Fragments of a Hologram Rose by William Gibson

Baaaaby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey. Or is it grave?

Much to my surprise, "Fragments of a Hologram Rose" by William Gibson is not the high-octane cyberpunk thriller like some of his other stories that I have encountered. Quite the contrary, it feels rather tame and slower-paced than the author's typical propensity for overwhelming technojargon and frantic storytelling. It's as though he eased off the accelerator, shifting the narrative focus towards character development and emotional depth. Unfortunately, this approach doesn't necessarily pay off and I actually prefer when Gibson is unhinged. 

While themes of alienation and loneliness stemming from over reliance on technology may appear trite by today's standards, one should take into consideration that this story was written in the late 1970s,which makes it remarkably prescient. Parker is obsessed with ASP units that function like VR dream machines. Life isn't going great for him at the moment: his girlfriend recently left him, he can't sleep properly and is stuck in a repetitively mundane existence. There are flashbacks to his young adult life through a series of fragmented memories. The story revels in murkiness and ambiguity. It is not always clear what is happening and adhering to the cyberpunk aesthetic, nothing is ever explained. Readers are entrusted with essential bits of information and tasked with piecing together the narrative puzzle through contextual inference. While this technique showcases a certain artistry, its effectiveness can sometimes falter as found here.