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perseiv's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
jdschmitz's review against another edition
4.0
This book is one of the cornerstones of the Cyberpunk subgenre and is rightly considered a science fiction classic (it won the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novel as well as the Phillip K. Dick award). The novel is essentially a heist story, following expert computer hacker Case as he infiltrates the stronghold of the powerful, secretive Tessier-Ashpool family in an attempt to liberate their captive artificial intelligence, Wintermute. However, nothing is as it seems in this complex and suspenseful novel, and the plot unfolds in deeper and deeper layers as Case penetrates the mysteries of what he's been hired to do.
Perhaps the strongest elements of Neuromancer are its worldbuilding couple with Gibson's writing style. These two things, admittedly, also make the book somewhat difficult to follow (a glossary and character list would have been very helpful), but many readers will be willing to overlook some confusion for the pure stylish complexity of the thing. Through terse yet occasionally lyrical prose, Gibson paints a gloomy picture of a future world where the high technology and hyperconnectedness of society that were already developing in the 1980s have, rather than living up to their oft-touted promise, instead only enabled exploitation and human perversion on an extreme scale. It is this aspect especially that makes Neuromancer worth reading; the world Gibson creates seems so likely--and so unpleasant--that most readers will be either fascinated or repulsed. Either way, they will get to experience one of the books that has played a major part in creating many of the tropes of modern science fiction.
Perhaps the strongest elements of Neuromancer are its worldbuilding couple with Gibson's writing style. These two things, admittedly, also make the book somewhat difficult to follow (a glossary and character list would have been very helpful), but many readers will be willing to overlook some confusion for the pure stylish complexity of the thing. Through terse yet occasionally lyrical prose, Gibson paints a gloomy picture of a future world where the high technology and hyperconnectedness of society that were already developing in the 1980s have, rather than living up to their oft-touted promise, instead only enabled exploitation and human perversion on an extreme scale. It is this aspect especially that makes Neuromancer worth reading; the world Gibson creates seems so likely--and so unpleasant--that most readers will be either fascinated or repulsed. Either way, they will get to experience one of the books that has played a major part in creating many of the tropes of modern science fiction.
rudy2's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
subspacetachyon's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
astebok's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
feistyflamingo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
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? Yes
4.5
rgleason's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
anniemlx's review against another edition
2.5
I barely understood what was going on in this book, and the descriptions of women felt very male-gaze-centric. World building was rather cool though