Distrust that Particular Flavor
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Though primarily known as a novelist, over thirty years William Gibson has also built up a reputation as one of our most entertaining and insightful critics of contemporary culture. He is widely credited with having described the internet and cyberspace before any such things existed.
Distrust that Particular Flavor brings together for the first time his writings on a wide variety of contemporary subjects: the differing cultures of Japan and Singapore; music and the movies; what's wrong with the internet; the interactive relationship between writers and readers; and many others. Also included in the book is a fascinating autobiographical sketch: his upbringing in the South, the early death of his parents and his escape into books; and the move to Canada to avoid the draft.
Over the years Gibson has been eagerly commissioned by Wired, Rolling Stone, the New York Times
and other influential journals, as well as tiny publishers, online sources and magazines that no longer exist. These collected writings grant readers a privileged view into the mind of a writer whose thinking has shaped not only a generation of writers but our entire culture.
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.About the Author
William Gibson's first novel Neuromancer has sold more than six million copies worldwide. In an earlier story he had invented the term 'cyberspace'; a concept he developed in the novel, creating an iconography for the Information Age long before the invention of the Internet. The book won three major literary prizes. He has since written nine further novels, most recently Zero History.
William Gibson was born in South Carolina but has lived for many years in Vancouver.
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The blank pages separating each article in this book are coloured blue, and as most of the articles herein are only a page or two long, about half of the book seems to consist of blank blue pages. Add to this the enormous font, double spacing and acres of white space, and one surmises that the publishers have managed to pad out a couple of dozen short pieces into a 17 quid hardback.
Additionally, most of the stuff here dates back to the early days of the internet, when Gibson was the go-to guy for cyberspace. Hence a lot of it now seems quaintly old fashioned and a bit pointless to read 20 years on. - One article, for instance, is about how Gibson doubts Ebay being able to work practically. Really, most of this is stuff most authors would have stuck up on websites for free at this point in their career.
I started reading the book at 7 yesterday evening, had finished it well before 9PM, and felt royally ripped off. Not recommended.
Additionally, most of the stuff here dates back to the early days of the internet, when Gibson was the go-to guy for cyberspace. Hence a lot of it now seems quaintly old fashioned and a bit pointless to read 20 years on. - One article, for instance, is about how Gibson doubts Ebay being able to work practically. Really, most of this is stuff most authors would have stuck up on websites for free at this point in their career.
I started reading the book at 7 yesterday evening, had finished it well before 9PM, and felt royally ripped off. Not recommended.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
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 a most powerful case for that, in vivid, often concise, prose that will remind his most ardent fans of his early "Sprawl" stories and others collected in "Burning Chrome" and the novels "Neuromancer" and "Count Zero", and one that also evokes "Idoru", and other, later novels like "Zero History", in its relentless attention to detail. Any new book written by William Gibson should give readers ample cause for celebration, but this, his first foray into nonfiction, is not only a most distinguished collection of essays, but one that will be admired for years.
There is undoubtedly a strong cyberpunk-like beat in much of Gibson's narrative nonfiction. His poignant remembrance of his favorite SoHo (New York, NY) antiques store written within days of the 9/11 terrorist attacks ("Mr. Buk's Window") could have easily been part of one of his early "Sprawl" stories (Not surprisingly, he admits in a concise afterword that that antiques store would inspire him to finish writing the novel he had just started; "Pattern Recognition".). He has written a most concise tribute to "Steely Dan" ("Any `Mount of World") that not only pays tribute to the songwriting duo of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, but does so in such a way that anyone reading it will think that it is really a free verse poem instead of a most insightful piece of criticism. He finally explains his interest in Japanese culture in several compelling essays that explain why he thinks Japan represents our future. When he writes about his visits to Japan and Singapore, he does so in narratives that are so eerily reminiscent of his densely layered prose in novels like "Neuromancer", "Idoru", and even his most recent ones like "Pattern Recognition", and especially, "Zero History". Readers will be pleasantly surprised reading how he finally succumbed to the ample charms and distractions of the Web via eBay in his essay "The Net is a Waste of Time". And of course, he also discusses his longstanding admiration for writers as diverse as H. G. Wells, George Orwell, J. G. Ballard and Samuel Delany. In short, Gibson has given readers a concise introduction into his thought and an introductory trek that is one well worth taking.
