Neuromancer by William Gibson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Neuromancer
Book Review: Believe the Hype
Summary: 4 Stars
I read this book in July of 2004 and thought it was fantastic. I read it on the advice of a coworker who knew my love for the "Matrix" genre. I had never heard of the book, but quickly purchased it, and read it in 3 days. I highly recommend it for those who enjoyed the creativity and imagination of the "Matrix" movies.Book Review: Best Ever
Summary: 5 Stars
This is by far the best novel I've ever read. The characters seem the only purposeful motion in a neon-lit gray world built on the rubble of the past, where everyone else seems caught up in the incessant electric chatter, never to wake to their own lives. It is a pervasively melancholy world Gibson establishes, with the shining exceptions of reluctant anti-heroes. This is the beginning of a world used in the Count Zero/Mona Lisa Overdrive series, and it seems to be much the same universe as Burning Chrome and Virtual Light, Idoru, and his newest explore. Language, culture, and future are Gibson's toys. Let him play.Book Review: Best book I've ever read.
Summary: 5 Stars
Now, let me first say that although this is my favorite book, I realize it is clearly not for everyone. Gibson's style is unique...and you either love it or you hate it.That said, I still think this is the single best book written in the last 50 years. Possibly even longer.
Yes, I've heard complaints. Gibson's writing is thick, sometimes blurry, his plot isn't "unique," his story isn't flashy and exciting. This is, of course, all subjective, but I can see where people are coming from. Gibson's writing IS very dense; you can see it in his short stories, his other novels, even in his essays. His strength is his intense description of the world his characters live in. Given, he doesn't hand everything to you on a silver platter (or microchip). Someone who is simply looking for a fast, easy read will find him frustrating like that.
I've also heard that the mood is quite heavy. That's because this is very noir. That's how cyberpunk is. Cyberpunk is not and should no be considered science fiction, at least, not what the pulpwriters want you to think science fiction is. This isn't Star Wars. This is Blade Runner. The good guys aren't good. There aren't even any real bad guys.
Which is why the book is so great.
Gibson deals with ideas. Big ideas, many of which are long before his time. He discusses the problems of megacorporations (zaibatsus in Neuromancer) which we are just beginning to see in today's world. He dabbles in the posthuman, the role of gender in a world where informaion is power, not physical prowess. He looks at it all from the underground, which everyone knows about but no one in our culture seems to want to think about. He deals with the human body in a post-biological world, where people can alter their body in any way they want, and its effects on society and people. And of course, he discusses cyberspace.
Now, finally, for all of you who stand there and say that the whole thing reminded you of matrix, remember, this was written in 1984. Matrix is, if anything, a rip-off of this book (along with the rest of the series, some short stories by Harlan Ellison, and some Phil K. Dick stuff, and finally Alice in Wonderland). Matrix is an action thriller...Neuromancer is a mind-warper. Matrix is not itself cyberpunk; it is a result of the media frenzy following the release of this book.
But really, your enjoyment of this book depends on your aims. If you're looking for a fun little story about kids messing around online, you're in the wrong place. If you're looking for a jaunt around in the future with exciting battles and neat-o cool aliens, this is not the book for you. If you don't get a real kick out of imagery as thick and dark as the La Brea tarpits, you're reading the wrong book. But if you like ideas, thickly textured worlds, commentary on society, philosophy, technology, and what it means to be human, you should read this book.
Book Review: Blue Fear beyond the Holocaust Horizon
Summary: 4 Stars
It takes some serious mental energy to envision life as it was in 1984--not so long ago, granted, but a different era still: riding the ragged edge of the Cold War, Atari and IBM the technological dominant, the future a wide horizon of blue fear...difficult, even for one who grew up in the `excess 80's'. But I suppose that certain patterns could be discerned by the wide-eyed and wise of that time; imagination filled in the gaps of what social evolution had yet to dictate. For the budding Sci-fi author, I imagine the prospects of utopia/dystopia were endless and endlessly fascinating: AI, VR, cybernetics and bio-enhancements: so many possibilities as yet unexplored, as yet unexploited!Thus we have William Gibson's cyberpunk manifesto _Neuromancer_, the book that spawned a whole genre by itself and prophesized a chilling existence that, some 17 years after the fact, looks very familiar. Hackers and viral bombs? -second page news. The Sprawl? -growing every day. Cloning, VR, bio-enhancements? -already on the crest of the next wave. Thus the danger of modern sci-fi and its cyberpunk offshoot: becoming as relevant as a gutter newsrag, stigmatized by well-worn clichés and the dubious nature of experimental prose. Why would one want to spend their valuable time on yesteryear's fear?
Well, when yesteryear's hype contains the febrile energy and insight of _Neuormancer_, the read is worth the time spent. Gibson fashions a world of vivid and startling imagery, the ugliness and beauty of it leaping from type to the reader's imagination with ease. The slang and unique aspects of Chiba, the Sprawl etc. are done in a casual fashion, so that one understands the phrases and cultural particulars without getting thrown or distracted. There is a feel of something _new_ here, even if it isn't all that new by nowadays standards; _Neuromancer_ contains a force of intellect, of testing the boundaries and coming up all aces, that buoys the reader through the overly-familiar space-opera archetypes and, in passages, the stilted self-conscious prose. A commendable effort that still resonates, unlike most its contemporaries/derivatives.
But for all its hyperbole and raw intelligence, _Neuormancer_ does have its share of flaws, some glaringly apparent, others under the surface, within the structure of the novel itself. Envisioning and detailing this dystopia was an admirable feat, especially considering the time it was written and what hindsight awards the current reader, but so much effort is given to making the environment `real' that the characters themselves--the flesh and blood constructs that the reader is supposed to inhabit, sympathize with, and ultimately understand--the characters become neglected in the process, ending up rote pulp-fiction stereotypes of passing interest. Gibson tries to inject some pathos for Molly, Armitage and Case midway through the novel, but the attempt is strained and, because it is introduced so late, our neon-jazzed eyes glaze over the heavy `personal crisis' of the climax--we just want these archetypes (ie the author) to get back to the cool stuff they excel at.
The story itself is basic pulp-noir--outlaw cowboys running on societies' edge, complete with cyber-shtick saloons and the usual assortment of backstabbing betrayals--and not very interesting pulp-noir at that: both conflict and plot are ambiguous for the first half of the novel, and while Gibson's ultimate ideas are very intriguing (particularly about the cold existence of cyrogenics), the novel ultimately suffers from a crippling lack of tension. Gibson's writing can be inconsistent, as well: though parts of the novel are extremely well written, other passages become quite convoluted in their (needless) detail.
Four stars--despite its flaws, _Neuormancer_ is a seminal work, and better than ninety percent of the dumbed-down junk competing for shelf space.
Book Review: Book one of three
Summary: 5 Stars
All I have to say is after you read this, read Count Zero and then read Mona Lisa....they all tie in together