[HN Gopher] The Prophet of Cyberspace (2016)
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The Prophet of Cyberspace (2016)
Author : cybersoyuz
Score : 59 points
Date : 2024-10-27 13:34 UTC (9 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.filfre.net)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.filfre.net)
| temeya wrote:
| As someone who has spent their fair share of days in Vancouver,
| it blows my mind during some wet early mornings, that this city
| was where cyberpunk's cradle could be considered, where Gibson
| wrote Neuromancer. The rain, the grit, the grey, all shared
| across time and space and pages, and in between each of them,
| glimpses of the future. It's something about the genre that
| delights my sense of wonder, of who we as a species have come
| from and where we're going.
| dartos wrote:
| And how it all can and probably will go to hell
| buildbot wrote:
| I didn't realize the Neuromancer was written in Vancouver!
|
| There's a less well know cyberpunk adjacent TV show, Continuum,
| that's set in Vancouver, year 2077 and all that :) It's
| surprisingly good!
| ajr0 wrote:
| I really enjoyed continuum and felt that the last season was
| a bit abrupt leaving a lot unexplored.
|
| I still imagine a halo device from that show that i think
| would do well to be made, I imagine a garmin/iwatch that also
| completes lifestyle and healthcare needs on steroids that
| also replaces smart phones
| ErikAugust wrote:
| The opening line: "The sky above the port was the color of
| television, tuned to a dead channel".
| MrMcCall wrote:
| I'll never forget that the first mp3 I ever downloaded was WG's
| self-read (and quite edited) Neuromancer audiobook -- must've
| been late 90's or early 00's. It is four pairs of 45min files and
| features an excellent techno soundtrack by U2's The Edge. I had
| never heard of the novel before he released the mp3s for free due
| to his publisher deciding they needed a more professional
| version. I have listened to it hundreds of times as programming
| background sound, such that I can still wow my fam by repeating
| entire random sections of it.
|
| Much later, I have listened to his latest two books, The
| Peripheral and Agency many times (with teenage daughter), and
| love them as they are more actual sci-fi. That said, his previous
| trilogy (Pattern Recognition, Spook Country, and Zero History)
| are our favorite of his now, though they are barely what most
| would consider sci-fi. All his books are really capers and weave
| in his unique, poignant, and heart-oriented perspectives on our
| modern world.
|
| It is worth noting that his collection of non-fiction articles,
| Distrust that Particular Flavor, is thought-provoking and simply
| wonderful.
| amtc80 wrote:
| Surely you have already seen it, but for anyone else that finds
| this interesting there is "No Maps for These Territories". A
| close to 25 year old documentary with Gibson talking that is
| still enjoyable. Can be found on The Internet Archive and
| YouTube.
| wkyleg wrote:
| Does this version with the cool soundtrack still exist?
| MrMcCall wrote:
| You can search YT for "William Gibson Reads Neuromancer", and
| it's the first result, a playlist of eight pieces. It starts
| the same, but it seems to be of a higher quality. It says it
| is abridged, and I didn't realize how much until rather
| recently.
| abetusk wrote:
| Good article but some points I think it misses:
|
| > "Case, the hapless protagonist, stumbles between crises, barely
| knowing what's going on, at risk from a femme fatale and being
| made offers he cannot refuse from mysterious Mr. Bigs." Again,
| you don't read William Gibson for the plot.
|
| I think this misses one of the most striking aspects of the
| novel, that Gibson was talking about the singularity and the
| possibility, or inevitability, of AI. The glossy cool and limited
| character arcs were in service of a broader statement about
| society and culture. Gibson was making statements about class
| difference and what kind of effect the rapid change of technology
| had on society.
|
| It's like saying the "The Wire"'s characters are two dimensional
| because they get buffeted by a system that's deeply flawed. The
| point is that the system is effectively a character in it's own
| right.
|
| The article notably also doesn't mention Borges, who I believe is
| a very strong influence to Gibson (though maybe not for
| Neuromancer?) [0].
|
| [0] https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20140902-the-20th-
| centur...
| pwrrr wrote:
| Have read the book many times. And even played the game many
| times (Amiga mostly). I recall one mp3 where Gibson reads the
| book. It wasn't very good. Kind of rushed. Always been a huge fan
| though. I wonder if we will ever get the movie ;)
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