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William Gibson

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Idoru (Bridge Trilogy) Mass Market Paperback – September 1, 1997

by William Gibson (Author)

4.5 1,688 ratings

Book 2 of 3: Bridge

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“The best novel William Gibson has ever written about the world we’re entering daily. Neuromancer made Gibson famous; Idoru cements that fame.”—The Washington Post Book World

21st century Tokyo, after the millennial quake. Neon rain. Light everywhere blowing under any door you might try to close. Where the New Buildings, the largest in the world, erect themselves unaided, their slow rippling movements like the contractions of a sea-creature...

Colin Laney is here looking for work. He is an intuitive fisher for patterns of information, the “signature” an individual creates simply by going about the business of living. But Laney knows how to sift for the dangerous bits. Which makes him useful—to certain people.

Chia McKenzie is here on a rescue mission. She’s fourteen. Her idol is the singer Rez, of the band Lo/Rez. When the Seattle chapter of the Lo/Rez fan club decided that he might be in trouble in Tokyo, they sent Chia to check it out.

Rei Toei is the idoru—the beautiful, entirely virtual media star adored by all Japan. Rez has declared that he will marry her. This is the rumor that has brought Chia to Tokyo. True or not, the idoru and the powerful interests surrounding her are enough to put all their lives in danger...

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Idoru induces reader anxiety, an almost hurtful need to jack into the next page...Every word is where it should be—lean, evocative, tense. Popular culture is William Gibson’s playground. Enjoy the ride.”—Wired

“Idoru is a prophecy, a prayer for information baths that never drown the supplicant. It is also a text on paper, beautifully written, dense with metaphors that open the eyes to the new, dreamlike, intensely imagined, deeply plausible. It is a profoundly cunning advertisement for a world whose enclosed spaces—and infinite domains within the skull—we had better be prepared to join.”—The Washington Post Book World

“Gibson’s vision is disturbing, his speculation brilliant and his prose immaculate, cementing his reputation as the premier visionary working in SF today.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Gibson envisions a future in which the lines between the virtual and the actual are terminally blurred. How ‘real’ are today's celebrities?...What will happen when the Web allows anyone—anyone at all—to be a star? With characteristic brilliance, the writer who invented the word cyberspace looks for answers.”—Rolling Stone

“Gibson remains, like Chandler, an intoxicating stylist...Clever and provocative scenery...vivid, slangy prose. Chia is one of his most winning creations.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Spooky...[Idoru is] a sharp satire on the uses and abuses of technology and has much to tell us about the dangerous path science has laid out for us.”—Baltimore Sun

“Gibson's trademark of high-tech pyrotechnics and dark psychological comedy is in evidence throughout Idoru, and his characters are as compelling as ever. Gibson’s novel should come with a warning label: Objects in novel may be closer than they appear.”—Time Out

About the Author

William Gibson’s first novel, Neuromancer, won the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the Philip K. Dick Award. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Count Zero, Burning Chrome, Mona Lisa Overdrive, Virtual Light, Idoru, All Tomorrow’s Parties, Pattern Recognition, Spook Country, Zero History, Distrust That Particular Flavor, and The Peripheral. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with his wife.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (September 1, 1997)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0425158640
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0425158647
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.18 x 1.02 x 6.7 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #262,335 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #703 in Science Fiction Short Stories
- #835 in Cyberpunk Science Fiction (Books)
- #1,450 in Hard Science Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 1,688 ratings

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William Gibson

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William Gibson is the award-winning author of Neuromancer, Mona Lisa Overdrive, The Difference Engine, with Bruce Sterling, Virtual Light, Idoru, All Tomorrow's Parties and Pattern Recognition. William Gibson lives in Vancouver, Canada. His latest novel, published by Penguin, is Spook Country (2007).

Customer reviews

1,688 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book engaging and entertaining. They praise the exciting plot with well-developed characters. The story is thought-provoking and explores the perverse nature of celebrity. Readers appreciate the author's descriptive writing style and skillful sentence construction. The visual quality is praised as stunning and unique.

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Readability Plot Character development Thought provoking Writing quality Visual quality

23 customers mention "Readability"23 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find it entertaining, fascinating, and a pleasure to get lost in with good visual, aural, and textual layers. The book keeps their interest and provides a satisfying experience.

"...Now that I have, an entirely enjoyable adventure into what we now call a meta verse...." Read more

"...scenes as an unidentified co-conspirator and you're along for a very satisfying ride...." Read more

"...Entertaining and worth the read, and holds up well even 22 years after original publication." Read more

"...Never happened for me with Iduro. The book is generally well acclaimed, but for me, it left me with a sense of "what was the payoff..." Read more

14 customers mention "Plot"12 positive2 negative

Customers enjoy the book's plot. They find it engaging with an exciting storyline and interesting characters. The author's narrative style is described as descriptive, and the book is considered a classic cyberpunk novel.

