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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
No idea what was happening 90% of the time. Suppose it was a heist, but I have no clue what any of the characters were doing and why?
Still, gotta appreciate how the world of Neuromancer inspired amazing storytellers in the following many decades.
Still, gotta appreciate how the world of Neuromancer inspired amazing storytellers in the following many decades.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
did not finish. really did not enjoy. the writing is clunky and the pace is odd. not much background info provided (nightmare fuel for science fiction imo). i can see why this book was exciting when it was first published though. its just not written in a style that i find enjoyable in the slightest
The topic of the book was interesting and I thought it held a lot of potential to be creative and interesting, but the writing style didn't do anything for me.
Starting the book, you are thrown into the deep end and it feels as if you are expected to pick up what the author gives you and run with it. Usually, concepts are explained; characters are developed; and the setting, plot, and general story come together to form one big picture after you've had a chance to tread water and get acclimated to the temperature of the pool.
This is not the case with Neuromancer. I read only until page 50 because that's the chance I give books if I'm not feeling it completely, but I just felt that I was having a hard time following the concepts presented in the book: the plot was choppy; it was difficult to relate to the characters (as it felt as if there was very little character development in the 50 pages I read); and concepts were introduced cold with no introduction, no explanation, and no context.
I consistently felt throughout the pages I read that there was another book I should have read that would have provided the background knowledge needed to fully comprehend the concepts and ideas presented in the first portion of this book -- a feeling I don't think should be the case for the first book of a series. It just didn't do anything for me.
Starting the book, you are thrown into the deep end and it feels as if you are expected to pick up what the author gives you and run with it. Usually, concepts are explained; characters are developed; and the setting, plot, and general story come together to form one big picture after you've had a chance to tread water and get acclimated to the temperature of the pool.
This is not the case with Neuromancer. I read only until page 50 because that's the chance I give books if I'm not feeling it completely, but I just felt that I was having a hard time following the concepts presented in the book: the plot was choppy; it was difficult to relate to the characters (as it felt as if there was very little character development in the 50 pages I read); and concepts were introduced cold with no introduction, no explanation, and no context.
I consistently felt throughout the pages I read that there was another book I should have read that would have provided the background knowledge needed to fully comprehend the concepts and ideas presented in the first portion of this book -- a feeling I don't think should be the case for the first book of a series. It just didn't do anything for me.
adventurous
challenging
dark
Extremely difficult to understand and follow even for a seasoned sci-fi book reader.
There it is, the novel that took inspiration from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (the basis for the Blade Runner movie), and that in turn inspired The Matrix movies and the Shadowrun games. If you've been in contact with those pieces of media, you should already know we're in for a good helping of cynical, dystopian cyberpunk.
Whether Mr. Gibson had thousands upon thousands of pages of lore at first then edited out as much as he could, or wrote everything as is in some kind of fever dream the result is the same: we're left with something as dense as German bread, and we're hanging in there by the pinky of our left hand. Prepare yourself for abrupt scene changes and a lot of barely explained jargon.
You must pay attention at all times and not miss a single word or you'll quickly be staring in the distance, wondering who that character is again and whether they just died shot by a sniper, had a parasitic alien scared out of their body, or entered a secret portal and left their clothes behind for some reason. (I later discovered it was none of those options. Said character merely produced a hologram of a monster to avoid being captured. I think.)
Anyway, if you can get past the occasional confusion you'll discover that the technologies and stakes are exactly what you'd expect in this sort of novel, but they usually come wrapped in an original enough packaging that it might keep you interested (it did me). The vocabulary is high level, the style is not easy, and both also fit perfectly with the genre. I'm still queasy from that "skin gleaming a wet intestinal pink" on page 102. Ten out of ten, would gag again.
Now, for the less attractive aspects.
All the characters look and act very (tick all boxes that apply)
❒ badass
❒ eccentric
❒ mysterious
❒ jaded
Even their wardrobe is über dark and cool, the author makes sure you know this with regular and thorough outfit descriptions. This is not a flaw in itself, but the fact that I couldn't find much beyond the 3edgy5me material is. Only one character (Armitage) presented a backstory that wasn't cliché and, even then, none of it was his doing. In the end, my favourite was a dead dude whose personality had been written on a ROM, so yeah.
Then there's also the unnecessary sexual content and female breast descriptions. On this, I have no further comment than: this book was written by a man, for men.
Confusing, edgy, bleak, but also rich, intriguing and evocative. Whether you'll like it or not is a coin toss.
Whether Mr. Gibson had thousands upon thousands of pages of lore at first then edited out as much as he could, or wrote everything as is in some kind of fever dream the result is the same: we're left with something as dense as German bread, and we're hanging in there by the pinky of our left hand. Prepare yourself for abrupt scene changes and a lot of barely explained jargon.
You must pay attention at all times and not miss a single word or you'll quickly be staring in the distance, wondering who that character is again and whether they just died shot by a sniper, had a parasitic alien scared out of their body, or entered a secret portal and left their clothes behind for some reason. (I later discovered it was none of those options. Said character merely produced a hologram of a monster to avoid being captured. I think.)
Anyway, if you can get past the occasional confusion you'll discover that the technologies and stakes are exactly what you'd expect in this sort of novel, but they usually come wrapped in an original enough packaging that it might keep you interested (it did me). The vocabulary is high level, the style is not easy, and both also fit perfectly with the genre. I'm still queasy from that "skin gleaming a wet intestinal pink" on page 102. Ten out of ten, would gag again.
Now, for the less attractive aspects.
All the characters look and act very (tick all boxes that apply)
❒ badass
❒ eccentric
❒ mysterious
❒ jaded
Even their wardrobe is über dark and cool, the author makes sure you know this with regular and thorough outfit descriptions. This is not a flaw in itself, but the fact that I couldn't find much beyond the 3edgy5me material is. Only one character (Armitage) presented a backstory that wasn't cliché and, even then, none of it was his doing. In the end, my favourite was a dead dude whose personality had been written on a ROM, so yeah.
Then there's also the unnecessary sexual content and female breast descriptions. On this, I have no further comment than: this book was written by a man, for men.
Confusing, edgy, bleak, but also rich, intriguing and evocative. Whether you'll like it or not is a coin toss.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Neuromancer is a genre defining work of speculative science fiction. At it's core, the plot is very simple (almost to a fault at times), however, what makes up for this is the dense atmosphere and unique world building that Neuromancer employs in its prose. So much of the atmosphere is reinforced by descriptions of the world as it relates back to technology. Neuromancer doesn't care whether or not you comprehend or understand what's happening or being said, but it is more so trying to get you to just accept it for what it is: a high speed roller coaster ride through hazy digital distortion and blurred neon.