Neuromancer
Ratings955
Average rating3.8
Neuromancer is one of those Sci Fi books that should be read by pretty much everyone. But because I am me I haven't even read a single Gibson book until a view months ago when I read his newest one “Peripheral”. I really liked that one and so I thought it is about time I read this one. What a great book, although there are parts that have not really aged so well (comapny names for products) it is on the other hand written pretty much timeless. Highly recommended.
Awesome Read
Had no idea how much the Matrix pulled from this. Hell, even the idea of the Matrix was coined here. For what it's worth, this was so much better, even if it was written in the 80's.
Oh and you gotta love Dixie. Reminded me of Morte from Torment. Good stuff.
This book is so fascinating. It's influence is everywhere, the poetic language is absolutely gorgeous, and the storytelling is complete garbage. It's also fascinating how the author's lack of scientific knowledge helped him create a world so impossible yet engaging. He couldn't predict cell phones but he was able to predict the internet, and even coined the word ‘cyberspace'. I'm not sure what the first cyberpunk story was, but this is the earliest one I'm aware of, and it's easy to see the influence it had on stories such as Ghost in the Shell and Blade Runner. Do not read this book for the plot. It's barely touched on. The character motivations and conflicts are all buried under pages and pages of descriptors and it's obvious the author doesn't care about them much. It's better to simply enjoy it as the mega science fiction poem that it is.
A book long Deus ex Machina that is boring and forgettable, infused with oriental fetish and technical terms that want to make it sound smart, but don't scratch the surface. Characters are flat and without personality–they go along to whatever they are told to do, with no personal goals, no drives or interests. The AI is boring too. Heinlein's AI in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is waaaay more captivating and interesting.
I have tried a few times now to read a Gibson book, but I just don't enjoy them. Yes, there are neat, sometimes revolutionary ideas there, but I have never attached myself to any characters or plot lines. This book starts with quite the Mary Sue moment, as the central character has sex with the first (and one of the few) women he runs into randomly. Just kind of weak writing to me.
I also realize this is sci-fi heresy. But there it is.
Book Review: Neuromancer by William Gibson - the book that 30 years ago coined the word cyberspace. I really don't think it is a great book. But it is interesting to see the early days of cyberpunk. And it certainly does not read like it was written in 1984.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/neuromancer/
The original cyber-punk. A little 80's for my taste, but much more enjoyable than I thought it would be.
I listened to the unabridged audiobook version of this book and it lost me. I really wanted to like this book, but Gibson gets far too into descriptions of scenery (which doesn't really hold my attention), and he jumps right into characters with no introductions. I couldn't keep track of the different characters and I only had a vague grasp on the plot.
Maybe listening to it as an audiobook makes it harder to follow. I might give reading the book a try in the future to see if it goes any better.
Neuromancer is a novel set in a futuristic Matrix-like world where humans can jack into the vast systems of computer networks to access hidden information. This book follows the story of Case, once one of the best criminals in the system, who's career was ended when a former employer destroyed his nervous system. He is found by Molly, a warrior with enhanced capabilities, who puts him in contact with her employer, and restores his lost abilities with a very experimental surgical procedure. The remainder of the story follows their adventures as they work to uncover the secrets hidden by the target of their operation: the Tessier-Ashpool business group.
I have to say that, while I enjoyed segments of this book, and while I appreciated the detailed and other-worldly descriptive passages, there were (a lot of) times when I was pondering exactly what was happening. Sometimes I questioned if I was reading something that was absolute brilliance or total gibberish. At times I even questioned if I was smart enough to understand what was really happening in this book. But I continued on to the ending, and I must admit that in the end I was able to find some enjoyment in the book. There are still sections that I don't know if I fully understand, and some portions that would make my brain hurt to re-read, but I did think that the end result was worth it.
I don't know if this story is for everyone - the techno-babble and and convoluted plot could be a turn-off for a lot of readers - but I do think fans of the science fiction genre will enjoy this book. The descriptive passages allow the reader to imagine some rather unique and stunning visuals, but a lot of this writing is wedged between long segments describing the almost indecipherable descriptions of the world's technology. I did like this gritty, non-utopian view of the future, and I can appreciate that this writing style forces the reader to be fully immersed in this world. On the other hand, I don't know if the characters or plot are as complex or well-rounded as I would like them to be. I can't deny that this novel has an important place in the genre, but I don't think I would consider this one of my favorite science fiction novels, though it was definitely a very interesting read. I am glad I spent the time to read it myself, but unless you are a real science fiction buff I don't know that I would recommend it to others.
A friend recommended this book to me after I told him I was into SciFi/Fantasy. I probably should have told him that I'm more into the Fantasy side. I saw that this book was highly recommended and won a ton of awards but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I think that it was just too out there. I had trouble following the storyline or actually recognizing the story line. In fact, I had to go back and read the end a couple of times as I thought I was missing something. After reading the couple of pages at the end from another author talking about [a:William Gibson 9226 William Gibson http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1282769227p2/9226.jpg] I got more from what the book was about then the book itself. I guess I just don't like to go that deep into reading my books. However, I also had similar feelings about the Mars trilogy from [a:Kim Stanley Robinson 1858 Kim Stanley Robinson http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1217240935p2/1858.jpg] and I find myself thinking of those books in different situations. I really don't see that happening with this book as there wasn't much “human” interactions or I didn't get it at least. I need to have more personal relationship development than this book provided.
