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that just made my day. i looveee gibson. i just got the new book, and i haven't put it down since. i was going to go to his book tour in DC, but the DC signing was canceled because of the stupid snow. 
FEB 24, 2003 09:30 AM
Respect. You got an interview with William Gibson. 
People are always surprised that he's this skinny, delicate looking fellow who doesn't actually know much about computers and the internet on any level deeper than everyday use. And that he had never been to Chiba prefecture before he turned it into the centre for black market cybernetic and wetware surgical enhancements.
And HE'S always surprised that they thought all this of him.
Now do some research and get us an interview with THE Robert Anton Wilson. Pretty please!
Yup big fan of his work, but unlike Idoru (no disrespect, this is purely a personal opinion and I still enjoy reading him) while I enjoy all the new concepts and gadgets he introduces in every story, I find that his actual characters are usually very similar in every story. Same stereotypes, same mission or goal and always some sort of violation of personal memory or cognition and always challenging human traits we think belong to just us humans by implanting them in machines and software.
Again, please interview Robert Anton Wilson!!!
FEB 25, 2003 06:08 PM
When you interview William Gibson on a "porn" site, you really make a statement about the intelligence and artistry with which sexuality can (and should) be approached. Not that your interview with the legendary Mr. Gibson had anything to do with sex, of course, but my point stands.
Regarding Vastad's comments on the similarities in characterization from one Gibson novel to the next, I think you'll find that many writers who use fiction as a springboard for the exploration of abstract concepts (read: most pure science fiction writers) will exhibit similar repetitions. For example, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, widely considered one of the greatest novellists of all time, was quite well known for the similarities between characters in his various novels. Thing is, if your "goal" is to navigate and analyze the ramifications of a concept (in Gibson's case, this concept is the effect of the modern world upon our cognition, whether through the information age, advertising, or artificial humanity ), then it behooves you to make use of a number of characters who will approach your problem in archetypal ways. Hence, many characters will exhibit vast similarities to other characters who fulfilled the same role in one of your other books. Generally speaking, science fiction involves experimentation with a theory in a controlled (i.e., made-up) environment. In the language of scientific theory, the similar cast of characters from one novel to another constitutes a kind of control group for these thought experiments.
Of course, I don't mean to speak for Gibson here, but I've always been quick to forgive a certain shallowness of characterization in "hard" science fiction, if only because it seems not to be the point of the work. It would be like criticizing an impressionist landscape painter for the lack of detail in the faces and clothing of a picnicking couple that happen to inhabit a pastoral scene he paints.
Anyway, forgive my rant. I'm quitting smoking 
And suicidegirls, thanks for this interview.
FEB 26, 2003 02:01 PM
I appreciate the time and effort taken by twilightjack to defend Gibson's characters. I'm not THAT harsh on dear Gibson, I still love his books. I actually hold his short story collection (the one that included the orginal Johnny Mnemonic story) above Neuromancer. Hmmm....now that I think about it, probably because the format of the short story changes how a character will be created....
No...if I'm harsh on any particular author(s) for bland, annoying and unchanging stereotypes there's one - actually - TWO that come to mind. David Eddings and any fantasy novel which he works on with his wife Leigh. The characters that come out are really fucking annoying and their inter-character 'gender politics' chatter makes you want to shove nails in your ears. 
Sean
STAFF
Los Angeles, CA
FEB 23, 2003 11:00 AM