D_Davis
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2008
- Messages
- 1,348
One of the best things about City Come A-Walikn' is its hero, Stu Cole. He's written in an interesting and realistic manner. He is a reluctant hero, one drawn into the danger and adventure against his will, but he is not a whiner or complainer. He is not Shinji from Neon Genesis, but he's also not Snake Pliskin. Cole straddles a fine line - he is both anti-establishment and a man with responsibility and integrity. He doesn't want to mess things up because it's the punk thing to do, he wants to shake things up to bring about beneficial change. He's just a dude who loves the city of San Fransisco and its people.
He is reluctant because he questions the morality of his actions. That he struggles with the violence he causes is a wonderful trait, one that is sorely missing from many subsequent cyberpunk stories. Do the ends justify the means? Cole receives his directives directly from City - the avatar, the physical manifestation of the city and its inhabitants - and so to question his actions is to question the very zeitgeist and memes of San Francisco. By questioning City's motives, thus, in a way, turning his back on the city, Cole becomes isolated and afraid in the very confines of his home, the place that used to grant him sanctuary.
Shirley was actually involved with the American punk rock movement, and he expertly captures the attitude and pathos of the movement in his prose. This is a book filled with angst and passion, heart and soul, and a desire to do something different. Because of this, I would not hesitate to say that this is the most punk of all the cyberpunk I've read. It is real punk, down to its very core, and contains the ethos that made the movement a vital part of modern society. It is not punk in the Hot Topic sense, only on the surface; it doesn't simply go through the motions touching upon all the things a cyberpunk novel is supposed to. No - City Come A-Walkin' created the blue print that would be followed in subsequent outings, and therefor its punk attitude is all the more genuine.
He is reluctant because he questions the morality of his actions. That he struggles with the violence he causes is a wonderful trait, one that is sorely missing from many subsequent cyberpunk stories. Do the ends justify the means? Cole receives his directives directly from City - the avatar, the physical manifestation of the city and its inhabitants - and so to question his actions is to question the very zeitgeist and memes of San Francisco. By questioning City's motives, thus, in a way, turning his back on the city, Cole becomes isolated and afraid in the very confines of his home, the place that used to grant him sanctuary.
Shirley was actually involved with the American punk rock movement, and he expertly captures the attitude and pathos of the movement in his prose. This is a book filled with angst and passion, heart and soul, and a desire to do something different. Because of this, I would not hesitate to say that this is the most punk of all the cyberpunk I've read. It is real punk, down to its very core, and contains the ethos that made the movement a vital part of modern society. It is not punk in the Hot Topic sense, only on the surface; it doesn't simply go through the motions touching upon all the things a cyberpunk novel is supposed to. No - City Come A-Walkin' created the blue print that would be followed in subsequent outings, and therefor its punk attitude is all the more genuine.
