Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53390 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-01
• Released on: 2003-07-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780060539825
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Amazon.com Review
Ten brilliant, streetwise, high-resolution stories from the man who coined the word cyberspace. Gibson's vision has become a touchstone in the emerging order of the 21st Century, from the computer-enhanced hustlers of Johnny Mnemonic to the technofetishist blues of Burning Chrome. With their vividly human characters and their remorseless, hot-wired futures, these stories are simultaneously science fiction at its sharpest and instantly recognizable Polaroids of the postmodern condition.

From Publishers Weekly
In his enthusiastic description of the '30s and '40s "moderne" style of industrial design (featured in one of these stories), Gibson might be writing about his own work: "The change was only skin-deep; under the streamlined chrome shell, you'd find the same Victorian mechanism . . . . It was all a stage set, a series of elaborate props for playing at living in the future." That dexterous, shallow artifice has won Gibson awards and fervent fans (especially for his first novel, Neuromancer but beneath it is something old, worn and tired. Thus "Johnny Mnemonic," whose body computer stores secret information, is just a variation of Mr. Memory from The 39 Steps. Gibson's gangsters, corrupt industrialists, young techies and lowlifes eager to belong to any in-group that will have them, are cliches without conviction. This weak collection of 10 short stories seems to have been rushed out to cash in on Gibson's current popularity. Paperback rights to Berkley.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
'A fistful of fast, challenging, hot-wired short stories' New Musical Express 'Furiously inventive, brilliantly written, the cutting edge of sf' Guardian 'Some subversives are still at work proving that SF can pack its strongest blows into its shortest works! He's at his best dealing with the victims of the new, the people burnt out by drugs, computers, huge corporations or the strangeness of space' Fiction Magazine 'At once a lament and a critique, these stories show the way SF is being rewired. Gibson, his finger jitteringly on the fast-forward button, shows the direction in which our literature might be headed' The Times

Customer Reviews

Occasionally Brilliant
I think William Gibson is probably the best pure *writer* that I have read for years. I don't think, on the other hand, that his fiction is the best that SF has produced--but his deliverance of the stories is his strong point. His prose has been polished to the point that it sparkles and contains more than a good deal of poetry. Not only is his language poetic, but also are his images, especially his depiction of cyberspace with all its colorful towers of data.

As far as Gibson's fiction is concerned it is always interesting, often relevant, and on occasion cathartic. Most of his stories seem to take on the same sort of tone, that stemming from the "hard-boiled" tradition. Stories like "Johnny Mnemonic" and "Burning Chrome" best exemplify this particular brand of story. But Gibson also pulls a few surprizes out of his hat and delivers stories that are highly experimental and center around character study rather than high-tempo, action-packed adventure stories. "The Winter Market" in particular struck me as especially brilliant. His focus in the story was not the neat gadgetry that was represented by the "exoskeleton" worn by one of the characters, it was how this shaped this character and effected her life. But Gibson doesn't stop there, he gives us a cast of strong characters and plenty of interaction between them. And this is what really made the story interesting for me. The sf elements are there, but the story has a great deal of universality in its portrayol of real people in situations we can relate to.

I also thought that "Hinterlands" and "The Gernsback Continuum" were very interesting stories. "Hinterlands", like "The Winter Market", tells a real character oriented story, and "The Gernsback Continuum" is unlike any other story I've ever read. All of Gibson's stories are well written, but these stories in particular established his reputation in my mind.

Mixed Feelings ...
I'm a sci-fi fan from way back and particularly fond of short stories. I'd never read any stuff by Gibson, so I thought that Burning Chrome would be a good place to start. The blurb on the back of the book had quotes saying "father of the term cyberspace" and "truly original" and "new classic that has revitalized the genre" etc. The funny thing is that all that stuff was true, but I still didn't like the book. I guess the best way to put it is that he's got great ideas, but that's not enough to make a sci-fi story rise to the level of good literature. You still have to be a good writer, and in particular, Gibson's characters stink. They're one-dimensional and poorly realized; he's in love with technology but not so good at people. Maybe Gibson would be better at a full length novel; not everyone can write shorts. (my favorite sci-fi shorts still have to be Ray Bradbury's) His ideas were interesting enough for me to give him another try, though, and read Neuromancer.

