Gibson is an enigma for me and I don't necessarily look forward to his return to sci-fi. He's a good writer and Neuromancer is definitely a groundbreaking work, but it doesn't age well. It reads like someone read a book about hacking and then made a story of it. Gibson himself has admitted to being a bit of technophobe and it shows in his work that he really doesn't understand computer technology. It warrants comparison to Jules Verne.
It wouldn't be so bad if technology wasn't so central to his 80s and 90s sci-fi titles. I feel like I'm in the minority here, but I like Gibson's worlds, characters and stories, I just can't abide the details.
The thing you find irritating is actually a strength of his writing, not a fault.
Imagine if he had been more particular about the tech behind VR, how poorly would the writing have aged then?
Instead he chose a set of workable metaphors to encapsulate the ideas and ran with it. In the end succeeded in transmitting those ideas so thoroughly that (arguably) the entire first round of VR (and thus the nascent 2nd) was largely inspired by his writing.
I understand your concern about Necromancer, but Gibson's essay In The Visegrips of Dr Satan provides some insights into his desire for a modern mythology, which is likely more what he was aiming for: http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/archive/2003_01_28_archive...
It's not really about what he knew about actual technology, though. Gibson has said
"And somehow I knew that the notional space behind all of the computer screens would be one single universe."
It has a lot more to do with the idea of an interior and a collective unconscious, that kind of psychological stuff, rather than projecting what technology will do.
With VR actually becoming practical, it feels to me that the idea of spending time in a private one-user VR experience will rapidly become something socially frowned upon and perceived as solipsistic.
It might not age well but that has less to do with his lack of technical knowledge and more to do with the genre of cyberpunk as a whole. Compare Snow Crash, another foundational cyberpunk work which was written by someone who did have a lot of technical knowledge -- you read it today and it will feel a little ridiculous.
Cyberpunk is essentially retro-futurism now. That's an inherent problem in something that extrapolates to the very near future. I think the only thing I've seen that comes close and ages well is Serial Experiments Lain, and that's more of a post-cyberpunk work.
> Gibson himself has admitted to being a bit of technophobe and it shows in his work that he really doesn't understand computer technology. It warrants comparison to Jules Verne.
From what I gather Jules Verne was actually pretty on top of the technology at the time. His books were well researched.
Actually, I'm getting tired of the dystopian future that I see everywhere in popular media. The only one that has even a hint of positivism is The Hunger Games.
Why can't we have movies with the joy of discovery? The thrill of exploration and invention? The future doesn't have to be bleak.
First, it's harder to write a compelling story in a utopia. The late Ian Banks's Culture series does a good job of it, though most of the books deal with the Culture's interaction with less-enlightened societies. After all, that's where the action is.
Second, I'm not sure if media really is much bleaker than it was during say, the cold war. The threat of nuclear annihilation permeates many stories from that time. Moreover, many stories from the past (even rather optimistic ones) contain blatant sexism and racism.
There are some fictional worlds that come to mind that present a positive future (I'm not particularly well versed in it, but isn't that the whole appeal of the Star Trek universe?) What I think it boils down to, though, is that dystopias offer more narrative possibilities and stylistic choices for writers/filmmakers than do utopias. Utopian societies just aren't that fun to fictionalize, even though they're more fun to live in. There's a reason why more people Dante's Inferno than the Paradiso.
I think "bleak" is just another point of view. Thinking back at how the 50's saw science fiction and the future in general, we could easily conclude that what we have was quite a "bleak" version of that vision.
The general cyberpunk point of view is just a radical departure from the established line of thought (and forecasting).
