Not as edgy as his earlier work, and I think the writing style is a bit off pace. Possible I just couldn't get attached to the characters because I found their names unappealing.   Just the same, his pulse is on current trends and his intellectual view of societies edges has held some grit.

Spook country moves into some interesting territory conceptually.   Some interesting thoughts on the mergers of data points through the eyes of the artist/performer on the world stage.   The chemicals are on the numb and somewhat desperate edge, which is foretelling for america.

The characters lives seem more forced and less spontainious in their interweavings, the convergence is still there, but moves with far less grace.  Lost is silencio's fascination with the workings of time and number, the new aesthetic is precise and calibrated, but a world only a few can gain access to.

Deep in its ponderings, incongrous in its characterizations.   A good read, but I would rather re-read virtual light, neuromancer or the brilliant short stories in burning chrome.

The chrome is off, the colors are flat and monochrome like a methadone chill.   Chase, Bobby, Chevette and the colorful Virtek are gone.   Laney's methods are replaced by those of Mr. Bigend.   The same relentless search for truth has gone from deep to superficial, seen through another set of eyes in another set of circumstances.