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adventurous
mysterious
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use
Moderate: Sexual violence
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't actually know what I expected from Neuromancer beyong hacking, ICE-breaking, cyberspace, and weird lingo because this is where all that originated from. The storyline itself is a heist gig, and the novel's title wasn't directly related to the protagonist very much against what I had assumed.
The weird lingo I expected was pretty much familiar from all other media already, and it came in at a casual pace. Somehow (mostly because of a comment in someone's Quantum Thief review from a few years back, I imagine) I was prepared to be bombarded by a metaphorical dictionary brick in the face and that definitely did not manifest. Maybe my line of work with software development impacted that a bit.
The dystopic corporate greed and such is very much spot on but still somehow worse than presently, and the worldbuilding is quite interesting. One very eighties-thing is the incredible amount of constant smoking that really jumps out these days :D
It'd be nice if people with any power didn't take this as a guidebook.
The weird lingo I expected was pretty much familiar from all other media already, and it came in at a casual pace. Somehow (mostly because of a comment in someone's Quantum Thief review from a few years back, I imagine) I was prepared to be bombarded by a metaphorical dictionary brick in the face and that definitely did not manifest. Maybe my line of work with software development impacted that a bit.
The dystopic corporate greed and such is very much spot on but still somehow worse than presently, and the worldbuilding is quite interesting. One very eighties-thing is the incredible amount of constant smoking that really jumps out these days :D
It'd be nice if people with any power didn't take this as a guidebook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcohol
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's one of those books that immerses you in another world so thoroughly that you just kind of have to go along for the ride and not question every unfamiliar term / phrase... It's not a bad story, and by the end it felt worth reading, but in the first half I felt pretty lost and debated whether I should finish it or not. It's worth sticking with til the end, if only for some of the intriguing twists in the second half.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Classism
Minor: Rape, Torture
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I can't believe this was published in the 80's... huge respect to Mr. Gibson for coming up with novel concepts about tech that I can't even begin to wrap my head around. In that vein, I definitely struggled to read this as someone who has not read a lot of science fiction, and I understood the gist but would have liked more definitions for the gadgets. Not my cup of tea but still a fun read!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment
challenging
dark
reflective
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm not sure if it just went too fast for me, or if it was intentionally convoluted, but I had a bit of trouble following all the plot threads and actors that were rapidly introduced and sometimes removed from the narrative. As such, I did enjoy Neuromancer, even if it became a wild ride based on vibes more than anything. It was definitely very interesting to see the underpinnings of the cyberpunk genre presented here, so highly recommended to fans of that genre just for "historical" purposes!
Favorite quote
'You are worse than a fool,' Michèle said, getting to her feet, the pistol in her hand. 'You have no care for your species. For thousands of years men dreamed of pacts with demons. Only now are such things possible. And what would you be paid with? What would your price be, for aiding this thing to free itself and grow?'
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror
Minor: Sexual violence, Trafficking
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can absolutely see why this is a classic in the science fiction genre. A great story, great characters, extensive world-building, the works! My main detractor was how difficult it was to follow the story. A lot of techno-jargon and techno-babble made it pretty confusing to figure out what was happening, and I'm still not sure what was real, what was in cyberspace, and what was hallucinated. But once I got into the story, I couldn't put it down!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Torture, Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
dark
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Man, this book sucks. The writing is DREADFUL. If you asked me to describe what happens in the book to you, I honestly don't think that I could. It felt like reading someone's drug-addled ramblings. The plot is indescribable, the characters are essentially non-existent, the settings are an absolute mess. I don't think there is a single coherent thought in this book. Look, I don't care if this dude created a couple words and revitalized the science fiction genre, this was AWFUL to read.
The misogyny and racism is off the charts. Every single woman in this book is both violent and sexual and those are the sum of their existences. Most if not all of them are sex workers - which, don't get me wrong, I love and support sex workers but when every single woman in a story is one it feels pretty pointed. They're also all very soft and submissive in a gross way.