Powerful
A lot of people who read Gibson bash his writing because of the superficial nature of his characters. They're missing the point. One of the overarching themes of cyberpunk is the idea that technology, while revolutionizing our world, is also slowly stripping us of many of the things that make us human. Cyberpunk is a dystopia, not a Star Trek style utopia. The people living in the Sprawl, in Gibson's world, are superficial, because that's all that they have. It's professionalism taken to an unhealthy degree, and it mirrors many people that I know. Not everyone in the world has a deep, complex personality. I dare say a significant number of them don't.

That being said, Gibson truly shines as a short story writer. As a fan and practicioner of the short story, the sparseness of plot and space in general is one of the strong points in cyberpunk. The genre is about impact and style, and the shorter the story, the stronger the impact has to be to justify the experience.

Burning Chrome is a book with ten such impacts. The first story, Johnny Mnemonic, probably has the best chance to be known by the general public, and has the hardest reputation to overcome. It's great scifi, albeit far from the best story in the book. As other reviewers have said, it does introduce Molly and gives a great taste of the Sprawl. The killing floor is also one of the best examples of culture in Gibson's world.

The Gernsback Continuum is one of those stories that border on the incredibly bizzare. I didn't care for this story as much as the other (it's probably my least favorite), but ti's still bizzare enough to be entertaining.

Fragments of a Hologram Rose if I remember correctly is one of Gibson's first short stories, and it sets the stage beautifully for his style of writing. Short, sweet, and encapturing a moment in life, it may not have the depth of impact of the sprawl stories, but it's still high quality. Gibson deals with emotion, and the avoiding thereof in a painfully human manner. Namely, the characters avoid it at all costs.

The Belonging Kind is another story, sci fi in it's premise, but not so much in it's execution. Refreshing in how alien (litterally) socially popular people can be.

Hinterlands is my second favorite story in the book. It's what I call "classic" scifi- it's set in space, on a space station, and involves man's exploration of the unknown. But instead of a star trek slant, it plumbs into the desperation of wanting to know, the craving from the tree of knowledge for more. I identified with the desire to Know that which is unknown, even at the cost of your own life. A very strong story.

Red Star, Winter Orbit is another "classic" scifi tale, about a decaying russian space station at the end of an era of war. Probably ranks in my 3 least favorite of the book, but that's like saying that cake is a little dry.

New Rose Hotel is another personal favorite, about corporate espionage and the art of the double cross. This is linked to the sprawl stories, although it's hard to tell (certain companies are involved, and their outcome seems to be reflected and alluded to in the sprawl trilogy). Powerfully narrorated by a man about to die, it's light on the sci fi, but strong on Gibson's style.

The Winter Market is an eerie tale about desire and raw drive. The interesting thing about this story is that a few people, including myself, have written stories before ever reading Gibson that share many of the same ideas and themes of this story.

Dogfight is another one that's different. A story about desires, values, and passions, between a convict with a mental block and the college girl he meets with an equally strong mental block. Dogfight refers to a holographic game that the main character is obsessed with.

Burning Chrome. We finally get to the namesake of this book, and we find Gibson in full stride, in lyrical command of his genre. Like Molly from Neuromancer, everything is right in place for Burning Chrome. His moves are down pat, his style oozes, and the delivery of the mood and atmosphere hit you like a jackhammer. Basic plot? Boy meets girl, boy goes on hacking job for girl so he can retire, girl falls for boy's chum and assistant, girl splits as boy & assistant strike it rich. Simple plot, but oh-so-powerful in it's delivery.

Overall, Burning Chrome is worth the investment. Don't read Gibson to have intriguing, incredibly developed plot and characters, read it for the mood and style of the writing. Each page is like a work of art, carefully crafted to leave an emotion, an impression. In a fictional world where life is fragile, the easiest way to achieve immortality is to leave a lasting impression. This is the goal of all the arcane grammar, the lyrical prose, the point-blank blast of imagry that Gibson throws up. Don't try to analyze the plot, analyze the mood. It drips in each of the Sprawl stories.