A Thing I’ve Read 11/2026: Idoru (Bridge II), by William Gibson
This is the story about a rockstar wanting to marry a virtual Idol. More specifically, it’s the story of Chia, a member of the Lo/Rez-fanclub, and Colin, a data analyst with pattern recognition superpowers hired by the Lo/Rez security team, both (persons and groups) attempting to figure out what the hell is going on about those rumours.
The novel is a bit of a wild goose chase through Tokyo, with multiple other parties getting involved along the way.
I found it an enjoyable read, with maybe a bit of an anticlimatic ending (which, admittedly, still fits the story very well, it just felt a bit… “okay, and?”). Let’s see what Bridge III will bring, eventually.
I do, however, have zero idea what the Sunday Telegraph was on when they said Cyberpunk would not come any more stylish than this. It is not particularly “stylish” in any way (and especially not compared to the Sprawl), neither does it seem to try to impose any. Cover blurbs need to die.