All Tomorrow's Parties
Author: William Gibson
Amazon info
I didn't realize that I was such a big fan of William Gibson's - but I have read all his books except for Idoru (the review of "Pattern Recognition" follows this one). And I found his writing superb - interesting, sharp, evocative, and 1337 enough to send me scrambling for urbandictionary.com.
This is the story of a nexus in time that is happening in SF, involving the usual Gibson-like cast of characters. Much of the action takes place on the Bay Bridge, between SF and Treasure Island, so I was very familiar with the locale. The story was rich enough that I could imagine sequels being written from a number of different directions - e.g. the watch repair person and Silencio.
The quick summary from Amazon (better than my own): " Colin sends Barry Rydell (last seen in Gibson's novel Virtual Light) to the bridge to find a mysterious killer who reveals himself only by his lack of presence on the Net. Barry is also entrusted with a strange package that seems to be the home of Rei Toi, the computer-generated "idol singer" who once tried to "marry" a human rock star (she's also from Idoru). Barry and Rei Toi are eventually joined by Barry's old girlfriend Chevette (from Virtual Light) and a young boy named Silencio who has an unnatural fascination with watches. Together this motley assortment of characters holds the key to stopping billionaire Cody Harwood from doing whatever it is that will make sure he still holds the reigns of power after the nodal point takes place."
Recommended to all, especially William Gibson fans.