Virtual Light, by William Gibson,
Bantam Books, 323 pp., hard-
cover

he buzz word on the

lips of techno-junkies

today is “virtual reali-
ty.” Depending on your per-
spective, VR is either a revo-
lution of the human imagi-
nation or just more high-
tech gadgetry to distravi us
from actual reality.

Sixties guru Timothy Leary is
now a vistual réality guru. His
recent rambling, fragmented pub-
lic presentation on “VR” did not
convince me that virtual reality
was.the “next stage in human
evolution.” (It did convince me
that he did too much LSD and
VR is now his drug of choice.)

Instead, t looked to home-
town author William Gibson for
inspiration. Even Gibson, the
“man who coined the term

“cyberspace,” admits the cie-
hard virtualists who fike his
books “miss several layers of
irony.” His latest fiction, Virtual
Light, is full of that irony. He cre-
ates an almost bleak futuristic
‘world, where virtual reality gim-
“micks abound but don’t appear
to have liberated human beings,
except from the annoying physi-
cality of a pencil or phone dial.
__. The tale is told ina punchy,
breezy kind of street-talk narra-
tive. It’s the year 2005, in the sis-
ter states of NoCal and SoCal,
formerly California, where the
palm trees are cement and the air
is real bad. After blowing his
_ police career, Berry Rydell signs

‘The search for

’ THE FERRY Building Gallery in
. West Vancouver will soon be
holding its spring art adjudica-
tion. :
-. The judges require that artists
-. must be past or present residents
"of the North Shore and have
three finished and framed pieces
of work, 20 slides or prints of
work, anda written concept or
proposed theme for their show.
Three-dimensional work is also
welcome.
The adjudication will take

poeceseon

Barbara Black
BOOK REVIEW

up with a security company
called Intensecure. Unfortunate-
ly, this career is also cut short
when computer hackers override
his car’s dash display with a fake
emergency call. The six-wheeled
Hotspur Hussar crashes into a
wealthy home where the “lacy”
is uh, “entertaining” her garden-
er,

Gibson has fun with the futur-
istic references. The surgeon pen-
eral is “trying to outlaw convert-
ibles” because they contribute to
skin cancer. The main character,
Berry Rydell, has a sexual
encounter with a woman who.
uses “live” birth control
described rather cryptically as a
“vale, sort of jellyfish thing.”

I's a world where virtual
female companions lose their
resolution, not their youth.
Where an artificially tanned clerk
in a windsurfing store learns
about his product by virtual surf-
ing. Where cargo rigs that run on
canola fuel have exhaust that
smells like fried chicken. And vir-
tual sexual software is nick-
named “McDonna.”

Rydell’s faltering career takes
him to San Francisco to be a
“freelance” driver for a low-level

art continues

place at the West Vancouver
Seniors’ Centre activity room at
695 21st St. in West Van. Works
can be dropped off Saturday,
April 9, 3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. and
picked up the following day from
3 p.m. to 4 p.m. only.

A $10 jury fee will be
charged.

Selected works will be sched-
uled for a two-week exhibit at
the Ferry Building between July
and December 1994. For more
information call 925-3605.

Se-——---=------5

°2.99

Lunch Only

< Fresh "
: butter croissant is filled
@- with lively alfalfa sprouts & tomato
Y Slices & served with Caesar salad; choice of
fillings: Black Forest VUys,

ham, roast beef,

smoked chicken,
corned beef or
vegetarian.

VALID "Til APRN, 30, ‘92

125 E. 2nd St.
N. Vancouver

skip tracer named Lucius
Warbaby. Here, he becomes
ensnared in a shoot ‘em up
search for a stolen pair of virtual
reality glasses belonging to a
Costa Rican courier. Thanks to a
digitalized information and virtu-
af reality network called The
Republic of Desire, which is
fronted by a virtual image wryly
called “God-eater,” Rydell
thwarts his enemies and turns
events in his favor.

The plot gets a little convolut-
ed toward the end and the tech-
nological gizmos Gibson pulls
out of the bag are sometimes too
sketchy to make sense.

But the kick is in getting to the
climax and indulging in Gibson’s
future vision, Whether it is the
architecturally incoherent (read
postmodern) squatter communily
on the old Bay Bridge or the
toxic environment of the post-
millenium, Gibson has a knack
for creating a compelling
futurescape anc wryly comment-
ing on its elements.

Me

:

:

|

|

PASPAROS TAVERNA

Greek Food at Its finest
Serving the North Shore since 1974

@ ROAST LAMB
° BBO RIBS
* GRILLED SALMON

valld Sun, thru, Thurs. Dinner only

Served with your choice of Greek Salad, Tzatzkl,
Roast Potatoes or fresh dally vegetables
Hours: 7 days 4:00 p.m. until well into the night
Offer ends Mar. 31/94

Y
CHOICE
OFS
ITEMS

; 2FORI
| DINNER SPECIAL |

{ Enjoy one complimentary entree when a second entree :
of equal or greater value is purchased. ‘
f Value up to $14.95

i BRIDGE HOUSE
RESTAURANT

f 3650 Capilano Road
i North Vancouver
} Valid uncil March 15, 1994

Not valid with any other coupon
i or on daily specials

e

SUN - THURS ONLY

1987-3388

reservations strongly recommended

STEM Ea BR

BRITISH COLUMBIA
BURNABY - 432-1191
ALDERGROVE - 856-6660
CLEARBROOK - 852-4900
CHILLIVACK - 858-5118
COQUITLAM - 464-2136
CQURTENAY:COMOX - 338-8944
KAMLOOPS - 374-6737
KELOWNA - 860-6699
KERRISDALE/OAKRIDGE 261-9592
LADNER/TSAWWASSEN - 948-0417
LADYSMITH/CHEMAINUS - 735-7759
LANGLEY /CLOVERDALE - 533-5288
MAPLE RIDGE - 463-7281
NANAIMO - 753-7877
NEW WESTMINSTER - 540-8055
NORTH DELTA - 590-1677
NORTH VANCOUVER - 984-4507
PORT ALBERNI - 732-5777
PARKSVILLE/GUALICUPA - 248-2231
RICHMOND - 273-4417
SURREY/GUILDFORD - 584-7121
VANCOUVER/WESTSIDE - 736-8541
VICTORIA - 475-3221
WEST VANCOUVER - 925-3655
WHITE ROCK/SQUTH SURREY - 536-5593

CALGARY, ALBERTA
Crowchild - 286-3295

Westhills - 240-0111
Willow Park - 271-3770

EDMONTON, ALBERTA
Mayfield Common - 444-0422
South Park - 436-6370

Sse

Matai HON