seanius's review
4.0
quite a rush of fast narrative with teenagerish themes of travel, drugs sex and violence against a remarkably timeless portrayal of the virtualised environment created by modern tech.
Whilst the main character is a kind of shallow anti-hero, there is a genuine poignancy to the end of his fling with the female muscle Molly.
The gender roles have an interesting inversion, where the very much masculine hard living Case is yet only truly powerful in the virtual mind-world of the hacker - it is the very feminine Molly who dominates physically in and out of the bedroom - in some ways she has even more masculine energy than he…
does have a bit too many stereotypes for these PC times - but lets not pretend that this text is more a high tech thrill…
seems a truly timeless sci-fi classic!
Whilst the main character is a kind of shallow anti-hero, there is a genuine poignancy to the end of his fling with the female muscle Molly.
The gender roles have an interesting inversion, where the very much masculine hard living Case is yet only truly powerful in the virtual mind-world of the hacker - it is the very feminine Molly who dominates physically in and out of the bedroom - in some ways she has even more masculine energy than he…
does have a bit too many stereotypes for these PC times - but lets not pretend that this text is more a high tech thrill…
seems a truly timeless sci-fi classic!
kingfan30's review
2.0
well I've read it and apart from a few moments of clarity I have not got a clue what it was all about. I'm not sure if it was the book (I normally don't mind a bit of si-fi) or if my mind just wasn't on it due to a poorly kitty this last week, so maybe I'm not the best person to judge.
mayoroffailure's review
3.0
Neuromancer is a book that is extremely hard to review, and in some ways I don't even really know if this is a book at all. In most cases a novel will follow a standard three act structure with characters, a plot, and some sort of conclusion to the overall story; Neuromancer has almost none of that.
Yes there are characters, but there are too many, yes there is a plot, but its jumbled and makes little sense, yes it has a story with a conclusion, but it's cryptic and offers little resolution. Now I'm all for ambiguity, if you read my review of And Then There Were None then you'll know that I thought that book would be better with more ambiguity; But just like any other literary device ambiguity has to be used correctly, and Neuromancer doesn't explain enough to have a normal plot and explains too much to be considered ambiguous.
So if it isn't a book in a traditional sense then what is it? Well I personally think that Neuromancer is a collection of Mr. Gibson's musings of the future. It's a novel that predicted cyberspace, hacking, and so many other technological inventions that its a prophecy of the future, an explanation of things to come. We as society move closer and closer to synthetic drugs, just last year four major corporations were hacked, Anonymous continues to do their thing against groups they find corrupt, we are getting closer and closer to artificial intelligence, and cities continue to get overcrowded and densely packed.
On the basis of predicting the future Neuromancer gets a grade A but on the basis of a novel it falls short of it's expectations. The plot is so scrambled that it's difficult to understand what is going on in the long term but if you examine what goes in the short term, specific events and passages, then it makes complete sense. I honestly cant even really explain what the task force in this novel was attempting to do, I know they were trying to hack into a corporation but the purpose still remains shrouded for me.
The same can be said for the characters, you have the mainstays like Case, Molly, Armitage, and a couple of others but Mr. Gibson throws so many more in. All of the main characters have excellent characterization and all have distinct voices but there are so many randy's that get no characterization and have no distinct voice that I cant honestly tell them apart or tell you what their purpose was.
These are the biggest issues with the novel, the fact that it's written without detail. Instead, Mr. Gibson paints with broad strokes, giving us a vision of the future more than an actual plot, he fills the canvas but offers no detail. It's a concept that works here but I doubt could work anywhere else, if anything I think Mr. Gibson probably should have made this a collection of short stories. Those stories could have offered him a more digestible route for his broad strokes.
The world of Neuromancer is, in more ways than one, the world we live in today. It's not really a dystopia but instead a neon covered lens of our future society. We may not be that far down the track but were only a couple of stations away, and that thought terrifies me.
Yes there are characters, but there are too many, yes there is a plot, but its jumbled and makes little sense, yes it has a story with a conclusion, but it's cryptic and offers little resolution. Now I'm all for ambiguity, if you read my review of And Then There Were None then you'll know that I thought that book would be better with more ambiguity; But just like any other literary device ambiguity has to be used correctly, and Neuromancer doesn't explain enough to have a normal plot and explains too much to be considered ambiguous.
So if it isn't a book in a traditional sense then what is it? Well I personally think that Neuromancer is a collection of Mr. Gibson's musings of the future. It's a novel that predicted cyberspace, hacking, and so many other technological inventions that its a prophecy of the future, an explanation of things to come. We as society move closer and closer to synthetic drugs, just last year four major corporations were hacked, Anonymous continues to do their thing against groups they find corrupt, we are getting closer and closer to artificial intelligence, and cities continue to get overcrowded and densely packed.
