Virtual Light – William Gibson
Having finished Neuromancer, I was definitely ready for more Gibson. This book is also classed as cyber punk by some, but I found the characters to be more tangible and felt like I actually cared what happened to them more than in Neuromancer.
Virtual Light is the first of three novels set in a not-too distant future, in San Francisco. The famous Golden Gate bridge has been unofficially reassigned as a place for the homeless, rejecters of contemporary society and criminals to live and do their business. Rydell, a policeman, is assigned to stop a burglary in a high class home, but all is not as it seems, as when he arrives on the scene, he catches the gardener and wife (NOT the gardeners) in flagrante delicto!
The role of the media and multi-national corporates are in focus in this book, with ‘Cops In Trouble’ (a somewhat trashy, tabloid reality TV show) wanting Rydell as their beau (of the moment), but once again, events conspire to severely complicate the cop’s life.