"...a potential future internet, while at its core remaining a strong action adventure novel featuring deep character development...." Read more

"...And it's a clever story, too, with unique ideas. I don't want to give them away, but pick it up...." Read more

"This is an entertaining read! The author's style and narrative is interesting as well because of it's descriptive quality and choice wording...." Read more

"...With very well developed characters and a good plot. You can read this today in 2015 and it still feels like "the future"...." Read more

12 customers mention "Character development"12 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the well-developed characters and plot. They find the book gripping, with well-written scenarios and nice characters. The story explores the perverse nature of celebrity in a realistic near future setting. Readers praise the author's work as classic and enjoyable.

"...It's his usual futuristic cyber-type of world, well-written, with good characters. My only complaint is that there's a bit of padding in the book...." Read more

"...its core remaining a strong action adventure novel featuring deep character development...." Read more

"...There is nothing particularly wrong. The characters are well developed in Gibson's usual way, but the storyline just never grabbed me sufficiently..." Read more

"...E story also explores the perverse nature of celebrity...." Read more

9 customers mention "Thought provoking"9 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's unique ideas and imagination. They find the story clever, fascinating, and thought-provoking, despite being predictable after reading several novels. The author is described as talented and genius.

"...But, it's all well-done and interesting, so I'm not complaining too much...." Read more

"Typical William Gibson. Talented writer with a great sense imagination that he interleves with tales of human joy and tragedy...." Read more

"...Fascinating yet getting predictable after nearly a dozen novels." Read more

"...And it's a clever story, too, with unique ideas. I don't want to give them away, but pick it up...." Read more

8 customers mention "Writing quality"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-written with good characters and descriptive writing. They appreciate the author's skill in crafting each sentence. Readers describe the virtual worlds as interactive and data-rich.

"...It's his usual futuristic cyber-type of world, well-written, with good characters. My only complaint is that there's a bit of padding in the book...." Read more

"William Gibson is a giant in sci-fi writing and I have generally enjoyed his books starting with Neuromancer...." Read more

"Typical William Gibson. Talented writer with a great sense imagination that he interleves with tales of human joy and tragedy...." Read more

"...'s style and narrative is interesting as well because of it's descriptive quality and choice wording...." Read more

6 customers mention "Visual quality"6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's visual quality. They find the imagery stunning, Gibson is a master at creating unique backgrounds, and future world images built around computer technology. The tableaus immerse readers in the scenes as an unidentified co-conspirator.

"...Gibson paints the tableau, puts you in the scenes as an unidentified co-conspirator and you're along for a very satisfying ride...." Read more

"...The characterization is "just enough," the imagery is stunning, and the story is quickly accessible and not at all frustrating as prior..." Read more

"...His prose evokes amazing visual images. I'd like to see this as a movie." Read more

"Love his work - can't get enough of it. Grand future world images built around the evolution of computer technology, complete with the...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

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George Swan III
a welcome respite
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2023
Verified Purchase
I had the hardcover for years but never completed the read. Now that I have, an entirely enjoyable adventure into what we now call a meta verse. Always an mind challenging changing exploration of tech and society.

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illiandantic
Very Good Book, Though a Bit Padded
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2013
Verified Purchase
William Gibson's "Idoru" is the second book in his Bridge Trilogy. First of all, I have to say that I've read this book out of order: I've not yet read the first book. But, as far as I can tell, except for the previous existence of some tertiary characters, that's not a problem. The book is, essentially, stand-alone. Anyway, Gibson does a fine job here. It's his usual futuristic cyber-type of world, well-written, with good characters. My only complaint is that there's a bit of padding in the book. The first 30% of it is background material from the points of view of the two main characters. Once the actual plot begins, there's also a bit too much description of Gibson's world. But, it's all well-done and interesting, so I'm not complaining too much. I've also got a bit of a problem with the second main character being a 14 year old girl: it's a bit of a stretch having her do the things she does. But, I still rate the book at a Very Good 4 stars out of 5.

The books in Gibson's Bridge Trilogy are:

1. Virtual Light
2. Idoru
3. All Tomorrow's Parties

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9 people found this helpful

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R. Duncan
Prophetic
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2023
Verified Purchase
I have read this book several times, first when it came out, and over the years since then (most recently last year). I have to admit i didn't like it as much when I read it the first time, the iphone didn't exist yet, social media was not prevalent yet, AI was always 5 years away... as the years have passed this book seems more and more relevant with the emergence of smartphones, social media, misinformation warfare, etc. Now that we have videos and photos and deepfakes being created with generative AI, it seems prophetic, almost ripped from the headlines.

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Ol' Reg
It's Gibson...what more does one need?
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2019
Verified Purchase
Many years ago I read Neuromancer. Found out later that is was not the first installment of the trilogy so I bought the other two. My wife could simply NOT get into the futuristic story but I was hooked. I'm still hooked and I buy every book Gibson puts out, even The Difference Engine with Bruce Sterling.
I'm a die-hard fan and this series is no different. Once you're in and invested in the characters, you're in for the long-haul
Gibson paints the tableau, puts you in the scenes as an unidentified co-conspirator and you're along for a very satisfying ride. I doubt this is the end of the Idoru journey...at least I hope not.

