Customer Reviews

Noir

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

For fans of Hammett and Chandler, NOIR will sound comfortingly -- and discomfortingly -- familiar, for Jeter respects the genre of noir fiction and has handled its conventions with skill and panache. For fans of cyberpunk, NOIR will revisit familiar themes in effective and disturbing ways; Philip K. Dick would have admired this book. For those who believed that the two genres could not be crossbred, NOIR will be a revelation.

And yet...

I wanted to like this book (and had I liked this book I would have given it four stars), but I only ended up admiring it (hence three stars). For the central character in NOIR acts with a brutality that at one or two points goes far beyond the boundaries of noir and well into the territory of sadism. It would give too much away to those who want to read the book to go into specifics. Suffice it to say that NOIR is emphatically NOT a book for the tender-hearted or the squeamish.

I immediately checked the reviews posted here after finishing "Noir," Jeter's latest, indepedent novel and found moments of agreement is practically all of them. Stylistically, "Noir" is a much darker, more Burroughsian version of William Gibson's seminal "Neuromancer"; the prose is wonderful, the characters interesting (if flat), and the plot is appealingly strange.

The most intriguing idea at work in this novel is the main character's (a sometimes unbearably tough detective named McNihil...) cybernetically enhanced eyes, which allow him to see the world as if it were a product of the _noir_ aesthetic of the '40s. Unfortunately, Jeter uses this brilliant and wacky notion as a more or less throwaway plot device, when I would have liked to have seen it explored in depth (the existential implications warrant a novel of their own).

Summing up, I loved large portions of this gloomy, satiric book and found others borderline tedious (see the distinctly out-of-place rumination on intellectual copyright law). Nevertheless, I admire Jeter's sheer funkiness and his commitment to his nihilistic future.

Visiting the book store some time ago, I noticed that the author of this novel has busied himself converting Phil Dick's masterpiece into a franchise. Having read Noir, I am not too tempted to see how Jeter may have twisted Bladerunner's already dark milieu.

Action in this novel starts out right away, but I had to read the first chapter over, because I could not picture Jeter's scene.

Noir is brutal. It is the sickest and most perverse future vision I have ever read. Not that that is necessarily bad, but.. Imagine a world were even death is no escape from your creditors; where mysterious machines shoot down every aircraft that ever leaves the ground; where copyright infringement is punishable by means far, far worse than death... and it goes on and on.

On the post-apocalyptic Earth human life is a worthless commodity. Sexuality is explored in many forms, but invariably they are sickly perverse and closely linked to death and mutilation. This did more to demonstrate the author's own inclinations than to present anything remotely plausible. The penalty for selling someone else's intellectual property in Jeter's world is to have one's brain and spinal chord forcefully removed and placed on life support. The offender's still-living, still-aware neural tissue is then used to make stereo cables or to control small household appliances for the personal amusement of the artist or author that was wronged. Doesn't take much analysis to see the author's own personal agendas being manifested here.

The protaganist is an 'asp-head', and agent of the Collection Agency, the company that performs the torturous executions as described above. He is a non-dimensional character who is, of course, very darkly motivated. There is nothing good at all in McNihil's life, he has made sure of that. The hero has taken the steps to have his vision altered so that the world appears to be a darkened version of the world of 1930's cinema. There is no daytime in McNihil's world, a condition that suits well the otherwise flat character.

All of Jeter's frequent cultural references, and his occasional use of German quotes are both totally incomprehensible. This may not be entirely bad though, as it does seem to add something, though certainly not authenticity. One thing is clear: Jeter's southern California is much different from any that anyone will ever see.

Finally, Jeter calls into question his own knowledge of the use of the English language, using the word 'connect' as a direct replacement for our beloved 'f' word. I.e. You are such a connecting loser, and so on. That, sadly is his only attempt at modifying dialog to appear authentically futuristic, and it doesn't work at all.

I finished Jeter's Noir, and found to my surprise that he managed to salvage a decent ending from this rather unredeemably twisted work.

Back when I was in high school (over 20 years ago!), I happened to read Dr. Adder (written in 1972 but only published in 1984) and Glass Hammer (1985) by KW Jeter. I thought both books were brillant and that Jeter would become a major SF writer. When Noir first came out in 1998, though, I didn't read it because I didn't like the cover blurb and ch1 was unreadable.

11 years later, I finally decided to read Noir because it's the last original novel Jeter wrote. I could almost kick myself for waiting so long because it's truly brillant. Yes, it has some rather grotesque moments (I will NEVER forget the "asp-head trophy" or a "Prince Charming" makeover). However, except for ch1, it's highly readable, has a great story and it pulls everything together for a memorable ending.

Some might find it to be too extreme but I think that reflects Jeter's horror background. Like some readers, I didn't care for the copyright rant (however, this occupies only 1/4 of the book). Let's hope Jeter returns to writing again...

