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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
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:
Complicated
I'm stingy with my 5-star ratings, so-consider this really a 4½ but I've read this book at least 4 times and it, along with Gibson's Neuromancer, was one of the books that brought me back to being excited about Science Fiction in my 20s.
I'm not sure if I prefer this or the Diamond Age more, but both are solid, enjoyable reads that blend strong plotting and the kind of "future society, but really just a reflection of current society" themes that I enjoy reading and discussing.
I'm not sure if I prefer this or the Diamond Age more, but both are solid, enjoyable reads that blend strong plotting and the kind of "future society, but really just a reflection of current society" themes that I enjoy reading and discussing.
What a strange beast this one is. My first experience with Stephenson is slightly mixed, certainly flawed, but so outrageously inventive and entertaining that I can't help but say I kinda loved it.
Cyberpunk is a genre I enjoy casually but wouldn't necessarily be well versed in - apart from the pre-genre influence of PKD and related cinema I suppose.
But I loved seeing Stephenson take the absolute piss out of certain genre conventions, especially with our hero protagonist - ahem, Hiro Protagonist.
While it is an outlandish satire, and full of bitingly dry humour, and maybe some self deprecation, there is still a lot to ponder and be taken seriously. Even if the story built around his ideas is frustratingly uneven.
Characters often very explicitly ask each other to explain big concepts and plot details mid conversation. And they do.
And I didn't mind.
Because I honestly needed it, and it was so fascinating that I felt like I was constantly learning.
He dumbs things down to the point that it's very easy to separate the wild satire and the real meat and potatoes of his ideas. For the most part.
I found the blatant pokes at Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard more chuckle-inducing than genuinely profound and thought provoking, but his focus on how technology, virtual reality spaces and information dissemination online can affect how we see or experience "reality" very prescient. And how susceptible to manipulation we are.
The stuff about linguistics was so cool (something I have very casual interest in) and I learned a good bit, even if the plot elements around it were kind of goofy.
Overall, a slightly incoherent mess that is riotously fun to read. And it's just mad to think that he coined the term 'metaverse', and almost willed this shit into existence by extrapolating his ideas around code and computer science.
Naturally, every corporation has since ignored all the warning signs and just ran with the cOoL IdEaZ bRo.
Cyberpunk is a genre I enjoy casually but wouldn't necessarily be well versed in - apart from the pre-genre influence of PKD and related cinema I suppose.
But I loved seeing Stephenson take the absolute piss out of certain genre conventions, especially with our hero protagonist - ahem, Hiro Protagonist.
While it is an outlandish satire, and full of bitingly dry humour, and maybe some self deprecation, there is still a lot to ponder and be taken seriously. Even if the story built around his ideas is frustratingly uneven.
Characters often very explicitly ask each other to explain big concepts and plot details mid conversation. And they do.
And I didn't mind.
Because I honestly needed it, and it was so fascinating that I felt like I was constantly learning.
He dumbs things down to the point that it's very easy to separate the wild satire and the real meat and potatoes of his ideas. For the most part.
I found the blatant pokes at Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard more chuckle-inducing than genuinely profound and thought provoking, but his focus on how technology, virtual reality spaces and information dissemination online can affect how we see or experience "reality" very prescient. And how susceptible to manipulation we are.
The stuff about linguistics was so cool (something I have very casual interest in) and I learned a good bit, even if the plot elements around it were kind of goofy.
Overall, a slightly incoherent mess that is riotously fun to read. And it's just mad to think that he coined the term 'metaverse', and almost willed this shit into existence by extrapolating his ideas around code and computer science.
Naturally, every corporation has since ignored all the warning signs and just ran with the cOoL IdEaZ bRo.
Fairly heavy amount of profanity and crudeness and tbh the plot didn't hold my attention either... Didn't seem to make enough sense
One of my favorite books ever by one of my top two or three authors ever, what's not to like about rereading it? Though I haven't read this book in over 20 years or so, I still LOVED it. In reading some of Neal's later books (I have all of them, I think, hard to tell sometimes, though), sometimes you can forget how FUNNY Neal can be. Hysterically funny, actually. That is, if you have the right sense of humor, which, luckily, I have in spades.
So, yes, it's a great book. And yes, some of the computer science aspects of the story is probably a little outdated, but what the hell, it's a great story! Told with dash and elan, one tends to burn through the pages. Because, really, doesn't everyone somewhere deep inside wish they could be as competent and interesting as Hiro?
So, yes, it's a great book. And yes, some of the computer science aspects of the story is probably a little outdated, but what the hell, it's a great story! Told with dash and elan, one tends to burn through the pages. Because, really, doesn't everyone somewhere deep inside wish they could be as competent and interesting as Hiro?
Awesome humor - loved the inside jokes. First half of the novel was slow, tedious, and filled with all of his various obsessions with Asia and wars long since passed. Second half of the novel was amazing, however, and I very much would love to live in the world he created. In short, it's worth reading but you need to be patient.
I am not a fan of how sexualized a female minor is in this story,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No