William Gibson is known primarily as a novelist, with his work ranging from his groundbreaking first novel, "Neuromancer," to his more recent co... read full description
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Feb 16, 2012
Matt
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I like William Gibson's books. This was a series of nonfiction pieces where he waxed poetic on society, technology, other people's books, cities, Japan, etc. Had some interesting lines.
...But Sinclair's faux lovcraftian subtexts...finally lose traction in the way that all conspiracy theories do: the description of an underlying, literally occulted order is invariably less complex than the surface reality it supposedly informs. Conspiracy theories and the occult comfort us because the More...
...But Sinclair's faux lovcraftian subtexts...finally lose traction in the way that all conspiracy theories do: the description of an underlying, literally occulted order is invariably less complex than the surface reality it supposedly informs. Conspiracy theories and the occult comfort us because the More...
Jan 23, 2012
Jenelle
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I haven't had such an immediate, pressing desire to read a book in a long time, but from that NY Times Review, I knew this book nestled perfectly into my life-as-sci-fi imagination, esp. travel-as-time-travel. This is a collection of Gibson's published "nonfiction" essays, although he admits early he's uncomfortable relating anything as pure nonfiction, and each essay is footnoted by his present-day critique. Somehow I haven't read a single thing by Gibson before, and I wonder if I h
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Jan 07, 2012
Andrew
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Distrust That Particular Flavor by William Gibson (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2012. 259pp)
Born in 1948, William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction writer. His debut Novel, Neuromancer (1984) effectively predicted the internet. He has also written for TIME, Wired, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times. He has been awarded the Hugo, Nebula, Philip K. Dick, Ditmar, Seiun, and Prix Aurora awards.
Science Fiction: A Future Truth
The future is always somethin More...
Born in 1948, William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction writer. His debut Novel, Neuromancer (1984) effectively predicted the internet. He has also written for TIME, Wired, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times. He has been awarded the Hugo, Nebula, Philip K. Dick, Ditmar, Seiun, and Prix Aurora awards.
Science Fiction: A Future Truth
The future is always somethin More...
Oct 18, 2011
http://avc.lu/nLyrGJ
AVC: Your first collection of non-fiction, Distrust That Particular Flavor, comes out in January. Have you always wanted to write non-fiction?
WG: I’m a reluctant writer of non-fiction, in part because I don’t really feel qualified. I have the toolkit of a novelist, and no training as a journalist or science writer. But I’ve been surprised to realize how much of my fiction over the years has been steered by getting non-fiction assignments and agreeing t More...
AVC: Your first collection of non-fiction, Distrust That Particular Flavor, comes out in January. Have you always wanted to write non-fiction?
WG: I’m a reluctant writer of non-fiction, in part because I don’t really feel qualified. I have the toolkit of a novelist, and no training as a journalist or science writer. But I’ve been surprised to realize how much of my fiction over the years has been steered by getting non-fiction assignments and agreeing t More...
Jan 29, 2012
Artur
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William Gibson é uma curiosa escolha para guru cultural. Influente escritor de Ficção Científica, é conhecido do grande público por ter cunhado o termo ciberespaço no romance Neuromancer, seminal para o género cyberpunk. Sendo um daqueles escritores que tem o dedo no pulso da época contemporânea, evoluiu estilisticamente para reflectir na sua obra os aspectos menos visíveis e potencialmente arrepiantes do admirável mundo novo acelerado pelo digital que tanto nos deslumbra. É esta a faceta que mo
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Jan 13, 2012
John
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William Gibson has said more than once that science fiction possesses a unique toolkit for dealing with our science fictional present. He said that again when I asked why mainstream writers are turning increasingly to science fiction during a question and answer session held during his New York City literary event for this very book. He could have offered similar advice to journalists with respect to their narrative nonfiction and journalistic reporting; “Distrust That Particular Flavor” makes
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Feb 22, 2012
William Thomas
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William Gibson thinks very highly of himself, Angela told me as we listened to this audiobook on a drive in the suburbs. I think what she actually said was, "this guy is super into himself".
You can definitely get that impression from this collection, although the conclusion would be unjustified. The articles are more or less supposed to be about him- his experiences, his thoughts, his vision. So to make a judgment as such seems unwarranted when the non-fiction you are readin More...
You can definitely get that impression from this collection, although the conclusion would be unjustified. The articles are more or less supposed to be about him- his experiences, his thoughts, his vision. So to make a judgment as such seems unwarranted when the non-fiction you are readin More...
Feb 22, 2012
David
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I think very highly of William Gibson. I've been vastly entertained by three of his novels and can't wait to get my hands on more of his fiction. But this collection of non-fiction pieces, written over a span of several decades, is a disappointment, likely to be of interest only to diehard Gibson fans.
Don't get me wrong. There's nothing here to change my impression that Gibson is smart, and a fundamentally nice guy. But pieces like the 1993 essay about his impressions of Singapore fo More...
Don't get me wrong. There's nothing here to change my impression that Gibson is smart, and a fundamentally nice guy. But pieces like the 1993 essay about his impressions of Singapore fo More...
