‘ H 'a i: Waterstone’s Edinburgh
THU
SEP 7.30 PM
MON
m V .\l o o V Z
TUE
m ‘0 .\‘ Lu 0 '0 g
MON
0 fl _{ .\’ O O V i
THU
O n _{ .\’ U) C 13 g
FRI
l°°
OCT 12.30 PM
FRI
l”
OCT 5.00 PM
WAT F. RSTON E'S
CAFE ROYAL PA ' CO HO
WEST END DERMOT HEALY
CAFE ROYAL JOHN ROBB
8:
ED JONES
WEST END
MAX MILLIGAN
QUEEN’S HALL T.M. DEVINE
WEST END FRANCOIS PIENAAR
EAST END VIC REEVES
CYBER N0lR All Tomorrow's Parties
William Gibson (Viking £16.99) *‘ksk‘k
When it comes to foretelling the future you can forget Nostradamus, bookies. marketing gurus, even scientists - go to science fiction writers. It was William Gibson, who coined the term 'cyberspace' and foresaw the internet revolution.
Gibson’s early predictions are to be found in his earlier books, Neuromancer, Count Zero, Burning Chrome and Mona Lisa Overdrive. writings that gave rise to the term 'cyberpunk fiction'. All Tomorrow's Parties completes a trilogy which. along with Virtual Light and ldoru, concerns the 'soon-to-be-fact post- Net world', a near future of inner city depravation. corporate
Future drama: All Tomorrow's Parties
conspiracies and technological transformations located in three megalopolises: San Francisco. Los Angeles and Tokyo.
Characters from the first two novels are re-introduced: Rydell. an ex- private investigator turned security guard at a Malaysian convenience store on Sunset Strip, and Laney. homeless in Tokyo and suffering from a compulsive-obsessive disorder known as the 'stalker effect’. Laney also has a special gift which allows him to read vast amounts of data and predict changes in society, and there's a vast. catastrophic. apocalyptic one coming. So Laney gets in touch with his old friend Rydeli and . . .
Gibson's writing style leaves minimal room for explanations, assuming instead a working knowledge of his future. a clever trick which draws the reader into the imagined world. Gibson once said, 'tomorrow's fiction is yesterday's news’. In his case it's a little different: today's fiction is
tomorrow's news. (Miles Fielder)
I All Tomorrow’s Parties is published on Thu 7 Oct. See Book events.
83 Geor C Street, Edinburgh tel: 013 225 3436
West End, 128 Princes Street, Edinburgh tel: 0131 226 2666
East End, 13-14 Princes Street, Edinburgh tel: 0131 556 3034/5
102 THE LIST 23 Sep—7 Oct 1999
BOOKS REVIEWS continued
begins with the slow climb. The blind Howard — an ex-RAF veteran obsessed with Morse code — lives a quiet, pedestrian existence with his angelic and dutiful wife, Laura. Sillitoe disrupts their contentedly dull lives with the introduction of Richard, another Morse enthusiast but also a rampant drugs smuggler.
Where Howard lacks sight, Richard is bereft of morals and, after an intriguing battle of wits in the middle section, the two embark on a doomed sea voyage intent on finding Howard’s heroine of the airwaves and pulling off an ambitious smack heist.
Sex, drugs and high seas adventure — the master of engaging fiction is still going strong. (CB)
GUTTER FICTION Chump Change
Dan Fante (Rebel Inc. £9.99)
*‘k‘k‘k * Bruno Dante is recovering in detox
after his latest Mad Dog 20/20 binge when the news comes that his father is in a coma and is expected to die within the week. He's released early so he can visit, but the strain of trying to curb his alcoholic tendencies amid the emotional responsibilities he is forced to accept proves too much.
What follows is a Bukowski-esque alcohol-fuelled journey through LA, as Bruno tries to temper his wrecking-ball personality, come to terms with the loss of his father and bring some order to his life. Fante’s ability to communicate the anguish of his hero falls nothing short of genius and even his most repulsive actions are treated
with a compassion which deeply moves without diluting the shock factor.
Chump Change is not a novel — it’s an emotionally searing experience which will leave you raw, and changed for life. (KK)
FAMILY MYSTERY Ma Polinski's Pockets
Sara Sheridan (Arrow £5.99) at: i: at What begins like a documenting of
childhood reminiscences, swiftly takes a few sharp turns and descends into a rather entertaining, twisty-turny, mystery story.
Rachel White is a twentysomething museum curator with a cherished, seemingly solid, family circle. Despite being the diligent Saturday girl in her father’s shop in her teens, her older brother inherits the family antique dealing business, and by God is she grumpy. Out of the blue, an old antique dealer called Ma Polinski, whom Rachel had known in her formative years, bequeaths her eight million quid. Not one to grab the cash and head for the sun, Rachel needs to know why.
What unfolds is a charming, if occasionally twee, adventure with the references to familiar Central Belt geography assisting the somewhat brief scene-setting. The unearthing of Rachel's own family skeletons, along with those of Ma Polinski, leads to a satisfying climax. (MR)
REVIEWERS THIS ISSUE
Catherine Bromley, Brian Donaldson, Rodger Evans, Miles Fielder, Ally Hardy, Kirsty Knaggs, Dawn Kofie, Hannah McGill, Mark Robertson