Reviews

神經喚術士 by William Gibson

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praetorian333's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny mysterious reflective tense medium-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

heptonius's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Quite a wild ride from start to the finish. It's absolutely stunning to see how developed of an idea of cyberpunk William Gibson 40 years ago had - MIND BLOWING! It's also super funny seeing quite a few similarities between Neuromancer and Cyberpunk 2077, inspirations.

Author writes in a quite extraordinary way, in which he describes situations and actions in a manor of glimpses/flashes - it can be sometimes quite difficult to follow what's hapenning, however it's a nice experience seeing a different perspective on writing.

collinaj's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

I was very confused. Lots of unnecessarily wordy descriptions. The epitome of cyberpunk, perhaps, but I don't think cyberpunk is for me. Short glossed-over and underwhelming conclusion. Gotta go read what actually happened in the book.

blogthatbook's review against another edition

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4.0

Throughout this entire read, or at least from very early on, I had one recurring thought punch me right in the grey matter, ‘this book is forty years old!?’ I can’t quite imagine just what those first readers in 1984 must have thought when they delved into this insanity back then.

There is so much future within these pages, Gibson’s foresight is nothing short of phenomenal. At the centre of everything is a coerced team heist story, but it is so intertwined with such outreaching ideas it’s easy to lose sight of that, as the complex world and jargon-heavy dialogue bamboozle you from sentence to sentence.

Pacing? Gods, this thing rips along with such speed, you’re constantly sprinting to keep up. Making sure you’re on your toes is one of the most frustratingly enjoyable things about Neuromancer. If Gibson had chosen to slow proceedings enough to allow us to keep up, this story would have lost so much of its impact, losing the immersion it currently demands of its reader. This perfectly mirrors the main character, Case, who is driven along by events and situations he has little control over.

I was nervous about delving into this read, allowing the book to sit on my shelf and intimidate me for many years. Ironically, to a certain extent, I’m glad I waited, since both my age and reading ability have now matured to a point where I can appreciate just what this book is doing... at least, I think I can.

If I’d read this book forty years ago. Just let me say that again, to convince myself of that reality. Forty years ago, when this book was first published, I’m sure it would have been completely beyond my comprehension. But don’t let that dissuade you or convince you to wait. This book is far more comprehensible to today’s audience, no matter your age or reading ability, than it was forty years ago. Probably, to a great extent, because of this book.

There is a fantastic little Easter egg hidden within these pages and delivered not too subtly. If you’ve read Gibson’s short story, or even seen the 1995 Keanu Reeves movie, Johnny Mnemonic, you’ll recognise those references instantly. It’s a really nice little grounding moment for the reader amongst the difficult-to-grasp elements you’re being bombarded with.

Speaking of movies, it’s obvious the Matrix movies owe a huge thank you to this book. I can only imagine how many other movies and books have leaned on Neuromancer for inspiration and influence, and it’s obvious why, this thing was light years ahead of its time.

Strangely enough, for such a technologically overloaded premise, what emerges in the end, as the story goes on and you finally absorb everything, is just how grounded in humanity it is. Human failings and the struggle to overcome and even simply survive become so predominant. Interest in the clever imagination of the writer gradually reduces as your emotional attachment to the main characters takes over your reason for reading.

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sledge_hm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jackrb's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.0

Dispensing ideas about old, genre-defining books can be difficult. Both in the sense of coming out with any sort of novel or interesting opinion, and also not succumbing to the fact that what was undeniably groundbreaking, can look quaint and relatively unimportant after years and decades of providing inspiration either directly or indirectly.

Regardless, as a casual reader with some interest in Sci-Fi, Neuromancer is still absolutely worth reading for its influence alone. It has plenty of interesting ideas, themes and Gibson really nailed the aesthetic and atmosphere of what a cyberpunk world would look, sound and feel like.

However, that is part of the problem, as you are pretty quickly immersed in a world with all this (now outdated and retro) technobabble and lingo, with neither Gibson nor the characters involved feeling generous enough to allow you to get a grip on the world created. You either let your imagination run wild, infer what you can from the technical jargon and flowery prose and breeze past what is quite a simple story told in quick yet abstract fashion, all whilst enjoying every second. Or you don't, and instead chafe against the lack of detail, the chaotic storytelling and the inability to visualise the world built from incoherent snippets of detail.

The litmus test is the first few chapters and you'll quite quickly recognise whether you gel with the uncompromising prose or not. I did, with some reservations throughout, leading to a similarly incoherent rush of thoughts when reading that did not really come much clearer even upon a re-read a year later. Either way, I enjoy Neuromancer a lot more when I let my brain run wild with crazy visualisations, allowing the plot to drag me every which way and simply admiring the whole piece at a fuzzy distance like a grand painting - and I enjoy Neuromancer a whole lot less when I'm picking against slang, jargon, the frenetic storytelling and judging individual brushstrokes with undue attention.