Product Description

Rydell is on his way back to near-future San Francisco. A stint as a security man in an all-night Los Angeles convenience store has convinced him his career is going nowhere, but his friend Laney, phoning from Tokyo, says there's more interesting work for him in Northern California. And there is, although it will eventually involve his former girlfriend, a Taoist assassin, the secrets Laney has been hacking out of the depths of DatAmerica, the CEO of the PR firm that secretly runs the world and the apocalyptic technological transformation of, well, everything. William Gibson's new novel, set in the soon-to-be-fact world of VIRTUAL LIGHT and IDORU, completes a stunning, brilliantly imagined trilogy about the post-Net world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23184 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
William Gibson's seventh glossy, neon-lit novel is a stylishly complex sequel to his previous two, Virtual Light and Idoru. From Virtual Light there's the potent image of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge transformed into a vertically stacked shanty-town with its own bohemian autonomy, outside the law. Idoru provides the magical Japanese media idol ("idoru") Rei Toei, a gorgeous lady existing only in software--as yet. Gibson links these worlds with his usual glowing, plausible vision of deadly streetwise realities intersecting with on-line data flow. One man attuned to the net can sense from his cardboard-box home in Tokyo that major changes loom. A Zen assassin stalks San Francisco and the unlucky ex-cop hero from Virtual Light must assemble some very strange equipment. Further objects of desire include lovingly described knives, guns and even antique mechanical watches, as collected by Gibson himself (who pursues them through online auctions)--the ability to trace watches across the net is crucial to tracking the arch-villain. All the world's clocks are ticking in a countdown to transformation and to chrome-polished scenes of extreme violence as zero-hour nears. Multiple storylines meet and dovetail with deft, witty understatement and, in one case, a charming joke. Vintage Gibson, with enough artful backfill that you needn't read the prequels--but they're great fun too. --David Langford

Amazon.co.uk Review
William Gibson's seventh glossy, neon-lit novel is a stylishly complex sequel to his previous two, Virtual Light and Idoru. From Virtual Light there's the potent image of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge transformed into a vertically stacked shanty-town with its own bohemian autonomy, outside the law. Idoru provides the magical Japanese media idol ("idoru") Rei Toei, a gorgeous lady existing only in software--as yet. Gibson links these worlds with his usual glowing, plausible vision of deadly streetwise realities intersecting with on-line data flow. One man attuned to the net can sense from his cardboard-box home in Tokyo that major changes loom. A Zen assassin stalks San Francisco and the unlucky ex-cop hero from Virtual Light must assemble some very strange equipment. Further objects of desire include lovingly described knives, guns and even antique mechanical watches, as collected by Gibson himself (who pursues them through online auctions)--the ability to trace watches across the net is crucial to tracking the arch-villain. All the world's clocks are ticking in a countdown to transformation and to chrome-polished scenes of extreme violence as zero-hour nears. Multiple story lines meet and dovetail with deft, witty understatement and, in one case, a charming joke. Vintage Gibson, with enough artful backfill that you needn't read the prequels--but they're great fun too. --David Langford

From the Publisher
Praise for All Tomorrow's Parties:
"The beauty of Gibson's sci-fi is that the future has never seemed nearer or more vivid. With corporate interests, an assassin stalking San Francisco, and a sick visionary living rough in Tokyo, this plot is a regular thriller. But Gibson's ability to observe the way we live now, and then add a techno-twist, is second-to-none, while his prose paints pictures as radiantly visual as a music video." Esquire October 1999

"Gibson often seems more like an ultra-cool travel writer than a sad SF novelist. Reading his books is like visiting an unfamiliar city, full of strange sights and smells - a cybertravelogue." Mirror 8th October 1999

Customer Reviews

Hip writing, cool set-pieces, what's the story again?
I finished it a couple of weeks ago, and it inspired me to re-read Virtual Light (Idoru will be next).

The thing is, while I can remember lots of little facets: ideas, locations, characters, and events, the main thrust of the plot is gone from my mind. Perhaps this is the nature of Gibson :-)

The chapter lengths are *very* short, making for a staccato read. Not a problem, but perhaps that's part of what makes the overall picture so hard to appreciate and remember.

It was nice to meet Rydell and Chevette again, and the bridge was (once more) a fascinating place to visit.

Brilliant visions of the future.
In my view, All Tomorrows Parties could almost be called a short stories collection. Yes, there is a plot, but mostly it's really just ignored. Instead, Gibson concentrates on describing his visions of the future, which are absolutely stunning in both detail and depth, and could even be called his best yet. Needless to say, I loved it.

And by the way, this book has some great stuff for you fellow gamemasters out there :)

Typically Gibson-esque, or is it? Good stuff...
Unlike his earlier works, in which each book stands almost alone, this book makes many references to Idoru and Virtual Light and uses several of the characters. It brings those stories together in the way we've come to expect from Gibson:- partly obscure and philosophical, partly very real and likely future vision. There isn't much actually happens overall, as a story, but the way several threads of narrative are followed as they combine towards the end, remeniscent of Mona Lisa Overdrive, make the book strangely compelling. For those who've never read Gibson before, be warned that none of his books are designed for skim-reading, you have to pay attention and think about what is written! With inescapable streetwise style, solid characters, a disturbingly likely view of the future, and even some dark humour, this is a good addition to the Gibson collection.