Bruce Bethke

I'm sure there are more worthy literary pursuits than reading the novelisation of Wild Wild West, but I don't care; I had a lot of fun. I've always liked the film, even if nobody else does. Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Brannagh, spy-fi, steampunk, westerns – all good things. The book might not have three of them, but it's still got the unashamedly pulpish sense of humour and adventure, and throws in some genuinely interesting historical asides as well. Ignore the looks on the Tube and enjoy yourself.… (más)

It's really weird reading a book that coined the term "cyberpunk" way back in 1980. I mean, there were barely any computers around in 1980. As far as I can tell, the story is actually set in the 80's.

Well, that's not really true. In the beginning of the book, the kid is some kind of hacker, cruising around with his hacker buddies. So, at first it seems like the story is set in the future. But then the kid gets sent off to military school, and it seems that they are sent back in time to the 80's.

But they weren't. It just becomes dated writing once he gets to military school. There's still some computer code jargon thrown around once in a while, but for the most part, its just regular 80's style military school.

And then, it turns into The Shawshank Redemption. Because, our cyberpunk hero has a skill that the general desperately needs. See, the school needs a computer system. And this cyberpunk is the only one who has the skills to build it.

So, here we are, back in the 80's. I mean, if this story was indeed set in the future, where computers are so common that every teenager has one, how the bloody fuck does this military school not have a computer system? It just doesn't make any sense at all.… (más)

I'm so pissed off I read this book. It took a real stretch of imagination to buy into the virtual reality world the author creates, but then you reach the ending and it's so insanely stupid, you wonder what the hell you just did and why. I'm never going to get those hours of my life back!

Jack Burroughs is a sysadmin for a large multinational corporation who loses his day job because of a vindictive new boss. However, in his off hours -- which he now has a lot of -- he resides in cyberspace, in a virtual reality world. He likes to hang out in a virtual bar called Heaven, where he has created a cool version of himself, unlike his mega-nerd reality. He hangs out there with his best friend. Strangely, a hot woman calling herself Amber comes along offering him a million dollars to commit cyberpiracy and steal some files from his former employer, or so he thinks. He takes her up on it, with the support of his buddy, and is shipped some cutting edge virtual reality gear, which includes gloves, footwear, a bra, and yes, an anal dildo. That took some doing on the author's part. Still, he jacks up, goes in, gets the info, delivers it and is told it was only a test. Now he has to do the hard part -- the real job. Well, you would think thievery from a large corporation with strong defenses would be hard, but now he has to go up against -- get this -- an author. Yep, a big, bad writer. Who works with the Department of Defense on his insipid novels, so he allegedly has all of the cutting edge cyber defenses. That was really hard to believe. Nonetheless, he and his virtual reality buddies storm the place and he gets waxed, waking up -- I think -- in what's supposed to be a semi-real courtroom, staffed by a teddy bear judge, a prosecuting doll, and a bird, among others. There he's sentenced to exile on a deserted island, where he apparently goes, only to wind up a beach boy in Hawaii. And that's the end. How freakin' STUPID is that??? It's like the author wrote himself into a corner with his craziness and decided to go balls to the wall with total insanity to end the book because he couldn't think of anything better. This was a stupid book and I can't believe I wasted parts of two otherwise good days on it. Certainly not recommended. Not even good cyberpunk. Oh, and the author claims to have invented the word "cyberpunk," just as an FYI. Whatever.… (más)