Tentatively, Convenience's Reviews > Spook Country

In a way it's a double relief to read something by Gibson - not only do I read his work to relax from reading more challenging writings but I don't feel compelled to write anything particularly insightful about it b/c there're bound to be so many more 'professional' reviews out there that my input isn't as 'important' as it might be on bks by more obscure authors.

The last bk I read by Gibson was "Idoru" wch I'm somewhat surprised to find I reviewed on GoodReads way back in September of 2009! I feel like I read it more recently than that. In that short review I wrote: "I read "Neuromancer" 1st & was excited by the CyberPunk genre b/c it seemed like an important new development in SF. Since then, it's become a bit hackneyed for me." & I gave "Idoru" a 3 star rating as I have w/ "Spook Country" here. But, once again, the rating system fails me. I liked "Spook Country" more than "Idoru" but I still rated it 3 stars b/c as I wrote in the other review: "what the fuck, I still like his writing alot - I just can't bring myself to give him a 4 or 5 star rating."

So, yeah, I enjoyed this & was relived that Gibson seems to've 'matured' & to be less reliant on deaths & more in tune w/ THE TRICKSTER. The classic pulp technique of interwoven narratives that eventually converge on each other works here as well as it usually does & Tito's reflexive reliance on spirit assistance achieved thru voodooistic training is a particularly nice touch - as is the use of Volapuk - an international language once the most 'successful' & now largely forgotten - showing, once again, that Gibson has done his homework.