Gibson likes to keep you guessing in this book. The plot is not one that instantly reveals itself in the beginning. You actually have to wait till the end to figure out the direction that all the characters have been moving toward. This allows Gibson ample time to work on characterization, or, at least, you would think so. I am not saying that the characters are not well developed, but there is just something missing, something keeping the reader from seeing the characters as human.

As usual, Gibson paints America in a bleak future. Poverty is rampant, government is invisible, and anarchy rules the day. Unlike some of his other works, this book is not about hackers ruling the world. The assassins in this book are just that. The world is excellently created, partly explained, and somewhat feasible. The setting is the books strongest point.

The plot was very vague. Gibson gives enough clues to keep the reader interested and develops the characters enough to make you want to find out more, but seriously lets the reader down in the end. The book almost feels rushed in a way. I would have liked to understand the Idoru’s motives, but for that maybe I should have read Idoru first. I had read that this book is stand alone and you need not read one to get the other. I hope that is not true. All Tomorrow’s Parties fails as a stand alone. If it skips over the ending because it has already been hashed out in the other book it is excusable. Again, I should have read Idoru first. So that is my recommendation.

I recommend this book to people who have read Idoru. I am not saying to read Idoru instead, but read both. This was a decent book that was on par with some of his other stuff. It does seem that he recycles ideas from other books sometimes, but he has never said that they all take place in separate universes. On the contrary, he has reverenced characters and plots from previous stories in follow ups. I digress, read Idoru before you pick up this book.