Virtual Light

by William Gibson

Book Overview

NEW YORK TIMES bestseller - 2005: Welcome to NoCal and SoCal, the uneasy sister-states of what used to be California . The millennium has come and gone, leaving in its wake only stunned survivors. In Los Angeles, Berry Rydell is a former armed-response rentacop now working for a bounty hunter. Chevette Washington is a bicycle messenger turned pickpocket who impulsively snatches a pair of innocent-looking sunglasses. But these are no ordinary shades...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553566067
• ISBN13: 9780553566062
• Release Date: July 1994
• Publisher: Random House Worlds
• Length: 370 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

WHAT A RIDE

Virtual Light was my first cyber-punk book and my first William Gibson book. I had to read it three times to make any sense of it. Once I wrapped my mind around the odd wordage of the story, I love it!! I really enjoyed the weird characters and the odd off-the-wall twists in the plot. The story possesses a bent sense of humor which I found to be really different. This book introduced me to the cyber-punk genre and I am hooked.

More story, less technology

William Gibson is an author that creates characters and situations that capture your imagination. When you put one of his books down your thoughts stay with the story. Gibson is a major player in the Sci-Fi genre. His visions of technology and the world to come have influenced many other visions from the TV shows like Dark Angel to films like the Matrix.Fans of Gibson's work love and hate Virtual Light. In one hand his writing style is still there but the high technology of Neuromancer has been replaced by a less advanced technological culture. Those readers expecting another high adrenaline rush through the matrix almost gave up on virtual light. One of the appeals of Gibson's work is the vision of technology. The world of Virtual light predates the world of Neuromancer by leaps. The Eye phones and goggles take the place of the nerve-splicing and micro bionics seen in his earlier work. The lesser technology almost seems childish in comparison but it does provide an intermediate step for those of us who hope and wish for a glimpse of the matrix as a reality. "Virtual Light" leans more to the characters and plot than earlier work and gives a rich smooth story some times humorous some times sad. The characters take on more than just three dimensions. You can feel them grow and develop as the story continues. Now, if your new to Gibson start with `Virtual Light' then read the sequels `Idoru' and `All Tomorrow's Parties' to get a feel of Gibson's style and technology. Then brace yourself and take the leap to `Neuromancer', `Count Zero', `Mona Lisa Overdrive' and finish up with the collection of short stories that is `Burning Chrome'. On the other hand if you've already read `Neuromancer' or its sequels then try to put aside the lack of technology and just enjoy the story.

Fast-paced and Suspenseful

Virtual Light is a good read. Although very different than Neuromancer, William Gibson's cyberpunk classic, it is still very well written. The book is not only suspenseful, fast-paced, and imaginative, but it has just a hint of humor throughout. All of these things make you want to keep turning the pages, just to see what Chevette and Rydell will do next. Chevette is a bicycle messenger with an attitude. After some tough luck, she finally has her life pretty much on track and doesn't want to screw it up. Rydell went through some rough times too, but finally has a job that looks promising. He gets hired to help with the hunt for Chevette after she steals a pair of glasses, and something goes wrong. The plot of the book jumps around at first. It's a bit confusing, but after a few chapters you get the hang of it, and kind of figure out what is going on. The use of technology in the book was surprisingly sparse, compared to many other cyberpunk novels. What I especially liked was Gibson's use of humor. It was thrown in, in all the right places, which really made the book more interesting. Gibson describes all the characters in the book very vividly. It is very easy to sense what they are thinking and feeling. He also creates a vivid setting. Rydell moves from Tennessee to what used to be California, but is now NoCal and SoCal, two different states. All aspects of the setting are believable and conceivable. This is only the second Gibson novel I've read, but I liked it better than Neuromancer. Everything was much easier to believe and understand, and the entire novel was action packed. The suspense of the book wouldn't let me put it down.

A different side of Gibson

Virtual Light is very much a departure from the world of Neuromancer, showing instead an insidiously closer-to-home look at a possible near future. The grittiness and vivid bleakness are still there, but they make up a different picture: our own society, just a little bit worse. The result is a bit more believable, but neither better nor worse; it's just a slightly different perspective.Similar in style to Neuromancer's sequels (yet with a bit more substance), the story is actually composed of several stories that meet up throughout the course of the book; each is important. Gibson manages to get a strong feeling of tension going as the characters become more deeply mired in their plight. The story's villain, Loveless, is creepier and more dangerous than expected, adding a sense that the stakes are higher than they seem and that nothing is predictable.Idoru, set in the same universe as Virtual Light, I'd say is slightly better, but Virtual Light shouldn't be missed. No Gibson fan should pass this up; anyone new to his work should start with Neuromancer and read Virtual Light next.

Second only to Neuromancer

This is the first book in the trilogy (Virtual Light, Idoru, All Tomorrows parties), and a good place to start if you are new to Gibson.In my and most peoples opinion, it is only second to Neuromancer, not because of style or content, but because it's not as revolutionary and original. William Gibson is excellent in describing characters, technology and environment. This book represents a 'new' style for him (as opposed to Neuromancer, Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive). He focuses more on the characters and their travel to the new semi-dystopian world of technology.At the end you'll want to get your hands on a copy of the sequels (Idoru, All Tomorrows Parties). What the heck! Just buy them too right now!