Cleo
I honestly really wanted to like this, as a fan of the Cyberpunk genre, but I just couldn't. I truly found it to be well written, but sadly, it didn't do much to impress me nor make me want to keep reading. However, one positive of Neuromancer is that it reminds me heavily of Akira, which I mean, I'm sure it may have been inspired by this or vice versa. I liked the dialogue, and Gibson's writing style, yet the story felt very bland. I'm sure it was revolutionary back in the day, but now that we're in 2022, (Now this review is dated) I can't see what was so incredible about this. It was just boring with a bit of sprinkles and cherries. Nevertheless, I'd still recommend just for the historical relevance, and because I love cyberpunk.
I'll warn you before getting started. The gentle mixture of my emotions towards this novel, and this being my first review will most definitely lead this to seem unprofessional at best and unreadable at worst. Regardless, I felt as if I had to talk about the first Light Novel in my hopefully (not too long) novel binge. A light novel that slowly slithered it's way into my heart and mind; freeing something that I could only refer to as a “fading dream”.
Of course, I'm not saying that I've secretly wanted to become a serial killer out of revenge or anything of the sort, but as the novel slowly reached its final act, I began to remember wanting more than I already had. The childish mindset of just thinking to yourself, “I wish my life was more eventful than it is now”. This concept is completely unrelated to the story, yet I want to praise the story for making me feel such a way once again. To an extent, you could call it envy over something I can't have. Once again, a childish mindset that exclusively appears when I read stories that manage to immerse me. Just from those few sentences, I'm sure you've probably guessed that this work of fiction has made a home in my heart that isn't going away anytime soon.
I may be getting pretty personal, but I think everyone has series that make them feel retrospective, and this is one of them for me.
Disregarding the twists and overarching plot, the novel did manage to pull me in with it's characters. The cast isn't too large by any means, but I enjoyed watching them banter and interact with each other. Moreover, I'm a fan of that road trip aspect it had going for it. I feel as if those types of stories help you grow closer to characters by having them be put in tough situations that ultimately benefits the friendship between the characters while still keeping you on the edge of your seat. Thankfully, this novel managed to pull it off pretty well. Kiriko and Mizuho's relationship were a highlight of the first 7-8 chapters.
I do think Mizuho's family life and Shiori as a character could've been fleshed out more, but besides that, I don't really have any complaints. The novel is short enough to excuse details such as that, but I might just be blind to some of its flaws.
Though, Speaking of Shiori, I know she isn't extremely important to the story, but she was a good side character with a small but nice conclusion to her arc. (She's also a waifu, so I had to talk about her a bit more).
Anyways, back to Kiriko and Mizuho.
Of course, it was obvious from the start who the girl that got ran over truly was, but I think the reveal that she was Kiriko wasn't meant to bring shock to the reader. It just made me ask more questions, which this novel made me do frequently.
What was Kiriko's past like?
How could she be Kiriko when there's an age difference?
How did she obtain her ability?
Who was Kiriko? (I'll be honest, I didn't start suspecting she was Kiriko until midway through the story)
Luckily for me, most of these questions were answered one way or another in a way that I think some people won't enjoy. Yet, I really enjoyed it.
(Still don't have a strong idea how Kiriko got her abilities, but in supernatural series, you really just have to suspend your disbelief when it comes to explaining abilities.)
Specifically, the 9th chapter, which pretty much re-contextualized the story completely. By this time, I was already invested in both Kiriko and Mizuho, so finding out about everything they went through hit really hard. In fact, this chapter might've made me even more invested in these characters. I'm not sure how to describe it, but this chapter was almost as if we were looking at a different timeline of events, where Mizuho did decide to meet up with Kiriko. (Needless to say, them meeting up was both cute and saddening.)
Nevertheless, this chapter still had a melancholic feel to it; knowing that both of them are dead. Though, I think I'd still put it in the “happy ending” category (emphasizing the quotes), since they at least died together.
And that's the power of love :)
Anyways, I think the message I've been trying to preach earlier is that stories can make you want more out of life. It can show you endless possibilities of what your life could have been or maybe could be if you take that first step.
Like I mentioned earlier, I'd completely recommend giving this novel a try. It may not be for everyone and it's undoubtedly not perfect, but it's still a great journey that you may or may not enjoy.
I actually really enjoyed the first novel in this massive series. Though, it's not for everyone, I found the world, characters, and politics to be extremely interesting. I'll admit that plenty of characters could have been fleshed out a bit more, or just had more of a character arc, but the complexities apparent throughout the novel kept me coming back for more. To be specific, the world and mindset of certain characters such as Paul added a lot to an interesting premise.
To be fair, I'm a huge fan of stories that have an immersive world. However, I still believe Dune did this almost perfectly. The only real complaint I'd have is centered around the ending, which was quite a bit rushed and abrupt.
Despite a few issues, you might as well consider me a huge fan of the Dune series already. Excited to see where it goes from here.
9/10
Spoilers for the ending of Dune
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Paul could have had more internal dialogue. I understand that Paul was unable to just break down or show emotions in the midst of a battle, especially after consuming the Water of Life, but at least give him some internal struggle over his son's death. Moreover, he doesn't even get his revenge on the Baron. I honestly wish the author at least let Paul and the Baron have an interaction near the end of the story, before he fights Feyd. Speaking of Feyd, it felt too soon for him to fight Paul. To me, he felt a bit underdeveloped. They could have had him live and fight Paul in a later novel. Nevertheless, this did not take away from the journey that was Dune.