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jbkep's review
3.0
It's always hard to judge a short story collection. I really liked some for either having great story telling ("Dogfights"), or making you think ("The Hinterlands"). Others I didn't enjoy as much for coming off as too abstract or 'artsy' ("Dreams of a Holographic Rose"). Overall, it is a good example of Gibson's work, but as with any collection of short stories, don't expect yourself to love every one in the book.
harrysmallwood's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
empoi's review against another edition
4.5
A series of short stories that all carry the same feel as neuromancer. Specially the first and last story, Johnny Mnonic and Burning Chrome feel like they embody the genre of cyberpunk.
bergsteiger's review against another edition
2.0
I have always been reluctant to pick Gibson up again. I had to read Neuromancer for a college course and I was bored to tears by it. He was the rave back then, but I just couldn't get see it. Fast forward 30 years and someone recommends to me Burning Chrome.
Burning Chrome is a selection of short stories. Most of them follow a basic outline. Some sort of job/caper, enter femme fatale, flashbacks, job goes awry in some fashion usually related to femme fatale. A lot of these read like an unpolished, ragged Richard K. Morgan.
I just finished this book last night and the only stories that I can recall in any detail were the opener "Johnny Mnemonic" which followed his standard cyberpunk trope, but had a little more flavor to it (the story had a junkie war dolphin - I mean that's kinda cool). The other story that stood out was one one that had a co-author and was called "The Belonging Kind". It wasn't great, but it was centered around an interesting idea, so it stuck with me.
But overall...big bust. Pretty sure this will be my last attempt at reading Gibson. Simply being an early pioneer in cyberpunk (his claim to fame), doesn't mean he is an entertaining author. I will admit, that I generally feel like this genre is about the "vibe" of the stories and less about content/quality, so I have some of my own internal biases when reading anything labeled cyberpunk, but at the end of the day it would just be hard to recommend this book to most people.
Burning Chrome is a selection of short stories. Most of them follow a basic outline. Some sort of job/caper, enter femme fatale, flashbacks, job goes awry in some fashion usually related to femme fatale. A lot of these read like an unpolished, ragged Richard K. Morgan.
I just finished this book last night and the only stories that I can recall in any detail were the opener "Johnny Mnemonic" which followed his standard cyberpunk trope, but had a little more flavor to it (the story had a junkie war dolphin - I mean that's kinda cool). The other story that stood out was one one that had a co-author and was called "The Belonging Kind". It wasn't great, but it was centered around an interesting idea, so it stuck with me.
But overall...big bust. Pretty sure this will be my last attempt at reading Gibson. Simply being an early pioneer in cyberpunk (his claim to fame), doesn't mean he is an entertaining author. I will admit, that I generally feel like this genre is about the "vibe" of the stories and less about content/quality, so I have some of my own internal biases when reading anything labeled cyberpunk, but at the end of the day it would just be hard to recommend this book to most people.
infantile_decorum's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
brianmagid's review
5.0
1. the winter market
2. the gernsback continuum
3. new rose hotel
4. burning chrome
5. the belonging kind
6. dogfight
7. red star winter orbit
8. fragments of a hologram rose
9. johnny mnemonic
10. hinterlands
all absolutely electric
2. the gernsback continuum
3. new rose hotel
4. burning chrome
5. the belonging kind
6. dogfight
7. red star winter orbit
8. fragments of a hologram rose
9. johnny mnemonic
10. hinterlands
all absolutely electric
_katie3's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
rancidslopshop's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
monster's review
4.0
I liked some of these stories better than others, especially the ones that were a part of Sprawl/in the same setting, but some of the ones that weren't were interesting as well (particularly Gernsback, because I want more creepy retro-futurism, and Hinterlands, which was disturbing). Worldbuilding continues to be the best part of Gibson's stories, in my opinion. Also found it kinda funny that most of these were in first person whereas his novels (as far as the ones I've read) are in third. Enjoyable collection all around.