Neuromancer

The best kind of Sci-fi...imo

First off, I have to say that I was introduced to this novel by seeing, loving and researching The Matrix. I believe that the movie was just absolutely fantastic and amazing and any other adjective that I can think of (Just not at the moment). So, I picked up this book from the library to see what it was all about.
It was pretty good basically sums it up. It had innovative settings and ideas and was generally awesome all around, but I just didn't like how sometimes certain technologies were never explained or were only barely mentioned. That's fine if it is just mentioned in passing, but when you linger on them and detail them without saying what they actually do, that kind of frustrated me.
Other than that, this book was what I like to call perfect. Everything about it was expertly crafted and written, and I highly recommend it to people interested in cyperbunk or just basic science fiction. I will be getting a copy for my own library.

3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Neuromancer: Escape into Cyberpunk's Roots.

Neuromancer should be on the top of any Sci-fi fans must read list. What can you say about a book that launched an entire sub-genre of literature? With a breakthrough image of the future that we become a little closer to each day, William Gibson has inspired his fellow authors, futurists, and tech guru's since the day it was published. How many other works of art have reached a level of influence that in spawns a whole world with its own spinoffs in the works of Shadowrun?

Read it. If you have ever dreamed of the future, wanted to see the internet you surf, or use technology to make yourself a better YOU Neuromancer contains all of that and more.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Excellent book

For years I'd heard about what a great book this is, and how it was one of the defining novels of cyberpunk. Unfortunately, I was not interested in cyberpunk, or Neuromancer. Recently, however, my attitude changed, and decided to pick it up. I'm sorry I waited so long.

Neuromancer is, almost 30 years after it was published, still refreshingly original. Having read it, I can see the influence it's had on other books and movies, yet it feels different from all of its "offspring." Now that I've finished it, what began as a passing interest, "to see what it's all about," has grown into a deep fascination, and I'm looking forward to picking up more of Gibson's books.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A classic, by all accounts.

Neuromancer is by no means a long novel, it is under 400 pages composed of many short chapters; this does not mean it is anything like an "easy read."

Gibson consistently uses words that laymen, or persons-not-from-the-future, will not know in context. Reading this book today the reader most likely feels as if he's missed some crucial background info, possibly a predecessor to the novel that he didn't know existed, but that is not the case with Neuromancer. Throughout the book Gibson weaves his tale while not divulging every detail or aspect about it. By giving the reader a very narrow realistic view, through the eyes of the protagonist, and using technical jargon not invented yet the reader is almost coerced to put himself into the story and try to unravel what is taking place. All of this can make for a confusing read to many readers- and the brilliance of Gibson's work can easily be overlooked.

I cannot recommend this book for everyone or even avid fans of science fiction. I can only say that I view it as an important book in the history of the science fiction genre and look at it as progenitor to other great masterpieces such as Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson.

The story of Neuromancer is exciting but difficult to follow if it fails to grab your attention thoroughly. It won't be uncommon to get confused by the plot while reading Neuromancer but as long as you're attentive and keep reading any conflict should resolve itself as the story unfolds. If you're a science fiction fan looking for a challenging read and interested in a classic then you should pick up Neuromancer.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Choppy story

I only got about half-way through this book. It reminded me a lot of trying to read Gravity's Rainbow where the writing at times was so choppy that I only ever had a vague idea of what was going on. I read several passages a few times and couldn't help but wonder what exactly had happened or why. If you read books by scimming along and getting the general idea of things as you go, then this won't bother you and for that, I'll say it's a neat sci-fi premise.

2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Fantastic book

While at times i had to stop and read a paragraph or two over, it was still an understandable and entertaining book. I would definitely recommend to a sci-fi fan, but i think any of the newer generations can appreciate it

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Every bit as good as they say.

This one's a classic for a reason. This is the book that spawned Cyberpunk, and includes the seeds of ideas that would give us Bladerunner (Do Androids Dream), and eventually The Matrix. So revolutionary that things I've loved have been cribbing off it for years without my knowledge. Good to finally be able to give credit where it's due!

This one's a must read, whether you're in it for the detective story, the action, or the cybernetic enhancements. Great stuff.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Neuromancer

The most important thing to keep in mind when reading 'Neuromancer' is that it was the first to do what it does. Before there was the Matrix trilogy, before iPods and 3D broadcasting home televisions, there was 'Neuromancer'. Written at the same time the very first home PC was released, Gibson envisioned a vast network of connected information called 'cyberspace'. People who sought to break into the databases of others would use their technical skills to link up with the Matrix and and break through layers of ICE to steal information. So basically, Gibson envisioned the internet as we know it, hackers and firewalls. The writing itself is actually pretty confusing. This is also the book that created the genre of cyber-punk, so it is very technically laden and can be mind boggling at times. The story itself is pretty interesting about an AI that seeks autonomy. The characters aren't all that original, in fact almost all of them feel like stereotypical mid 80's action film characters. Perhaps with the exception of the psychotic Riviera. I chose to read 'Neuromancer' because of all the reviews that referred to it as a mind bender. To that I must disagree. I will say that one chapter is VERY mind bending, but the rest, not so much; pretty straight forward actually. But that also may be me viewing the story through the lens of someone who has lived with things like the internet for most of my life. Either way, it is still a good book and an easy read for the most part.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Err...best cyber-punk novel ever?

