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Idoru, a corruption of the Japanese pronunciation of “Idol”, is pretty much what you’d expect from William Gibson - there’s a secret online city, divorced from the network, there’s an aging rock star interested in bridging the gap between the real and the unreal, there’s a man-cum-borderline-machine with the ability to pull patterns out of apparently chaotic information, and a cyborg-like bodyguard. Based on good ‘ole Toe Cutter himself, Chopper Read, believe it or not - while everyone knows Gibson’s appreciation of Japanese culture, he also seems to have a thing for Australian culture … The story’s written in the same style as a Dan Brown novel - the chapters fly fast and furious, some only a page or two long. Although, to be fair, Brown ripped off Gibson’s stylings (among others) - Brown hasn’t had an original idea in his entire career. But, I digress … Idoru follows the experience of Laney and Chia, the two main protagonists of the story, unknowingly linked by their connection to Rez, the (literal) rock star of the novel. As it’s fairly standard Gibson fare, it’s a little hard to say more without spoiling the plot. So, instead, here’s my thoughts. He’s the father of cyberpunk, but that doesn’t mean he’s infallible. While Neuromancer, Count Zero, and the Mona Lisa Overdrive (one of the best names for a novel bar none) were groundbreaking and innovative in their own right, Idoru doesn’t quite hit the spot. It was a fun read, but it was neither gripping enough nor futuristic enough to really “make it”. It may have been written in 1997, but it hasn’t dated well - if Gibson was really prognosticating, he only beat the world to the punch (for the most part) by a few years. His vision of the Walled City (a borderline futuristic MUD) was surprisingly accurate, but that’s about it - otherwise, it seems he was recycling ideas he’d had previously, only in the “near future”. I enjoyed it, but not enough. Maybe the other two books in the Bridge trilogy are better, but given Gibson’s pedigree, it’s just too pulpy. Not recommended unless you’re a hardcore cyberpunk / Gibson follower. |
Recommended? "no"