Count Zero

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  Gibson's sequel to the great "Neuromancer" was not a total let down, but failed to produce the same feeling of immersion and quick action of it's predecessor. I think one of the biggest problems with Count Zero was the disjointed storytelling, moving between 3 seperate characters and plots. While this was a great idea in concept, and made for a neat way to tie things together in the end, the length of each segment varied so widely that sometimes you were enveloped too long in one st... (show more)

  Gibson's sequel to the great "Neuromancer" was not a total let down, but failed to produce the same feeling of immersion and quick action of it's predecessor. I think one of the biggest problems with Count Zero was the disjointed storytelling, moving between 3 seperate characters and plots. While this was a great idea in concept, and made for a neat way to tie things together in the end, the length of each segment varied so widely that sometimes you were enveloped too long in one story so that you either became so commited to finding out the continuation of that line, or completely forgot what was going on with another line, that it made for almost agrivating reading. The first half of Count Zero is laborous and somewhat slow paced. Not until after the mid point do we get enough movement through the story line to really get excited about it. I'm sorry, but in this novel, Gibson does not have his best showing, and doesn't mirror the sheer brilliance of Neuromancer. (show less)

   

   

  by Facebook User on Jun 03, 2009 at 04:22PM

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  So I'm reading the "Neuromancer trilogy" backwards now. I really get the feeling that Gibson didn't really plan this as a "trilogy", but that he just likes to reuse characters and settings, which end up "fitting together" after the fact.

  This book is notable for the introduction of the "Marley" character, who will later be the protagonist in "Pattern Recognition" (which is a brilliant read). It also marks the introduction of the AFro-Cuban a... (show more)

  So I'm reading the "Neuromancer trilogy" backwards now. I really get the feeling that Gibson didn't really plan this as a "trilogy", but that he just likes to reuse characters and settings, which end up "fitting together" after the fact.

  This book is notable for the introduction of the "Marley" character, who will later be the protagonist in "Pattern Recognition" (which is a brilliant read). It also marks the introduction of the AFro-Cuban and Haitian deities, which become a very literal Deus ex Machina throughout much of his later work. Oh, and Angie the simstim star has her origins here, as well.

  Everything is in this book, but I still prefer the works set in San Francisco and Tokyo. Gibson seems to get a bit obsessive about trying to clarify (or perhaps to figure out for himself) what actually happened in Neuromancer when the Artificial Intelligences get their way, merging and breaking apart again: the 3Jane character never goes away, and the whole Tessier-Ashpool orbital compound is still a central part of this work. That plot line gets a little tired after a while, honestly. It sort of reminds me of how Asimov started inserting references to the Daneel robot in every single one of his stories after a certain point: there's a fine line between creating a realistic universe with believable origins and beating a dead horse, apparently.

  I would never suggest that anyone put this series down unread, but give me Barry Rydell and Chevette's story any time over this one. (show less)

   

   

  by Stan Haskins on Feb 24, 2009 at 01:14AM

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