There is undoubtedly a strong cyberpunk-like beat in much of Gibson's narrative nonfiction. His poignant remembrance of his favorite SoHo (New York, NY) antiques store written within days of the 9/11 terrorist attacks ("Mr. Buk's Window") could have easily been part of one of his early "Sprawl" stories (Not surprisingly, he admits in a concise afterword that that antiques store would inspire him to finish writing the novel he had just started; "Pattern Recognition".). He has written a most concise tribute to "Steely Dan" ("Any `Mount of World") that not only pays tribute to the songwriting duo of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, but does so in such a way that anyone reading it will think that it is really a free verse poem instead of a most insightful piece of criticism. He finally explains his interest in Japanese culture in several compelling essays that explain why he thinks Japan represents our future. When he writes about his visits to Japan and Singapore, he does so in narratives that are so eerily reminiscent of his densely layered prose in novels like "Neuromancer", "Idoru", and even his most recent ones like "Pattern Recognition", and especially, "Zero History". Readers will be pleasantly surprised reading how he finally succumbed to the ample charms and distractions of the Web via eBay in his essay "The Net is a Waste of Time". And of course, he also discusses his longstanding admiration for writers as diverse as H. G. Wells, George Orwell, J. G. Ballard and Samuel Delany. In short, Gibson has given readers a concise introduction into his thought and an introductory trek that is one well worth taking.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
By the standards of anyone else, a pass.
By the standards Gibson has accustomed us to, decidedly sub-par.
There's a broad gamut of works in here, ranging from the epochal "Disneyland With A Death Penalty" WIRED article reportage on mid-1990s Singapore, to a music review whose concluding remark was "I really like this music" (or something to that effect).
One has to respect the author's courage in resuscitating certain less-than-stellar works in an effort to provide a balanced portfolio of his works. That's laudable. The end result, however, isn't terribly compelling.
By the standards Gibson has accustomed us to, decidedly sub-par.
There's a broad gamut of works in here, ranging from the epochal "Disneyland With A Death Penalty" WIRED article reportage on mid-1990s Singapore, to a music review whose concluding remark was "I really like this music" (or something to that effect).
One has to respect the author's courage in resuscitating certain less-than-stellar works in an effort to provide a balanced portfolio of his works. That's laudable. The end result, however, isn't terribly compelling.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent for the Gibson initiated
To be brief: This is an excellent collection of essays. Some other comments have stated that it is an excellent introduction to Gibson. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Hellenros Rickard
Essential 21st century reading
This is the first anthology of Gibson's non-fiction, and is the equal of his best fiction (for that matter better than much of it). Read more
Published 1 month ago by simonphopkins@yahoo.com
Enjoyable compendium of Gibson's essays and articles
I enjoyed this book. Admittedly some of the content can still be found on the internet for anyone with enough search engine savvy to dig deep enough, but that shouldn't put you off... Read more
Published 1 month ago by DiscoDave181
Mainly for the fans
This is a collection of articles previously published in newspapers and magazines. I'm a huge fan - I like his style of writing and find his quirky views on technology and stuff... Read more
Published 2 months ago by ColinM
Distrust This Book
A grab-bag of William Gibson's non-fiction that demonstrates why he's probably not better known for this sort of work. Read more
Published 2 months ago by DRFP
Thoughtful and joyful - William Gibson at his best
I have been a fan of William Gibson for a long time. I guess it's fair to say he converted me from not liking science fiction all too much, to at least appreciate the better... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Paul Lindstrom
Over-priced and very, very short
The overwhelming impression this book leaves you with is that William Gibson hasn't written much non-fiction. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mark Hurst
Interesting insights
This book contains a number of articles, talks, book prefaces etc from a variety of sources, with an up-to-date post script by Gibson. Read more
Published 3 months ago by booky
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