The fun thing to do when reading a cyberpunk novel is to watch for things that stay similar. And there are quite a lot. Actually, if you start pulling apart the shockingly weird things that are depicted (like for example, the SF-Oakland bridge becoming a shantytown) you notice that in the end society still works by the same rules as it does now. Which I personally find quite funny, given that one would expect technology to bring some kind of impact to cultural and societal frameworks.
if you just want pure positivism: with joy of discovery and thrill of exploration; dive into the one piece manga where the main character is his own living ideal
if you are talking specifically about spacey futures..
i'd suggest Space Station 76
it is a very stylised future that the tin might describe as space as the 70s dreamt it,
but retains all of the social trappings of the day and contemporaries
its 'positivism' stems from the most real hope there is: hope in the next generation;
it is only bleak for the characters in how common everything is for them, and a child seems to be the only one on the ship who remembers they are all in space
it failed to get picked up for theatrical release so it went straight to dvd after SxSW; amazon prime is the only web service i know of that has it
even with its completely fun crutch of staging in a past's future, it is strangely some of the best futurism i've seen recently
It's simple: utopia is boring. Utopias do not contain many opportunities for exploration and invention, mankind has always been at its most creative when constrained or in trouble. And for quite a good sized chunk of the world today such dystopian futures would actually be an improvement in the standard of living so even that is relative.
IMO, the last well-done dystopian films I saw, and I've seen a lot, were The book of Eli and The Road. I think we need more big questions being looked at in this space rather than pure entertainment pushes.
[+] [-] stinkytaco|11 years ago|reply
It wouldn't be so bad if technology wasn't so central to his 80s and 90s sci-fi titles. I feel like I'm in the minority here, but I like Gibson's worlds, characters and stories, I just can't abide the details.
[+] [-] aniro|11 years ago|reply
Imagine if he had been more particular about the tech behind VR, how poorly would the writing have aged then?
Instead he chose a set of workable metaphors to encapsulate the ideas and ran with it. In the end succeeded in transmitting those ideas so thoroughly that (arguably) the entire first round of VR (and thus the nascent 2nd) was largely inspired by his writing.
[+] [-] bradbeattie|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] theoh|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Blackthorn|11 years ago|reply
Cyberpunk is essentially retro-futurism now. That's an inherent problem in something that extrapolates to the very near future. I think the only thing I've seen that comes close and ages well is Serial Experiments Lain, and that's more of a post-cyberpunk work.
[+] [-] daniel-cussen|11 years ago|reply
From what I gather Jules Verne was actually pretty on top of the technology at the time. His books were well researched.
[+] [-] chiph|11 years ago|reply
Why can't we have movies with the joy of discovery? The thrill of exploration and invention? The future doesn't have to be bleak.
[+] [-] bane|11 years ago|reply
Still all isn't bad, it isn't Star Trek, but there are non-dystopic popular fictions:
- Her
- Stargate SG-1 and spinouts
- Fringe
- Warehouse 13
- Eureka
- Sanctuary
- The new crop of super hero shows and movies, Arrow, SHIELD, The Flash
- Heroes
- The short lived new V series
- Dr. Who
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Inception
- Gravity
and more....
in Literature there's a huge bounty of great non-dystopic stuff too.
- The Golden Oecumene
- The Culture series
- The Night's Dawn Trilogy
- The Gap series
You just have to know where to look.
[+] [-] ggreer|11 years ago|reply
Second, I'm not sure if media really is much bleaker than it was during say, the cold war. The threat of nuclear annihilation permeates many stories from that time. Moreover, many stories from the past (even rather optimistic ones) contain blatant sexism and racism.
[+] [-] benbreen|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lesingerouge|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] coldtea|11 years ago|reply
Because they try to base them in the actual future, which WILL be bleak?
[+] [-] jballanc|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] justifier|11 years ago|reply
if you are talking specifically about spacey futures..
i'd suggest Space Station 76
it is a very stylised future that the tin might describe as space as the 70s dreamt it, but retains all of the social trappings of the day and contemporaries
its 'positivism' stems from the most real hope there is: hope in the next generation;
it is only bleak for the characters in how common everything is for them, and a child seems to be the only one on the ship who remembers they are all in space
it failed to get picked up for theatrical release so it went straight to dvd after SxSW; amazon prime is the only web service i know of that has it
even with its completely fun crutch of staging in a past's future, it is strangely some of the best futurism i've seen recently
[+] [-] jacquesm|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] theoh|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] personlurking|11 years ago|reply
[+] [-] l33tbro|11 years ago|reply