Well, I bought this book because of the numerous awards it recieved (Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick awards), thinking it couldn't be half bad, and it might even revive my waning love of SF. Well, I think it might've nailed the coffin shut. This is the first 'Cyber-punk' novel I've ever read, and probably my last. I actually started this novel ,like, half a year ago and stopped cuz I had no idea what was going on. Well, I finally finished it, still having no idea what it was about. The only reason why I'm giving it three stars is because of the lyrical, almost poetic prose that William Gibson has going on for him. His diction is truly amazing. Other than that, disappointing.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

As Good As Cyberpunk Gets

From the first sentence, I can see why this novel would be considered such a landmark work in its specific genre. I compliment Gibson for each and every one of his thoroughly-constructed phrases; such precise language is rarely so stylish, having never been presented in such a modern tech-noir context. However, I felt the characters were all throwaways - I immediately thought of the filmed version of 'Mission: Impossible,' in which almost every member of the team dies without the audience getting a chance to care about any of them. In Neuromancer (a sort of 'M:I meets the Matrix'), the reader is presented with a similarly underdeveloped ensemble. Yet film audiences can tolerate shallow characters much easier than any dedicated reader can. Gibson is obviously a talented wordsmith, and I guarantee he could win more Hugos and Nebulas if he spent some time creating at least one fascinating character.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Probably the Greatest Work of Cyberpunk Ever

Unfortunately, cyberpunk is not a very good genre. Most cyberpunk authors generally rehash whatever Philip K Dick book they like the most, and Gibson is no exception. The characters are tired-they're cardboard cutouts-as are the AI machines that the characters encounter. This book has its excellent parts, but the basic idea of plugging one's brain into a computer directly is not explored very well, so thinking readers would be better off watching The Matrix. Neuromancer is not a bad book, and it's certainly unique, but it does not stand up to earlier works of science fiction and its main ideas have been explored more fully in The Matrix and modern Anime.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I don't get the love of this book

From the reviews and the topic, I figured this would be right up my alley. Begin a "geek" (programmer, home computer builder, sci-fi lover) I perhaps have a different expectation than others. I don't think so, but perhaps.

The style is choppy with characters popping in and out as well as the POV going from the physical reality to the Matrix. This could work, but none of it was very compelling to me. The real world lacked any depth of explaination as to why the world was in the state it was in. The Matrix didn't seem all that encompassing and wasn't explained well.

I never cared much for any character and didn't paricularly hate any character either. The ending was rather anti-climatic to me as well. It never captured my imagination or pulled me into the story. I save 1 stars for books so bad I couldn't finish, so it gets 2 stars... barely.

In summary, I wish I never bought this book. Get a loaner from someone or read the first couple of chapters first before you purchase.

Best ccyberpunk novel of all time

anyone who says this is a bad book can punch themselves

Not for everyone

After 93 pages, I gave up.

awful

makes no sense whatsoever. Absolute gibberish.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Sadly, disappointing.

The book I was reading came to an end more quickly than I'd anticipated, and I found myself sitting in the airport, searching desperately for something to read. As a big fan of the sci-fi, futuristic genre, I read the myriad rave reviews for Neuromancer and bought it on the spot. Being captive on a plane for about 3.5 hours, I got through a good portion of the book, but in the coming days, and then weeks, I discovered that I was forcing myself to continue reading (sometimes a page at a time, one or two pages per day), until over a month later, I finally finished. Now this is a bad sign, when you finish reading a book and your first thought is "finally!" rather than "wow!" Ultimately, I think the book is plagued by three major problems: 1. The "action" takes a VERY long time to get underway. The entire beginning of the book is dedicated to a back-story that is neither interesting or particularly relevant to rest of the story. 2. The author seems overly preoccupied with describing every miniscule detail of every environment and every character, almost entirely without purpose other than to impress the reader. For instance, instead of describing an office as sparsely decorated, with a few colourful adjectives, the description consists of paragraphs minutiae about the texture on the walls and floors and desk and the things on the desk and the flickering lighting the creak in the door and the smell and the guy's face and his mannerisms and what the main character thinks of him and then some longwinded back-story about the guy that we've just meet and ... I found myself constantly thinking "ENOUGH ALREADY, JUST TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!" I'd say at least 70 percent of this book is descriptions that I could have done without. 3. The only character even mildly compelling is a tertiary character who's appearances don't seem to serve the story at all. I had no interest in the affairs of any of these people. To put it succinctly, I was pretty much just reading to find out what happens at the end. In that regard, I was again disappointed. I am disappointed that I was disappointed by this book, considering all of the critical acclaim. I really wanted to like it. I tried. I guess in the end I still don't really know what the "Sprawl" is, and sadly, that's fine by me.

Just can't finish it...

I really wanted to like this book, but it's just not happening. The story is dis-jointed and often times makes no sense. The book reads like an inside joke that only the author knows about. I can only imagine how much worse it would be had i read it when it was released. As a huge sci-fi and cyberpunk fan it's disappointing to find out that the novel that started it all falls short of the best in the genre.

Amazing

Neuromancer isan amazing early entry in the Cyberpunk genre

How did anyone ever get through this book?

After 50 pages I thought it would get better, after a hundred I was wasting my time. How anyone can get through this book is beyond me. The flow is jerky, jumps all over the place, characters come and go for no apparent reason and it uses lingo with no context trying to be "cyberpunk".

This book is a mess beyond reason.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Interesting Read

There were times in the story I had to go back a few pages to make sure I understood what was happening. Even with that, I found the story to be interesting. I plan to make this one a permanent part of my library.