VIDEO: William Gibson on Characterization, Numbers, Entrepreneurs, Business Models and Science Fiction

2 Comments

1. Dan says:

   September 28, 2010 at 12:41 pm

   Spoiler alert would’ve been nice

   Reply
2. Joshua Corning says:

   October 3, 2010 at 3:53 am

   Several years after reading Neuromancer i read some Dashell Hammet (The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man) and realized that Neuromancer has a similar feel. The characters in both works are forced into action often against their will and the story plays itself out despite their hopes and desires. The story is a character of its own and the events of it acts like a mindless puppet master to the characters.

   I think this is what was meant by “numbers”.

   As if the universe in the book is a vast Pachinko machine and the characters are steel balls going to their final ends.

   I would not say the characters are without depth. Only that despite what they want the story has its own ends made for them.

   Reply