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selenityelizabeth's review against another edition
4.0
Once I got back into this book I really enjoyed it. What a fascinating and interesting world William Gibson has created. I loved the aesthetics and setting. Case was a cool protagonist. The author was definitely ahead of his time when he wrote this. Cyber Punk is pretty cool!
booksaremyfavorite's review against another edition
this book has a terrible beginning. I am finding I have no patience for male science fiction writers of the past, unless they are Ray Bradbury.
zach_attakk's review against another edition
3.0
A good read if you're into the Cyberpunk genre. Many terms used by other authors were coined in this book. However it's not the easiest read and requires some mental gymnastics to follow what's going on.
It does a thing I enjoy in science fiction, where the author assumes we know what a thing is or understand how it works. Nothing breaks immersion like when a book needs to explain its technology like they're talking to a five year old. Gibson also does something with describing people or events, where minor details are mentioned as the scene plays out, sort of how a person in that situation would notice them. It feels very natural.
Unfortunately this backfires at a certain point, when you're almost through the book and you still don't really know what you're "looking at" because descriptions are both vague about the general environment and very specific about unimportant minutia.
I'm glad I read it, because my understanding of these types of books is greatly expanded. Probably won't read it again and it'll take a little convincing to come back for the rest of the trilogy.
It does a thing I enjoy in science fiction, where the author assumes we know what a thing is or understand how it works. Nothing breaks immersion like when a book needs to explain its technology like they're talking to a five year old. Gibson also does something with describing people or events, where minor details are mentioned as the scene plays out, sort of how a person in that situation would notice them. It feels very natural.
Unfortunately this backfires at a certain point, when you're almost through the book and you still don't really know what you're "looking at" because descriptions are both vague about the general environment and very specific about unimportant minutia.
I'm glad I read it, because my understanding of these types of books is greatly expanded. Probably won't read it again and it'll take a little convincing to come back for the rest of the trilogy.
matthewbrand's review against another edition
1.0
I had a hell of a time following what was even happening in this book. The only reason I finished it was because it's somehow a hugo winner and I'm trying to finish all of those.
lmclar12's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars. I have no idea what was happening in this book and I’m still kind of surprised I finished it. Didn’t really care for the characters and I’m not even sure I can really explain what happened in this book. Pretty disappointed because this book is always hyped up as THE classic sci fi and I couldn’t get into it at all.
revellee's review against another edition
1.0
I had to force myself to finish this one. I love sci-fi. I love weird sci-fi. I like older sci-fi. I love Philip K Dick. But this ain't it no matter how many people try to tell me this is a must-read for a sci-fi lover.
The characters are flat af. The main character, Case, is barely described at all. He doesn't really do anything besides get high and have sex - and not in an interesting way. He's pulled out of a forced retirement to handle a major cyber attack yet he doesn't seem to be that involved in anything that is going on, instead a few side characters (Molly, the Flatline and Maelcum) handle all the actual work. The reader is given zero reason to care about Case or what he is doing. Molly is described in only sexist ways, like how the key hangs between her bouncing breasts or her skin tight leather pants feel when he remotes into her.
I can see how other writers may have gotten some inspiration from setting and ideas presented in Neuromancer, but honestly, I am not sure there is anything here that PKD doesn't cover in some manner and with WAY better execution.
The characters are flat af. The main character, Case, is barely described at all. He doesn't really do anything besides get high and have sex - and not in an interesting way. He's pulled out of a forced retirement to handle a major cyber attack yet he doesn't seem to be that involved in anything that is going on, instead a few side characters (Molly, the Flatline and Maelcum) handle all the actual work. The reader is given zero reason to care about Case or what he is doing. Molly is described in only sexist ways, like how the key hangs between her bouncing breasts or her skin tight leather pants feel when he remotes into her.
Spoiler
The only thing I really found interesting in this book was the dueling/complementary AIs, but that is barely explored, actually mostly skipped over to rush to a prologue happy ending.I can see how other writers may have gotten some inspiration from setting and ideas presented in Neuromancer, but honestly, I am not sure there is anything here that PKD doesn't cover in some manner and with WAY better execution.
bkoser's review against another edition
4.0
Gibson is a good writer. I see why people like his books. I assume he's the touchpoint that Snow Crash, Hyperion, and The Matrix films are referencing (although Blade Runner came out 2 years before, so that's got to get some credit).
But his writing style and plot is a little too abstruse for me. I'm not sure there's a lot of substance here either.
3.5 stars
But his writing style and plot is a little too abstruse for me. I'm not sure there's a lot of substance here either.
3.5 stars
matchamelon's review against another edition
3.0
I picked the book up as it has been hailed as the creation of cyberpunk and it certainly holds up. Unfortunately, the entire book is jam packed with cyberpunk language in an already established world, making it kind of hard to follow. It's incredibly descriptive which also adds to getting lost in the text. I can tell you things that happened in the book, but I could not for the life of me tell you the plot.
sopuberfungirl's review against another edition
The only thing I know for sure is that I only understood, if I am being generous, about 60% of this book. It will definitely require a couple/few re-reads to grasp it in its entirety. I'm glad I read other peoples' reviews of Neuromancer because otherwise I probably would have given up part-way through. I enjoyed the author's frenetic style of writing, and he uses great imagery throughout. Hopefully next year I will read Neuromancer again and come away with a better understanding of.. everything.