Mr. Card, through the library of reviews and articles on your website, I have heard you opine on every sf whose work first interested me in sf except one. I was wondering if you have ever read anything by William Gibson, and what you think of his work if you have?
anyone else feel free to respond
Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
I know he said that he loved Neuromancer. And that he hated Neuromancer. Lemme see if I can find where it was.
Posted by Portabello (Member # 7710) on :
In reference to Gibson's work, I think he once said that he doesn't have any patience for characters whose lives aren't that great after they have destroyed their minds with drugs.
Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
I didn't find the one I was thinking of, but I found some others. Here's (part of) one:
quote:It happens that the first work of William Gibson's that I read was Neuromancer, his first and, so far, most successful novel. It was compulsively readable, and it achieved what so few science fiction novels ever do: a detailed near-future that is different from the present reality and yet is connected to it. The style and plot were reminiscent of the hard-boiled detective tradition, which I enjoy, but it was the mastery of milieu that made Neuromancer such an extraordinary book.
But it left a sort of bitter aftertaste in my mouth. It appeared to me to be a hopeless, despairing vision, which seemed to honor suicide and self-destruction in a world where almost no one ever created anything. It was morally confusing to me; I wasn't sure if Gibson meant me to adopt the hip but cynical attitude of the hero, or stand ironically aside and reject the moral stance of all the characters. I finally came to the conclusion that Gibson was a writer I should admire, while rejecting his moral worldview.
--Future on Fire, from the introduction to Dogfight
There's more, but that's something.
--Pop
Posted by Destineer (Member # 821) on :
I can't for the life of me understand why people call Neuromancer a pessimistic novel.
SPOILER(?) . . . . . I take the theme of the novel to be: if man can create Hell on earth (the sprawl), he can just as easily create Heaven (Neuromancer) and/or a benevolent God (Wintermute). Case himself is a nihilistic man, but by the end he's helped to accomplish wonders. Part of what I took from the novel is that miracle-workers aren't always pure of intention and clear of conscience.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
quote:I wasn't sure if Gibson meant me to...
Not being sure of what the author means me to think is one of my favourite things about Neuromancer.
[ May 04, 2005, 03:43 PM: Message edited by: twinky ]
Posted by Portabello (Member # 7710) on :
was prety much my reaction to Neuromancer.
Posted by AC (Member # 7909) on :
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was prety much my reaction to Neuromancer.