Neuromancer by William Gibson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Neuromancer
Book Review: A Dysutopian Cyberdream
Summary: 4 Stars
The novel reads like a Raymond Chandler detective thriller on Russian Heroin (a drug frequently mentioned in Gibson's book). The characters are thin, but the physical environment and inner world of cyberspace are richly described. The plot moves along even as it takes you to unknown realms. This is an exciting read.
This significant novel coined the work "cyberspace" and presaged the importance of the Internet when there was no Internet. (Nueromancer was written in 1984.) It also pointed to a morphing of humans and machines and drugs, something Ray Kurtzweil talks about in "The Coming Age of Spiritual Machines."
Neuromancer is a great book, and by all means read it. But for a happier vision of the future, in addition to Kurtzweil's book mentioned above, I suggest "Collective Intelligence" by Pierre Levy.
Collective Intelligence: Mankind's Emerging World in Cyberspace (Helix Books)
Pulse: The Coming Age of Systems and Machines Inspired by Living Things
Book Review: A Prophet's Guide to the Information Age
Summary: 5 Stars
I read an article on Yahoo news the other day that seemed to encapsulate why this novel affected me. The article was about average Japanese clerical workers that cannot afford to rent or buy a place to live in Tokyo. Instead they live a strange existence inside a relatively new phenomenon called cyber-cafes. The cafes provide internet connections, warmth, showers, all you can drink sodas and coffee, free comic books, and a small booth to sleep in for a small price. These cafes give hard working Japanese a place to shelter until they can afford a place to live (if that ever happens). This is like a page out of William Gibson's breakthrough novel Neuromancer.
So much of what is in this book is relevant today, that it does not seem as alien as it might have to someone reading it in 1984. Not many books keep me thinking about them months after I have read them, but this one has. I was late coming to the so-called Cyber Punk genre, and to be honest, this is the only book in that genre I have read (I tried my hand at Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson after it was recommended to me as another Cyber-Punk novel, and I could scarcley see the similarities). Anyway, this review is beginning to meander, so I wil wrap it up. You don't need me to tell you the entire story here like so many long-winded reviewers often do. If you can handle movies like Blade Runner, Donnie Darko, Twelve Monkeys, (I can't think of any books to directly compare it to) then you should like this. Give yourself a chance to get used to the slang used throughout the book. You WILL get used to it. Once you are past that, it will be like gliding through the cyber-world of Tron.
Book Review: A classic, by all accounts.
Summary: 3 Stars
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 (Bantam Spectra Book), 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.
Book Review: A futuristic, mind-numbing technothriller
Summary: 2 Stars
Okay. I admit it. As a reader, I only dabble in the science fiction genre; primarily mainstream stories not involving aliens. But when I read that a special 20th anniversary edition of Neuromancer, which had won several awards, had been published, I added it to my reading list. All I can say after finishing it is: it may be a classic and it may have spawned the use of several terms (cyberpunk among them), but it was way too technologically focused for me. A criminal named Case is dragged in to have surgery which will enable him to help plan and execute a crime. The surgery repairs his pancreas (a bonus part of the deal) but renders it immune from affects of recreational drugs use (one of his favorite past times). During the procedure, additional work is done which will have ramifications should he fail to complete his mission. With the help of a girl with retractable blades on her hands and an already flat lined former friend, he and the crew plot and plan to maximize the likelihood of success while secretly trying to determine the mastermind behind it: a fast-paced, high tech story which was way over my head. Probably better for techno geeks (no offense) and cybercentrics than dabblers, who might do better with: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Feed by M.T. Anderson or The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon.Book Review: Ahead of Its Time, Even Today
Summary: 5 Stars
Okay, here's the skinny: 90% of the raters who gave Neuromancer a bad review couldn't handle the technobabble and wanted Gibson to hold their hand from beginning to end. But the reality is that Gibson's lingo is half linguistic-cultural artifact and half smartly-researched portmanteau. In fact, the flexibility and ambiguity of his language is part of what keeps his ideas about technology fresh and vivid.
Neuromancer is everything critics who have given it accolades claim. The novel is anything but dated, even in these, the days of Google's (Wintermute's?) reign. Don't let simstim abusers scare you away from this book. Hit the deck, jack in.