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5 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer
"and popular culture is the tested of our futurity."
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2012
Verified Purchase
This is an interesting look at the marriage of human and AI in the online community of the future. Colin is a man whose brain had been altered by experimental drugs as a teen. His new job is to hunt for the nodal pints that help an amorphous group of people understand the proposed marriage of pop star Rez to the artificial construct Rei Toie. Rei is described as the personification of desire. Most of the action occurs in Japan in the near future, which has always been my favorite punk sci- fi setting. Enmeshed in the story line is an engaging computer star Chia Pet. This is as close as I can come to describing the plot, and I have a very tenuous grasp of the proposed technology. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. It is a poignant view of humankind's possible future as we continue to approach that occurrence when our bodies may no longer be our primary homes. I am intrigues with this story line, and this book addresses it better than most.

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6 people found this helpful

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SnozzWanger
Possibility or promise
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2018
Verified Purchase
Book 2 of Gibson’s Bridge Trilogy has nothing to do with The Bridge, but that’s ok. Berry Rydell reappears peripherally from Virtual Light, as does sociologist Shinya Yamazaki, somewhat more centrally.
Set in a post-earthquake Tokyo of tomorrow, it is refreshingly not post-apocalyptic or dystopian but is atmospheric as hell and expands upon Gibson’s view of a potential future internet, while at its core remaining a strong action adventure novel featuring deep character development. Entertaining and worth the read, and holds up well even 22 years after original publication.

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5 people found this helpful

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Allen King
Lost Me in the Verbal Maze
Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2015
Verified Purchase
William Gibson is a giant in sci-fi writing and I have generally enjoyed his books starting with Neuromancer. However, there are times when Gibson sort of gets lost in the eloquence of his writing and forgets that there is a story to tell. Iduro in his second book in The Bridge series (starting with Virtual Light), and frankly, the book just sort of weirds me out. Perhaps is has something to do with the setting (post giant quake Tokyo), but the story just does not hang together well for me. Maybe I am just getting too old. There is nothing particularly wrong. The characters are well developed in Gibson's usual way, but the storyline just never grabbed me sufficiently to turn the book into one of those that keep you up too late as you read "just one more chapter". Never happened for me with Iduro.

The book is generally well acclaimed, but for me, it left me with a sense of "what was the payoff with this story"? I never found it.

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3 people found this helpful

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Ninjanav
Rewarding challenge
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2020
Verified Purchase
Typical William Gibson. Talented writer with a great sense imagination that he interleves with tales of human joy and tragedy. Idoru is a challenging book to read as are all his other works, but that is what makes them worth the read. Gibson weaves so much complexity into his books it really makes you think and challenge your own understanding of the storyline. But that's why I love reading Idoru. Now on to the third book in the Bridge Trilogy.

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Top reviews from other countries

iAPX
Another Gibson, in a parallel world
Reviewed in Canada on October 21, 2018
Verified Purchase
22 years ago and still relevant in 2018 with a twist for me, the unique feeling to be back in Tokyo: powerful narrative, incredible descriptions, interesting characters that seems to be lost in their own lives (as usual with Gibson), and as for the Net, there are layers over layers.

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pippi-lotta
Utterly Mesmerising....one of Gibson's best
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 3, 2015
Verified Purchase
A brilliantly realised and oddly prophetic tale of love, fandom and the loss of personal privacy in an age obsessed with celebrity status, where not even your shopping lists are for your eyes only.
Although the middle novel in the Bridge trilogy, this works well as a stand alone book. Whilst it's not quite as significant as, say, Neuromancer it is still wonderfully rich and involving, with characters it's genuinely hard to let go of when the story ends. One of the things that struck me whilst pondering my review is how hard it is to pigeonhole this book. It somehow manages to be a cyberpunk masterpiece, a tale suitable for the YA crowd, for die hard SF fans and for those who love mystery and intrigue filled spy thrillers. There's even some aspects that will appeal to the most ardent of "chick-lit" devotees. I think that you would be hard pushed to find a reader who did not find some point of connection with this story....and for those who connect strongly the works of William Gibson can open up a whole new plush textured and wholly immersive world.

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Becassine6
Flashes of brilliant phraseology.
Reviewed in Australia on June 14, 2015
Verified Purchase
Hard to follow but worth the effort. Flashes of brilliant phraseology.

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Corrie
A page turner for sure
Reviewed in Canada on December 9, 2022
Verified Purchase
In retrospect the story for this one is a little disjointed and contrived but I couldn't put it down. The characters and the setting are just so well done. Blackwell is an awesome character, the writing is engaging and it keeps you wondering how the two story lines are going to eventually come together.

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FizzyMoe
Interesting
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 24, 2024
Verified Purchase
An intriguing book with an interesting core concept, even if it is so vague that Gibson himself can't explain it.

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