I used this short story collection to prepare myself for Neuromancer, which i struggled with many times. Gibson has style but I've never really felt he was an author that I'd fall in love with. I need to read more from him but reading him seems like a chore to me.
@@sfwordsofwonder I wasn’t ready to read ‘Neuromancer’ when it first came out. I would have probably DNFed it. 40 years of technology has given me the lexicon to enjoy the novel.
It's great to hear that! I love Burning Chrome, but Neuromancer always felt like three short stories that shared one ending - mediocre spy thriller, with a few innovative SF touches. I seem to be alone in this though. With no malice toward Mr Gibson, it's just nice from time to time to hear someone do something other than swear on a stack of Bibles "it's the greatest thing since Dune." I will give it a reread again sometime, I hope I enjoy it as much as everyone else does then. Good luck!
@@waltera13 i know what you mean. i DNF'd Snow Crash when it was published. now Stephenson a favorite author of mine. the thing about Gibson is his glaring initial settings and use of vernacular. i just go with it until it begins to gel. your comment reminds me of an essay on Conrad i read. i got totally hooked on conrad and was staggered at his accomplishments. 'Heart of Darkness' was described in it as 'meant to be a struggle to read, just like a trip upriver in the jungle.' ( i paraphrase)
I have to plug Murakami here, I feel like his novel Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World fits perfectly in this genre, in fact your description of Johnny Mnemonic reminds me a lot of Hard -Boiled Wonderland. I think you might really enjoy it, Richard! I need to crack into some William Gibson and this seems like a great place to start. Wonderful video, as always! Loving Cyberpunk week!
Great video Richard! I’ve been trying to remember who wrote the Belonging Kind for years but couldn’t come up with the author. Thank you for bailing me out!
Guess I'll have to add these to my wishlist for Christmas. I knew the Matrix had a lot of inspiration for its story and characters but never seriously knew from what. Gotta try some cyberpunk in the future.
i have that very same edition on my desk here. i read shorts between novels. i'm in the middle of Coretti's pursuit right now in the Belonging Kind. talk about synchronicity. this copy is old and yellow and i had to repair the cover from falling apart. this ACE edition is from '87. i must say, my first exposure to AI was in the Bellevue Theater watching Colossus: The Forbin Project. not quite the matrix yet, it was all text based and they used phone modems! lol interesting context BTW. thanks. Omni Magazine , eh? blast from the past.
@@stephenmorton8017 I think it was a great movie (there's a book series it was based upon that almost NEVER shows up.) I was throwing no shade, I just think it really [plays out just like how Skynet supposedly played out in the Terminator films, and Jim Cameron is KNOWN for plagiarizing.
@@waltera13 well all art is influenced by prior art. wasn't there a big dust up with the Terminator movies and Harlan Ellison? i didn't know Colossus was based on a series of books. i was too young to read the credits! well too young to care to. another one i remember from those days was "Green Slime." the big move was "Thunderball."
Made the mistake of trying to edit the typos on my post, and now YT is not letting me post the corrected version, and my LONG ass post is still in limbo.
@@stephenmorton8017 Since I tried to post at night, I didn't want Richard to wake up to several posts from me, two or three of them the same without some warning! )Lest I look like a crazy person.) I'll see if it's still in the buffer and try to post it now, and @vintagesf can delete the older one if it pops up later. . .
I used this short story collection to prepare myself for Neuromancer, which i struggled with many times. Gibson has style but I've never really felt he was an author that I'd fall in love with. I need to read more from him but reading him seems like a chore to me.
@@sfwordsofwonder I wasn’t ready to read ‘Neuromancer’ when it first came out. I would have probably DNFed it. 40 years of technology has given me the lexicon to enjoy the novel.
It's great to hear that!
I love Burning Chrome, but Neuromancer always felt like three short stories that shared one ending - mediocre spy thriller, with a few innovative SF touches.
I seem to be alone in this though.
With no malice toward Mr Gibson, it's just nice from time to time to hear someone do something other than swear on a stack of Bibles "it's the greatest thing since Dune."
I will give it a reread again sometime, I hope I enjoy it as much as everyone else does then.
Good luck!
@@waltera13 i know what you mean. i DNF'd Snow Crash when it was published. now Stephenson a favorite author of mine. the thing about Gibson is his glaring initial settings and use of vernacular. i just go with it until it begins to gel.
your comment reminds me of an essay on Conrad i read. i got totally hooked on conrad and was staggered at his accomplishments. 'Heart of Darkness' was described in it as 'meant to be a struggle to read, just like a trip upriver in the jungle.' ( i paraphrase)
I have to plug Murakami here, I feel like his novel Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World fits perfectly in this genre, in fact your description of Johnny Mnemonic reminds me a lot of Hard -Boiled Wonderland. I think you might really enjoy it, Richard! I need to crack into some William Gibson and this seems like a great place to start. Wonderful video, as always! Loving Cyberpunk week!
I think it is a great place to start!
I think it is THE place to start, but it's been a long time since I read Mirrorshades. . .
check out Sterling's "Schismatrix' probably up your alley.
@@stephenmorton8017 Have it on my shelf. Someday, sometime.
Great video Richard! I’ve been trying to remember who wrote the Belonging Kind for years but couldn’t come up with the author. Thank you for bailing me out!
There's something about this story, I always think it's a Harlan Ellison story, until I'm reminded it's William Gibson.
@@salty-walt You're right, I never thought about it before, but it does have a Harlan Ellison feel to it!
Guess I'll have to add these to my wishlist for Christmas. I knew the Matrix had a lot of inspiration for its story and characters but never seriously knew from what. Gotta try some cyberpunk in the future.
i have that very same edition on my desk here. i read shorts between novels. i'm in the middle of Coretti's pursuit right now in the Belonging Kind. talk about synchronicity.
this copy is old and yellow and i had to repair the cover from falling apart. this ACE edition is from '87.
i must say, my first exposure to AI was in the Bellevue Theater watching Colossus: The Forbin Project. not quite the matrix yet, it was all text based and they used phone modems! lol
interesting context BTW. thanks. Omni Magazine , eh? blast from the past.
Colossus: The Forbin Project, may not have been the matrix, but it sure is Skynet!
@@waltera13 it's one of the few movies i recall from saturday matinees. it was well done compared to the usual fare.
@@stephenmorton8017 I think it was a great movie (there's a book series it was based upon that almost NEVER shows up.) I was throwing no shade, I just think it really [plays out just like how Skynet supposedly played out in the Terminator films, and Jim Cameron is KNOWN for plagiarizing.
@@waltera13 well all art is influenced by prior art. wasn't there a big dust up with the Terminator movies and Harlan Ellison?
i didn't know Colossus was based on a series of books. i was too young to read the credits! well too young to care to. another one i remember from those days was "Green Slime." the big move was "Thunderball."
@@stephenmorton8017 Green Slime- great theme song!
I remember really liking Burning Chrome. It’s been way too long since I read Gibson
Been reading Gibson since Neuromancer
Made the mistake of trying to edit the typos on my post, and now YT is not letting me post the corrected version, and my LONG ass post is still in limbo.
@@salty-walt Frustrating.
HA! i've had that happen. you can select,cut and paste the text to a new post. gads that's frustrating.
@@stephenmorton8017 Since I tried to post at night, I didn't want Richard to wake up to several posts from me, two or three of them the same without some warning! )Lest I look like a crazy person.)
I'll see if it's still in the buffer and try to post it now, and @vintagesf can delete the older one if it pops up later. . .
@@vintagesf This is you warning that I'll try to repost it. :)