Though this final installment of The Bridge Trilogy brings the bifurcated characters of the first two novels together to pay off the series, All Tomorrow's Parties sags heavily under the weight of what it is forced to carry. Mr. Gibson is at his best when he welds the superficial onto the important, exemplified by Chia (a school girl) being introduced to the Assembler, a technology that will forever change her world. But whereas the superficial was well-refined in the first two novels, here it is set aside for expediency, that is, the culmination of what this whole trilogy is about. He who can anticipate the future can control information. He who controls information can manipulate it to their advantage and to the detriment of others. This, in a nutshell, is the lesson of the trilogy. This is where we've been headed since we first met Berry Rydell. But while this lesson is philosophically satisfying, the enjoyableness of the first two novels has been the characters and they seem to suffer, here, for being more obviously puppets for the thrust of Mr. Gibson's brand of technological theology.
Laney's deterioration into what he feared most is heartbreaking to watch, while the re-introduction of Berry and Chevette is welcome and amusing. Yet, having the two casts together somehow doesn't amalgamate into something greater than its parts. This may be a reach to explain why I enjoyed this conclusion less than Virtual Light and Idoru, but it just doesn't come alive as it should.
Nonetheless, this is rare fiction, the likes of which comes along only once every few years. Mr. Gibson has a gift and the reader is unquestionably blessed to watch that gift at work. (3/5 Stars)
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