The way that the author described the Rastafarians' dreadlocks was particularly uncomfortable. They're always a "mess" or a "tangle" or "matted". Just disrespectful and frankly ignorant. They also perpetually smoke and/or stink of weed. Main character spends most of the book in black-/brown-face. Yet another 80s scifi novel where the white author is jonesing for the existence of "melanin-boosting" and extreme tanning. How about no.
The dialogue in this book is truly a nightmare. It's harder to decipher than Trainspotting-type phonetic dialogue. And why did everyone talk like they're on The Sopranos? They all sound like east coast mobsters and it's just impossible to take seriously.
The only character I liked was Maelcum. He's literally the only person in this whole book who has a personality that isn't just melancholy and/or apathy. He was a breath of fresh air. I wanted to like Molly but god she was just so poorly written, there was nothing there for anyone to like. His dialogue was also.... questionable.. but better than the weird mobster talk.
Overall, I recommend this book to people who view women as sexual objects and crypto bros who pretend they know anything about tech but actually don't. I'm sure there's a lot of overlap. Everyone else stay far, far away. This is not worth your precious time. There is no story here, there is nothing to be gleaned from this writing, it is pure, nonsensical slop.
The misogyny and racism is off the charts. Every single woman in this book is both violent and sexual and those are the sum of their existences. Most if not all of them are sex workers - which, don't get me wrong, I love and support sex workers but when every single woman in a story is one it feels pretty pointed. They're also all very soft and submissive in a gross way.
The way that the author described the Rastafarians' dreadlocks was particularly uncomfortable. They're always a "mess" or a "tangle" or "matted". Just disrespectful and frankly ignorant. They also perpetually smoke and/or stink of weed. Main character spends most of the book in black-/brown-face. Yet another 80s scifi novel where the white author is jonesing for the existence of "melanin-boosting" and extreme tanning. How about no.
The dialogue in this book is truly a nightmare. It's harder to decipher than Trainspotting-type phonetic dialogue. And why did everyone talk like they're on The Sopranos? They all sound like east coast mobsters and it's just impossible to take seriously.
The only character I liked was Maelcum. He's literally the only person in this whole book who has a personality that isn't just melancholy and/or apathy. He was a breath of fresh air. I wanted to like Molly but god she was just so poorly written, there was nothing there for anyone to like. His dialogue was also.... questionable.. but better than the weird mobster talk.
Overall, I recommend this book to people who view women as sexual objects and crypto bros who pretend they know anything about tech but actually don't. I'm sure there's a lot of overlap. Everyone else stay far, far away. This is not worth your precious time. There is no story here, there is nothing to be gleaned from this writing, it is pure, nonsensical slop.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Gore, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
I feel like it could've done with some heavy editing. As it stands it's two different books, or at least two writing styles and the tonal shift is not subtle imo. First half reminded me of On the Road, while the second half felt more like a regular heist fiction.
Overall I can see the novelty and how the overall vibes informed the cyberpunk movement, but at the same time there were some jarring comments regarding treatment of race, gender, mental illness and addiction. I can't unsee how the same issues I didn't like remain for contemporary cyberpunk (and scifi, to some extent) media.
I know it is a product of its time but all the same, Asimov and LeGuin, and even Herbert were writing more careful works in this regard.
In the end I'm glad I crossed it off my list, mostly in case someone tells me that this is their favorite book, then I can confidently 🚩-out of there.
Overall I can see the novelty and how the overall vibes informed the cyberpunk movement, but at the same time there were some jarring comments regarding treatment of race, gender, mental illness and addiction. I can't unsee how the same issues I didn't like remain for contemporary cyberpunk (and scifi, to some extent) media.
I know it is a product of its time but all the same, Asimov and LeGuin, and even Herbert were writing more careful works in this regard.
In the end I'm glad I crossed it off my list, mostly in case someone tells me that this is their favorite book, then I can confidently 🚩-out of there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Incest, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Gore