Jan 18, 2012
Alfredo
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I was amazingly entertained by theses boo, despite picking it up after a collarbone operation. The day I came home I was reading some other book trying to sleep and I was nor getting to sleep, neither getting distracted from the pain and discomfort. I decided to switch to this book, I haven't done it earlier, because I know how the author feels about nonfiction, and I was pretty sure I had read most of the essays. But I was immersed in a lovely world of details and transpositions, that got me t
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Feb 14, 2012
Rose
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I initially conceived of my enjoyment of these essays as an extended exercise in reading from my father's point of view. The subject matter of the book could be generally described as "the future," though it's retrospective nature means that it is a lot about the past as well. Although I think my dad will love this book when I give him the audio recording for a birthday gift, by the end, I was really excited by the ways the book was making me think about my own big ideas. My dad taught
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Jan 15, 2012
Mark
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I like to say that I will read anything that William Gibson writes, but that's not exactly true as I've long overlooked The Difference Engine, co-written with Bruce Sterling (marking it down for this year). That said, this collection of Gibson's talks, essays, articles, and reviews is a fast but fun read for William Gibson fans. The best pieces in here are the long ones, specifically the two wired articles.
The first is "Disneyland with the Death Penalty," a 1993 piece about More...
The first is "Disneyland with the Death Penalty," a 1993 piece about More...
Feb 20, 2012
Everitt
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I'm giving this a 3.5/5. Ordinarily I would have given it a strong 4/5 but most of the essays are available for free online, so unless you want the convenience of a single collection you would do well to just search the archives of Wired Magazine, The Observer, Time, Forbes ASAP or Gibson's website.
I haven't read a lot of Gibson but what I have read is very good and he is one of those authors I always mean to read more of, but there always seems to be some other book I'm obliged to rea More...
I haven't read a lot of Gibson but what I have read is very good and he is one of those authors I always mean to read more of, but there always seems to be some other book I'm obliged to rea More...
Jan 31, 2012
Ian
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Surprisingly hard to put down. I read this in the span of a day. In retrospect, it's actually kind of hard for me to remember too many individual characters from Gibson's novels, and this collection does a great job of highlighting why that is. He has a knack for describing cities, technologies, and cultural movements in a very convincing and interesting way (the characters are often just sort of there for the ride). His point about us not being more freaked out about the fact that we can vi
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Feb 11, 2012
Nick
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Gibson has a tendency to repeat himself quite a bit in this collection of short nonfiction work spanning the period 1993-2011 (the drinking game for this book would have you take a shot every time he describes something as 'Borgesian'), but since we probably won't see a new novel for a few years, this isn't a bad way to tide over. Gibson's main thesis is that cultural change is ultimately driven by the advance of technology, and through that he tackles subjects such as the future of film making
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Feb 05, 2012
RandomAnthony
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William Gibson's Distrust That Particular Flavor utilizes, ahem, prodigious white/grey space. While the pages number 254, approximately 75 of these are white/gray dividers between articles/speeches/book introductions. So assume the text runs maybe 150 small pages. Does that mean Mr. Gibson and Co. are trying to pull a fast one on completist readers? I don't think so. While Distrust That Particular Flavor is short and far from cohesive, the gathering of the author's best non-fiction in one c
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Feb 05, 2012
Jordan
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I'm usually not much of a fan of non-fiction, but William Gibson manages to entertain me anyways. His non-fiction still has the feel of his fiction writing, and he looks at topics that I consider relative to me in a relatable way. He draws you in and conveys his experiences and feelings in a way that makes me feel like I've experienced some bit of them. I feel the nostalgia he portrays, I see the potential he sees, I wonder at the world through his eyes. Lots of his articles from past years are
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Jan 24, 2012
Minxyminou
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A pox upon Amazon for making this so difficult to get.
This is a must read for any William Gibson fan. It's a collection of non-fiction articles and essays that he's written over the last 20 years or so, each accompanied by some present day commentary from him.
They all stand alone and are interesting reading. Gibson is humble here about his reputation as a futurist but nonetheless offers some brilliant insights. It would actually be fun to read (or re-read) this piecemeal. More...
This is a must read for any William Gibson fan. It's a collection of non-fiction articles and essays that he's written over the last 20 years or so, each accompanied by some present day commentary from him.
They all stand alone and are interesting reading. Gibson is humble here about his reputation as a futurist but nonetheless offers some brilliant insights. It would actually be fun to read (or re-read) this piecemeal. More...
Feb 06, 2012
James
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It's always interesting to use non-fiction pieces to get a better overall impression of a writer, and Distrust That Particular Flavor certainly did that, although I'm not sure it's a positive impression that's created here.
Gibson so often reverts back to familiar language (Borgesian, Lovecraftian, node, to name a few) that it not only reduces that impact of his ideas and opinions here, but negatively effects your view of his novels - they're changed from startlingly original to start More...
Gibson so often reverts back to familiar language (Borgesian, Lovecraftian, node, to name a few) that it not only reduces that impact of his ideas and opinions here, but negatively effects your view of his novels - they're changed from startlingly original to start More...