I picked this up off the shelf just for the name. Turned out to be one of the better reads I've had in some time. Based in a dystopia familiar to Neuromancer fans, Noir follows the antics of McNihil, a pseudo blade-runner whose targets are copyright thieves. His life, and everything in it are so dark, he's chosen to modify his vision to SEE the world in the same monochrome he FEELS it to be. His best friend is his dead wife.

Technology has run amok in his world, and it's gone beyond the control of even the ones that create it. The technology exists to animate the dead, for a time, so it's used to eliminate the last escape from debt. Debtors are reanimated, forced to pay off their debts. They must picking trash if that's the best they can do, till their debts are paid or they become so decrepit (from wear mind you) that even wildly advanced technology can extract no more payment from them.

The masters of this world, the creators of content, have trapped McNihil into working for them. He's sent to track down technology intended to allow a form of forced addiction on entertainment consumers, forcing them to pay continuously for a 'fix' that costs the companies nothing to provide. It's task that will eventually cost McNihil everything, including his life.

It's a dark world, and a dark tale and it's not for the squeamish. If you can put up with some truly sickening bits, you'll be rewarded with a decent story, and thoroughly realized world.

Contrary to popular belief, I don't think Jeter has an axe to grind on copyrights. Just the opposite, this book stands as a commentary to what would happen if copyright were king. The RIAA sues people for file sharing that have never owned computers. It holds college students hostage, demanding they forfeit their education to pay them. Al this and more over actual damages that, to be generous, might amount to a few hundred dollars. Is there any doubt that, if they COULD, the MPAA and RIAA would license asp-heads to kill tomorrow?

Noir is cool. It has atmosphere and style and enough substance to back it up. The book sparkles with gripping visuals, betrayal, a very submerged streak of romanticism in the lead and a nasty but fun sense of humor.

In fact it's very...well, noir-ish.

The first chapter is hard to get through, disconnected and odd and reading like a fever dream. The story coheres quickly as you move onwards however, and it ties in neatly with the rest of the book. Noir might appeal to fans of Philip K. Dick or Steve Aylett (Although Noir's story is clearer than most of their's. Once the final revelations are pulled up the plot isn't actually terribly complex, but the ideas and characters Jeter used to move it along are interesting -- cynical and snappy and entertaining).

Noir has a strange ring of truth to it. The little jabs and philosophies Jeter brings out aren't completely new but pertinent all the same. Set within a slightly quirky cyberpunk background, it's a welcome change of pace from most of the sci-fi out there.

Ironic that this novel hinges on copyright violation as it borrows heavily from other (better) writers - Burroughs, Dick, Ballard, Gibson. The only original element is the uniquely awful wooden dialogue. It begins promisingly but from then on it's a stright-line trajectory down to the anti-climactic ending. One of those books that leaves you asking, "Why?".

This is a wonderful and challenging novel, a study in rich, dense prose and inventive detail. It's aptly titled, doing homage to the dark tradition of films in which nothing is as it seems, and every character has a dark side. It's a vision of a future we won't want to realize, but which is irresistible to read about!

Noir is a book that one has to want to read. The first chapter throws you into the setting too quickly for you to understand, but for those what dare read on, it gets better. Noir, like all cyberpunk fiction, takes place in a bleak future. The world of Noir is dark and gloomy, reminiscent of the word noir itself. Corporations are few but powerful, either merged or subsidized into larger ones. Middle-class can be said to be non-existent, and death is no longer an escape from poverty. It has a lot of statements against certain issues that are present today, such as management and information theft, that are blown out of proportion. The plot revolves around McNihil, a protector of copyrights, who sees the entire world like an old black & white detective movie. He gets hired by one of the huge corporations to retrieve something, and gets thrown into something larger than he could have imagined.

The storytelling is of excellent quality, allowing deep visualization of the scenes in the book. However, many minor things get overlooked, but it doesn't impede the story all that much. I enjoyed this book a lot, and would recommend it to anyone who can devote enough time to this book to fully appreciate it. My suggestion is to be ready to reread things, as things can get very difficult. If you can get past the difficult parts, the book can be very enjoyable.

This book, carrying on in the tradition of Philip K Dick, raises philosophical questions about corporate greed, human perversion, what is real, and what it really means to be human. Jeter imagines a future where "sanctioned terrorism" has become the norm as DynaZauber corporation relentlessly pursues copyright violators and debtors beyond life into an artificially sustained after-death existence. DynaZauber's secret agenda is to create the perfect addiction (infinite consumer demand, zero product cost) and get everyone hooked. ("They tried it before, with the whole push to get people on the telecommunications wire, to have them value bits of information as much or more than the atoms of the real world, have them pay to be mesmerized by the pretty colored lights on their computer screens.") Dyna = power, zauber = charm (magic spell).

This book deserves to be read closely as a scathing indictment of cyber-culture and a soul-searing look at the terrifying post-human aspirations of the technocrats. Anyone who criticizes Jeter for using Philip K Dick's FAMOUS quote about reality being that which "doesn't go away when you stop believing in it" without attribution is missing the point. This book is deeply and fiercely ironic, and there is more here than meets the eye.