laney, Chia
or even a model for the Idoru. It bears thinking about, but only if you read Gibson's
captivating prose on what the future might hold for us all.
Rating: 
Summary: Great cure for insomnia...
Review: William Gibson's Idoru is a great book for insomniacs. Gibson's obsessive attention to details begins as loose flowing intrigue but ends in a thick mud of mental constipation. Chia McKenzie is the most believable of Gibson's creations in Idoru. And though the world through which she ventures is rendered with such retro and random, post millenial decor, it is at times like her wonderland does not take her anywhere all that exciting. She is merely admiring the moss at the bottom of the rabbit hole. What can we learn about ourselves from the IDORU? That we are gullible to the falsity of the world we have created for ourselves. That our idols don't need to be more than a collection of pixels contained behind a computer screen, or stored in a computer chip. The IDORU seems to foresee a world of empty numbers and codes that only the trruly gifted "sifters" like Colin Laney can see through. But what Laney can see is about as exciting as the plot of the IDORU. Not only are the cities of this future constructed with these hollow bricks of information, but so are the celebrities. The one thing the IDORU has going for it is the occassional bits of unexpected details, like the bubble gummed cafe walls, or the DNA hair tester at the airport. But these eye opening details are so imbedded in rambling chaos that I would suggest you stick with Lewis Carroll and put your Gibson under the fantasy section of your bookshelf. Counting sheep fantasy that is.
Rating:
Summary: Much more beneath the surface
Review: Wow! I don't often write reviews, but came here expecting to see many other positive reviews. I am surprised at the negative reviews. Here is my perspective: Gibson takes us to a place where the Internet may be in the future. The richness that he ascribes to it is far beyond where we are today, and shows us what may be possible using the latest VR technology at the end of the decade. He also gives us glimpses into the complex social issues surrounding the increase in "Reality" media and the unparralled access the media channels have into celebrity and everyday lives. For those reviewers who seem to think he is writing about the Internet as it exists today, I would suggest they re-read the book. I work in Technology, and some of the concepts he describes sent shivers down my spine. Others simply made me sit back and go "WOW!" I found it refreshing that an author also knows how to tell a story and move on. While this does leave some filling in of the characters to be done by the reader, it makes for a compelling, exciting read. I could not put the book down!
Rating:
Summary: Much more beneath the surface
Review: Wow! I don't often write reviews, but came here expecting to see many other positive reviews. I am surprised at the negative reviews. Here is my perspective: Gibson takes us to a place where the Internet may be in the future. The richness that he ascribes to it is far beyond where we are today, and shows us what may be possible using the latest VR technology at the end of the decade. He also gives us glimpses into the complex social issues surrounding the increase in "Reality" media and the unparralled access the media channels have into celebrity and everyday lives. For those reviewers who seem to think he is writing about the Internet as it exists today, I would suggest they re-read the book. I work in Technology, and some of the concepts he describes sent shivers down my spine. Others simply made me sit back and go "WOW!" I found it refreshing that an author also knows how to tell a story and move on. While this does leave some filling in of the characters to be done by the reader, it makes for a compelling, exciting read. I could not put the book down!
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