Jan 13, 2012
Tyler
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Gibson will be the first to admit he is not a non-fiction writer (and in fact does admit it several times in the commentary). The quality of prose and uniquely Gibsonian take on technology and futurism are present in this collection. Each essay probably works as a standalone piece, but read as a collection, these characteristics really suffer for lack of a plot to hold them together. Distrust That Particular Flavor is like a cake made purely out of frosting. That said, Gibson remains one of my f
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Feb 05, 2012
Nullstream
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I love the imagery of Gibson's prose. Fiction or not, the colour and the palpable taste of each scene is rendered with a point of view that one might except from someone with a snobbish obsession. I'm sure he could make a garbage dump or a sewage treatment container sound magically exciting and new. Of course learning a bit more about someone who has worked on things I care about has a tragedy of losing a bit of the magic you expect that person to wield. Gibson describes his world, ostensibl
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Feb 15, 2012
Alex
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Gibson is hailed as a visionary, but, as others have observed, he's more like an acute observer. I think of him as a radio tuned relentlessly five minutes ahead, dialled in to see the works underlying how we move. Like Granny Weatherwax, he knows exactly where he is, and writes it all down in painstaking detail.
This is the book of how he got there. He's mined it already, the best bits are in his fiction, but it doesn't matter, go on, read it anyway: like "Once More, With Footnotes More...
This is the book of how he got there. He's mined it already, the best bits are in his fiction, but it doesn't matter, go on, read it anyway: like "Once More, With Footnotes More...
Jan 30, 2012
Jeff
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William Gibson's selected short nonfiction works are interesting and present a fuzzy outline of his work. However, nothing in the volume particularly moved me or made me think about things differently. While I appreciated the postscripts with his current opinions about the piece, they usually undercut the points he was trying to make.
Interesting pieces on 'technology as the driver of cultural change', charming memoir on eBay as his gateway into vintage watch obsession, and compare/ More...
Interesting pieces on 'technology as the driver of cultural change', charming memoir on eBay as his gateway into vintage watch obsession, and compare/ More...
Feb 08, 2012
Patrick
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This book is no more or less than what is billed, a random assortment of one-off articles, lectures, forewords to books, and miscellany, from Gibson, who is a better novelist than essayist. There are some useful nuggets here and there (which I have shared over Twitter using the share function in the Kindle version). For me it was worth reading but if you are unfamiliar with Gibson, I'd start with one of his later books set in the roughly present day. Pattern Recognition is pretty good.
Jan 31, 2012
writegeist
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William Gibson has been one of my favorite writers since I first sat down and read the first line of Neuromancer ("The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." Let's not get into the fact that no one knows what a dead channel is or a test pattern... Yes, I'm old). His newest collection of non-fiction provides a wonderful insight into who the writer is: thoughts, background, obsessions, interests. Read his fiction first, then sit down with this quick rea
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Jan 29, 2012
Adam
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short and cool, consumed in little bits-and-pieces over the course of a day or so. Fun stuff, especially the Wired articles from the 90s about Singapore and Japan. There's a scene in there where he describes a meeting between himself, Michael Stipe and that fuckface Douglas Coupland and man, I get that Coupland is a cool dude or whatever but I'd love to have had 1/3 of that meeting disappear forever into the gulf of oblivion.
Anyway, the book was great. Made me want to re-read Patter More...
Anyway, the book was great. Made me want to re-read Patter More...
Jan 15, 2012
Mitchell
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A new small collection of non-fiction essays by an author that I used to hate. Still not sure how much I like Gibson. He has very pretty writing but I've never been very sure that I like pretty writing. And yet I much prefer super-pretty writing to be super short and these are. Maybe I should give up and reread Neuromancer and remember why I hate Gibson before it's too late. Though since I've read his last 4 books the moment they came out, maybe it already is too late. 3.5 out of 5.
Dec 29, 2011
Meghan
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This book is a collection of Non-Fiction Pieces by William Gibson. It was an ok Read. I think if you were a very big fan of the author's work you would really enjoy this book. Some of the pieces were very interesting, Others I think you had to know more about the author himself to enjoy. But even so, it was a fun look into the mind of a writer. you could see where/how he gets some of his ideas. and his Pieces that he wrote while traveling the world were my favorite, Especially the piece on Singa
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Feb 13, 2012
Dan
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Parts of it seem like filler, but Disneyland with the Death Penalty is always one of my favorite pieces of magazine writing and the last essay (actually a speech), "Googling the Cyborg" earned this its fourth star. It's a great description of the not-so-far-off future and a great summation of the ethos present in Gibson's work.
Feb 19, 2012
Mark
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I have a hundred or so books, mostly novels, stacked around my house, waiting to be read, but as soon as Gibson's new collection of nonfiction arrived, I cracked it open and couldn't put it down. His travelogues and insight into our Borgification are fascinating. An amazing writer.
Feb 06, 2012
Joshua
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I always feel a little bit like William Gibson is writing from inside my head, and this outing is no different. His outsider's viewpoint on reality is as compelling as his fictional worlds. It's also fascinating to see his perspective as what is now the present unfolded from the 90's.
