Brentspeak's Fiction Pick of the Week

[brentspeak]

"Neuromancer", by William Gibson. (1984, Penguin/Putnam)

One of the best science fiction novels published in the past 20 years. Hugely influential on both the literary and cultural fronts: the word "cyberspace" originates from "Neuromancer" -- years before the Internet was well-known to the public.

[smbjoe]

1. My pick of the week

My pick is "3 Wise Men" by Stephen M. Buckler. I believe it's his first novel, and was published by some small regional publisher, yet it really is worth a read. It's a new twist on the old "terrorist" story, but quite a twist it is. The President in the book makes you think of good ole George W. in that if he had a brain he would be even more dangerous. Worth the 300 or so pages!

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

2. Great book & I don't think Gibson bettered it

I'm not a massive fan of cyberpunk (although I love Neal Stephenson and most of Rudy Rucker & Bruce Sterling's work.), although one of my favorite books is the 'Mondo 2000' A-Z of sorts. It turned me onto a lot of cool stuff.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060969288/002-7023784-5168059?v=glance

[Orsino]

3. I've tried twice to read it.

Really, I wanted to like it, but I got bogged down in the odd lingo, and never achieved "translation interlock"--this coming from a guy who loved Riddley Walker instantly:

Lorna said to me, 'You know Riddley theres some thing in us it dont have no name.'

I said, 'What thing is that?'

She said, 'Its some kind of thing it aint us but yet its in us. Its looking out thru our eye hoals. May be you dont take no noatis of it only some times. Say you get woak up suddn in the middl of the nite. 1 minim youre a sleap and the nex youre on your feet with a spear in your han. Wel it wernt you put that spear in your han it wer that other thing whats looking out thru your eye hoals. It aint you nor it don't even know your name. Its in us lorn and loan and sheltering how it can.'

I said, 'If its in every 1 of us theres moren 1 of it theres got to be a manying theres got to be a millying and mor.'

Lorna said, 'Wel there is a millying and mor.'

I said, 'Wel if theres such a manying of it whys it lorn then whys it loan?'

She said, 'Becaws the manying and the millying its all 1 thing it dont have nothing to gether with. You look at lykens on a stoan its all them tiny manyings of it and may be each part of it myt think its sepert only we can see its all 1 thing. Thats how it is with what we are its all 1 girt big thing and divvyt up amongst the many. Its all 1 girt thing bigger nor the worl and lorn and loan and oansome. Tremmering it is and feart. It puts us on like we put on our cloes. Some times we dont fit. Some times it cant fynd the arm hoals and it tears us a part.'

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. I found it less than compelling. Yeah, it was early, and yeah

it sort of started a genre, but it's rather a weak novel overall. And not even in the sense that genre-makers can sometimes be weak in comparison to what came after; it's just weak.