All Tomorrow's Parties (novel)
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| All Tomorrow's Parties | |
| Author | William Gibson |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Bridge trilogy |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction, Dystopian novel |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Publication date | October 7, 1999 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 320 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-670-87557-0 |
| Preceded by | Idoru |
| Followed by | Pattern Recognition |
All Tomorrow's Parties is the third book in William Gibson's Bridge trilogy. Like its predecessors, All Tomorrow's Parties is a science-fiction novel set in a postmodern, dystopian, cyberpunk future. The novel borrows its title from the Velvet Underground song of the same name, is told in the third-person plural, and once again deals with emergent technology.
[edit] Plot summary
Because of its prismatic, fractured style, describing a common, unified plot is difficult. However, three separate but overlapping stories can be identified if the continual appearance of pivotal characters are taken as narrative anchor points. The San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge, the overarching setting of the trilogy, functions both as a narrative link between the three lines of plot and the physical location of their ultimate convergence and resolution.
The first story features former rent-a-cop Berry Rydell, the protagonist of Virtual Light. Rydell quits a temporary job as a security guard at the Lucky Dragon convenience store to run errands for atrophied computer hacker Colin Laney, who lives in a cardboard box in a subway in Shinjuku, Tokyo. As a child, Laney was administered an experimental, mind-altering drug called 5-SB. As a result, he has developed an ability to identify patterns within vast tracts of media information. From studying these patterns or "nodal points", Laney is able to form predictions.
A side effect of 5-SB causes the user to become attached to strong personalities. As a result, Laney has become obsessed with media baron Cody Harwood of Harwood Levine, a powerful PR firm. He spends his life surfing the net from his enclave in the subway, searching for traces of Levine in the media. From this, Laney foresees a crucial historical shift which may precede the end of the world. He predicts Harwood, who had also taken 5-SB before (albeit voluntarily WITH knowledge of the consequences), knows this and will try to shape this historical shift to his liking. To stop Harwood, Laney hires Rydell under the guise of a courier to travel to San Francisco where the next nodal point will unfold.
The second story concerns ex-bicycle messenger Chevette Washington, also from Virtual Light, who is on the run from her ex-boyfriend. She escapes to her former home, San Francisco's bridge community, to find refuge and revisit her past. She is accompanied by Tessa, an Australian media sciences student. Tessa visits the bridge to film a documentary on "interstitial communities".
The third story follows a mysterious, left-handed swordsman named Konrad. Although Konrad is employed by Harwood, he appears to be directed by his own motives. In particular, Konrad aligns his movements with the Tao, the spontaneous, universal energy path of Taoist philosophy.
[edit] Characters
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (May 2008) |
Secondary characters include Silencio, a mute boy who is fascinated with watches, holographic girl Rei Toei (the beautiful "emergent system" from Idoru) and self-described "student of existential sociology" Shinya Yamazaki (from Virtual Light and Idoru) as well as Fontaine, the pawn-shop owner and friend of Rydell and Chevette, having appeared first in Virtual Light.
[edit] Konrad
Konrad is portrayed as a mysterious, oddly philosophical corporate assassin. He is described as a retainer for media baron Cody Harwood although his employer does not seem to issue specific orders, nor does Konrad demonstrate a willingness to obey. Therefore, Konrad's professional relationship to Harwood is a peculiar one; neither truly needs the other but the relationship is maintained nonetheless for collateral reasons.
He is described as a slim, middle-aged man with short, grey hair and a vaguely academic resemblance like that of a professor. He wears a dark green woolen coat, dark grey pants, black leather shoes and round, gold-rimmed glasses. It should be noted that Konrad is similar in appearance to William Gibson, himself.
Little is revealed about Konrad's past. There are, however, hints of a previous army service (some of his actions are described as 'military') and his nostalgic, jaded view of cities suggests that his work has taken him to many places around the world.
Konrad follows the Chinese philosophy of Taoism. Throughout the novel, he continually appeals to the Tao to guide and interpret his actions. He is trained in the art of Argentine knife-fighting which he learned on a beach in Cuba. His weapon of choice is the tantō, a shorter version of the Japanese katana sword. He carries the tanto concealed under his armpit using a magnetic clip which grasps the blade, leaving the hilt swinging freely. His skill with the weapon is absolute and is continually compared to the sublime, transcendent, thoughtless skill of an enlightened martial artist. Konrad is said to possess a lost love, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman named Lise, who haunts his dreams.
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