History Literature / BridgeTrilogy

The Bridge trilogy is the second trilogy of science fiction novels by Creator/WilliamGibson (better known for his Literature/SprawlTrilogy), set TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. To be exact, it takes place in 2006, so it's obviously fallen victim to ScienceMarchesOn, but the books are nowhere near irrelevent. When one projects them another twenty or fifty years into the future, it's quite easy to believe in the world in which they are set.

The books in the Bridge trilogy are, in order, ''Literature/VirtualLight'' (1993), ''Literature/{{Idoru}}'' (1996), and ''Literature/AllTomorrowsParties'' (1999).

* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: The Soviet Union collapsed, but the U.S. hasn't fared much better, either - as with Neuromancer, the Cold War went white-hot and then faded in a nuclear haze, but not before giving birth to the rise of the technology in Gibson's novels.

%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

The books in the Bridge trilogy are, in order, ''Virtual Light'' (1993), ''Literature/{{Idoru}}'' (1996), and ''All Tomorrow's Parties'' (1999).

* ActionGirl: Chevette Washington.
** Chevette is really more of a ''subversion'' of this trope. While strong-willed, independent, and intelligent, she spends most of Virtual Light running and hiding from her pursuers. In one case, she gets in way over her head and only escapes thanks to Rydell.
* TheCameo: Blackwell, an important character in ''Idoru'', makes a brief appearance near the end of ''All Tomorrow's Parties''. The book doesn't identify him by name, but rather by a description of his disfigured ear.
* CelebrityResemblance / TextualCelebrityResemblance: Berry Rydell is mentioned to look like a young Creator/TommyLeeJones-the first time by someone who ran his picture through a computer application that provides an InUniverse exploitation of this (the idea being that it helps people remember someone for identification purposes if they know which famous guy/girl they resemble). Ironically enough, Rydell doesn't even ''knows'' who Jones is.
* ChekhovsGun: In ''Virtual Light'', the bag of drugs Chevette gets from her ex-boyfriend. [[spoiler: She later uses it to spike Lovelace's drink while he's holding her and Rydell at gunpoint.]]
%%** In ''All Tomorrow's Parties'', the knife given to Chevette by Fontaine.

%%* HitmanWithAHeart - Konrad, from the third book.

%%* AggressiveNegotiations

%%* ShootTheMessenger - Chevette

%%* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture

* CelebrityResemblance / TextualCelebrityResemblance: Berry Rydell is mentioned to look like a young TommyLeeJones-the first time by someone who ran his picture through a computer application that provides an InUniverse exploitation of this (the idea being that it helps people remember someone for identification purposes if they know which famous guy/girl they resemble). Ironically enough, Rydell doesn't even ''knows'' who Jones is.

The Bridge trilogy is the second trilogy of science fiction novels by Creator/WilliamGibson (better known for his SprawlTrilogy), set TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. To be exact, it takes place in 2006, so it's obviously fallen victim to ScienceMarchesOn, but the books are nowhere near irrelevent. When one projects them another twenty or fifty years into the future, it's quite easy to believe in the world in which they are set.

* AggressiveNegotiations

** In ''All Tomorrow's Parties'', the knife given to Chevette by Fontaine.

* {{Dystopia}}
* FemmeFatale - Rei Toei
* HitmanWithAHeart - Konrad, from the third book.
* ShootTheMessenger - Chevette

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture

[[quoteright:561:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1529dee90f6263a6269a30ff525417ea.jpg]]

The Bridge trilogy is set primarily in the cities of San Francisco and Tokyo after a major earthquake that caused the Oakland Bay Bridge to be abandoned and then rebuilt as a shantytown of sorts. Tokyo, on the other hand, was rebuilt using nanotechnology and is, in many way, more impressive than it was before the quake. The Bridge, from which the trilogy takes its name, is an important location in the first and third books, but not mentioned in the second.

* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: The Soviet Union collapsed, but the U.S. hasn't fared much better, either.

* ScienceMarchesOn: The trilogy takes place in the early 2000s, and features things like nanotech construction and a gloves-and-goggles VR Internet, and ''once again'' Gibson failed to predict the rise of cell phones.
** He did however do a pretty good job with discussion boards, virtual stars and internet fandom.

* {{Zeerust}}: The aforementioned nanotech construction and gloves/goggles VR? Still not here, and we're long past the books' timeframe now.

* ChekhovsGun: In ''All Tomorrow's Parties'', the knife given to Chevette by Fontaine.

The books in the Bridge trilogy are, in order, ''Virtual Light'' (1993), ''{{Idoru}}'' (1996), and ''All Tomorrow's Parties'' (1999).