On the basis of predicting the future Neuromancer gets a grade A but on the basis of a novel it falls short of it's expectations. The plot is so scrambled that it's difficult to understand what is going on in the long term but if you examine what goes in the short term, specific events and passages, then it makes complete sense. I honestly cant even really explain what the task force in this novel was attempting to do, I know they were trying to hack into a corporation but the purpose still remains shrouded for me.
The same can be said for the characters, you have the mainstays like Case, Molly, Armitage, and a couple of others but Mr. Gibson throws so many more in. All of the main characters have excellent characterization and all have distinct voices but there are so many randy's that get no characterization and have no distinct voice that I cant honestly tell them apart or tell you what their purpose was.
These are the biggest issues with the novel, the fact that it's written without detail. Instead, Mr. Gibson paints with broad strokes, giving us a vision of the future more than an actual plot, he fills the canvas but offers no detail. It's a concept that works here but I doubt could work anywhere else, if anything I think Mr. Gibson probably should have made this a collection of short stories. Those stories could have offered him a more digestible route for his broad strokes.
The world of Neuromancer is, in more ways than one, the world we live in today. It's not really a dystopia but instead a neon covered lens of our future society. We may not be that far down the track but were only a couple of stations away, and that thought terrifies me.
mikeherb's review
5.0
I had attempted this book about 15 and 10 years ago respectively. I only ever got just under half way. This is a difficult book to read. If you're not a strong reader I think you'll either get lost and start skimming or it will be frustrating and you'll give up.
Anyway, I finished it just now and I really enjoyed it. One of those bucket list things. I think I'll read Count Zero just not right away.
Anyway, I finished it just now and I really enjoyed it. One of those bucket list things. I think I'll read Count Zero just not right away.
jonathanfs's review
4.0
It took me a couple of tries to get through Neuromancer, not because it is lacking in quality, but because it was so much more intensely visual than anything else I had ever read. I finally had to stop trying to picture the rich world Gibson created and focus on the story. One day I will have to go back and spend some time in the Sprawl.
tgibridays's review
4.0
I went into this not knowing a whole lot of what to expect. All I knew was that this was one of the foundational works that created the Cyberpunk genre.
I found it hard to follow the action and plot for a lot of the book. Gibson paints a very atmospheric picture with his prose and at times that made it hard to follow what was happening. A lot of it is due to the fact that many of the terms he uses he made up and I listened to the audiobook in small increments (I think his prose would lend itself better to a physical copy and I hope to be able to do that in the future). Gibson doesn't hold your hand as he leads you through his grimy complex cyber future, which adds to the appeal but also the confusion if you're not paying attention.
Regardless of my issues following the story, Gibson was able to draw me into this dense future he has created. It's remarkable to see the impact this has had on scifi and even popular culture in the decades since he sat down at a typewriter to fashion a world with technology engrained into every aspect.
Content warnings (not exhaustive):
-Graphic: violence, profanity, drugs use
-Moderate: sex
-Minor:
I found it hard to follow the action and plot for a lot of the book. Gibson paints a very atmospheric picture with his prose and at times that made it hard to follow what was happening. A lot of it is due to the fact that many of the terms he uses he made up and I listened to the audiobook in small increments (I think his prose would lend itself better to a physical copy and I hope to be able to do that in the future). Gibson doesn't hold your hand as he leads you through his grimy complex cyber future, which adds to the appeal but also the confusion if you're not paying attention.
Regardless of my issues following the story, Gibson was able to draw me into this dense future he has created. It's remarkable to see the impact this has had on scifi and even popular culture in the decades since he sat down at a typewriter to fashion a world with technology engrained into every aspect.
Content warnings (not exhaustive):
-Graphic: violence, profanity, drugs use
-Moderate: sex
-Minor:
melaninny's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 rounded up because I can recognize that this is a decent book that just really wasn't the bee in my bonnet. Excited to explore my feelings about it in my book-journal, here.
--
That this book is a masterclass in style is unmistakable. Gibson writes Neuromancer with a superb consistency of style that is challenging to pull off. The problem with this style is that it is simultaneously complex and incomprehensible, while also managing to give very little idea of what the world actually looks like, and failing to bring any clarity to the action. An example from a random page:
"With his deck waiting, back in the loft, an Odo-Sendai Cyberspace 7. They'd left the place littered with abstract white forms of the foam packing units, with crumpled plastic film and hundreds of tiny foam beads. The Ono-Sendai; next year's most expensive Hosaka computer; a Sony monitor; a dozen disks of corporate-grade ice; a Braun coffeemaker. Armitage had only waited for Case's approval of each piece." (pg. 46)
Can I parse all of this? Yes. Is it descriptive? Yes. Does it really mean anything, does it paint any sort of actual picture of the world? Not really. Is the halting, broken style with interspersed technobabble constant and inescapable? Yes. Did I ever adjust to it? No. Could some people? Clearly, yes.