I had a really hard time visualizing a lot of this book, which is probably due in part to the 1984/2012 technology gap. I loved a lot of the technology foreshadowing that Gibson shows, but part of me assumes it's cliche simply because I've heard the word “matrix” done to death. I'm aware I should be yelling at the Wachowski brothers and everyone else who sniped the term from this book.
While the characters were fun to listen to and watch their interactions, I was frequently at a loss for their motivations. I'd get lost in some of the technical terms and sudden setting shifts and I'm sure I missed plot point after plot point that would explain it to me. A lot of reviews I've seen of this mention how much better it is on a second reading, so maybe in a year or two, I'll give it a second shot and see if I can follow it better.
I originally read this back in high school. I have more of an appreciation for it now. It's amazing the stuff Gibson imagined 25+ years ago that exist today: the internet, virtual reality, artificial intelligence (though not as developed as in his book).
It's a true classic the creates the mold for all cyberpunk to follow.
Too hard to follow the story and understand the scenery. The book is heavy on adjectives and description of situations and objects in the world. There is many freshly coined words and even concepts, like “jacking into the matrix”.
For what I could get of the plot, it wasn't that great. The book really shines in the cyberpunk aspect. Maybe in my next read I'll be able to appreciate more.
Great book. Although I thought the resolution at the end of the book was fairly weak. Everything else was great. Gibson coined the term “cyberspace” from this book, and is known as the first of the “cyberpunk” sub-genre of sci-fi.
Its also a really quick read. I finished it in around 24 hours . . .
A dark, dark technolgy has brought only suffering to the world story... but for cyberpunks and Sci-Fi aficionados, well worth the read(if only because, in it Gibson coined the term “cyberspace”).
See http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/neuromancer.html
The worst science fiction book I have read so far. The prose is far too dense, with unfamiliar words and concepts, to even understand what may be happening.
Not recommended.
The origin of the term ‘Cyberspace'. Interesting but strange in a pleasing way. After reading this popular sci-fi novel, I am not dissappointed of course, but doubt that I'll be reading more of Gibson's works for a while...I found it tough to read.
Neuromante, in originale “Neuromancer” è un romanzo di fantascienza di William Gibson, pubblicato nel 1984. Primo romanzo dell'autore, è unanimemente considerato il manifesto del genere cyberpunk e l'opera che ha imposto il medesimo all'attenzione del grande pubblico; è stato il primo romanzo ad aggiudicarsi tutti i maggiori premi letterari dedicati alla science-fiction: Premio Hugo, Nebula e Philip K. Dick Award. Neuromante costituisce il primo volume della cosiddetta Trilogia dello Sprawl, composta dai successivi “Giù nel ciberspazio” e “Monna Lisa Cyberpunk”. La prima edizione italiana risale al 1986, a cura della Editrice Nord.
La trama: Case è un “cowboy della consolle”, un hacker. Il suo sistema nervoso è stato danneggiato, rendendogli impossibile il collegamento alla “Matrice”, la rete informatica globale. Si trova a Chiba, in Giappone, nella vana ricerca di una cura che gli consenta di accedere nuovamente al cyberspazio. Quando ogni speranza sembra ormai perduta, Case viene reclutato da un misterioso personaggio che si fa chiamare Armitage. La cura tanto agognata gli viene offerta in cambio della sua collaborazione ad una missione dai contorni oscuri. Armitage è accompagnato da una “samurai della strada”, una combattente dal fisico artificialmente potenziato di nome Molly. Una missione che nasconde molto di più di quello che sembra perchè di mezzo c'è una famiglia d'industriali criogenizzati, due intelligenze artificiali autonome e un cattivo che sa proiettare ologrammi con il pensiero.
Neuromante di William Gibson, un classico che dovrebbe piacere agli amanti, come me, della fantascienza metropolitana, del futuro strascicato tra la tecnologia più avanzata e l'umanità fragile immutata nei secoli. E invece duecentoerotte pagine di blablabla: una delle letture più faticose di cui io abbia ricordi. In sintesi, un susseguirsi di parole che per me non hanno avuto ne capo e ne coda e il bello è che questo romanzo è famoso proprio per la sua indecifrabilità, per le sue ambientazioni al limite dello stupefacente (inteso come droga).
Io questa storia non l'ho capita, non l'ho afferrata, anzi più leggevo e più la rifiutavo e così mi è rimasto solo il dispiacere e la sofferenza di essere davanti ad un'opera cardine della fantascienza e di non averci capito una beneamata mazza. Un peccato anche perchè le ambientazioni sono di tutto rispetto: scenari futuri in salsa dark inseriti in una società caotica, alla Blade Runner cinematograficamente parlando.
Per me sicuramente un'occasione sprecata. Ma capita anche questo ad un buon lettore.