Science Fictionary

How can you have any reviews of science fiction without covering William Gibson? (No, I mean it. I don’t think it’s possible.)

Regardless, Mona Lisa Overdrive gets right up there in my list of favorite novels in the cyberpunk genre. Gritty and dirty; ultra-slick and modern, Gibson covers the world of the “it-could-still-happen.” One of the fantastic things about Gibson is the pure believability of the world he portrays.

This particular novel revolves around organized crime, multi-national corporations, and wandering high-tech gypsies.

It’s almost impossible to effectively describe the inner-workings of a Gibson novel, and Mona Lisa Overdrive is no different. The first time through I’ll freely confess that I spent most of the time confused — it took a couple passes before the story really made sense.

You have to have a taste for pure environment to really enjoy Mona Lisa Overdrive. Once you follow it, the story is gripping; but when you’re confused, you’ll thrive on the tarnished technology of what could be our future.

Tad Williams’ “Otherland” series is a brilliant four-volume set which takes place primarily in a realm of virtual reality. It’s practically like a role-playing game which takes place in virtual reality: except that the events and challenges (and risks!) are real.

The series is about a disparate group of individuals who, by means best left undescribed, end up trapped in this virtual reality universe in which they need to accomplish a variety of goals (also best left undescribed.)

In many ways, it reminds me of Dungeons and Dragons, the tv cartoon from the 80’s, in that respect. The actual content is, of course, significantly different, but does contain definite homage to the world of video games and role-playing.

Tad Williams, in general, is one of my favorite authors in the whole realm of modern genre fiction. You can’t really go too far wrong with anything he’s written — although I have to confess I’ve never read his first book, Tailchaser’s Song.