To me, the entire book read as if it was meant to be a script. I think Neuromancer would make a superb movie (which, coincidentally, is coming out this year, apparently?) The cyberpunk vibes, the constant jargon, the exaggerated caricatures it calls characters, would all lend themselves to film well, and were painful in book form. It took me two months to read this book. I would tote it around my apartment while in quarantine, hoping that its proximity could entice me to read it. I would pick it up, read a sentence, and immediately lose interest. At about 45% the plot poked through enough for me to continue with some amount of interest, but I still found myself skimming through so many passages, with only a vague notion of what was going on. I never read books this way, but it's the only way I could get through it.
I'm also skeptical of the historical significance of Neuromancer, considering that Bladerunner came out two years before this book and was based on a 70s novel. But that it inspired a lot of dupes is unquestionable.
I'm glad it treats all of its characters like set-pieces, but I do want to note that Gibson makes unapologetic use of other cultures simply for style, and the Asian characters that exist all appear to be cloned ninjas; and all of the main characters appear to be white, despite the story seeming to take place entirely in Asian countries in the future. It's uh, not the greatest look when reading in 2020. I didn't hate the treatment of the female characters, at least, so that's something (but there is, of course, sexual assault backstory and fridging).
--
That this book is a masterclass in style is unmistakable. Gibson writes Neuromancer with a superb consistency of style that is challenging to pull off. The problem with this style is that it is simultaneously complex and incomprehensible, while also managing to give very little idea of what the world actually looks like, and failing to bring any clarity to the action. An example from a random page:
"With his deck waiting, back in the loft, an Odo-Sendai Cyberspace 7. They'd left the place littered with abstract white forms of the foam packing units, with crumpled plastic film and hundreds of tiny foam beads. The Ono-Sendai; next year's most expensive Hosaka computer; a Sony monitor; a dozen disks of corporate-grade ice; a Braun coffeemaker. Armitage had only waited for Case's approval of each piece." (pg. 46)
Can I parse all of this? Yes. Is it descriptive? Yes. Does it really mean anything, does it paint any sort of actual picture of the world? Not really. Is the halting, broken style with interspersed technobabble constant and inescapable? Yes. Did I ever adjust to it? No. Could some people? Clearly, yes.
To me, the entire book read as if it was meant to be a script. I think Neuromancer would make a superb movie (which, coincidentally, is coming out this year, apparently?) The cyberpunk vibes, the constant jargon, the exaggerated caricatures it calls characters, would all lend themselves to film well, and were painful in book form. It took me two months to read this book. I would tote it around my apartment while in quarantine, hoping that its proximity could entice me to read it. I would pick it up, read a sentence, and immediately lose interest. At about 45% the plot poked through enough for me to continue with some amount of interest, but I still found myself skimming through so many passages, with only a vague notion of what was going on. I never read books this way, but it's the only way I could get through it.
I'm also skeptical of the historical significance of Neuromancer, considering that Bladerunner came out two years before this book and was based on a 70s novel. But that it inspired a lot of dupes is unquestionable.
I'm glad it treats all of its characters like set-pieces, but I do want to note that Gibson makes unapologetic use of other cultures simply for style, and the Asian characters that exist all appear to be cloned ninjas; and all of the main characters appear to be white, despite the story seeming to take place entirely in Asian countries in the future. It's uh, not the greatest look when reading in 2020. I didn't hate the treatment of the female characters, at least, so that's something (but there is, of course, sexual assault backstory and fridging).
nikolastotiev's review
Unfortunately, I missed some parts of the book because it was an audiobook.
Nevertheless, after some digging on some details I missed I am pleased to say that I really liked this book and as I have said in the past about "classics" it is great to see how much influence they have on modern stuff.
CP2077 is basically the plot of neuromancer.
There is a scene in BR2049 where K is having sex with a 'hologrammed' prostitute, this scene exists in this book.
Even Trinity from the Matrix is inspired by neuromancer.
Truly an influential work, Gibson manages to create a *very* believable futuristic dystopia.
Nevertheless, after some digging on some details I missed I am pleased to say that I really liked this book and as I have said in the past about "classics" it is great to see how much influence they have on modern stuff.
CP2077 is basically the plot of neuromancer.
There is a scene in BR2049 where K is having sex with a 'hologrammed' prostitute, this scene exists in this book.
Even Trinity from the Matrix is inspired by neuromancer.
Truly an influential work, Gibson manages to create a *very* believable futuristic dystopia.
noleek's review
2.0
I listened to the audiobook version of this and although I really liked the world and what was happening, I found my thoughts drifting and losing interest. I plan to return to this piece another day and read it.
habeasopus's review against another edition
2.0
Yeah...it's OK I guess. Nothing here that really grabbed me in this story about a junky and some other junkies who are more interested in getting high than actually moving the plot along. Space rastas, really??? If this is the future, count me out. The AI overlords can have it.