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marxistsupernanny's review
4.0
If I had to rate the books in their trilogy from favorite to least favorite, I would probably rank Neuromancer at the higher, Mona Lisa Overdrive second, and Count Zero third. Ranking is an interesting exercise because ranking is necessarily reductive, but I suspect that most would not disagree with my ranking.
A major strength of Mona Lisa Overdrive is that it ties in the first two novels, thus giving the Sprawl universe a greater cohesion. Events in the first two novels appear in the third to have a significance — sometimes very large (*the moment it changed*) and others petty and personal (3Jane’s ghostly resentment against Molly). The Sprawl appears as a real place, where characters exit and live lives outside of the confines of narration, but also enter into each others fields of reference.
Gibson piloted the shifting narrative perspective in Count Zero with some success, but the three stories did not seem to have any connecting to each other until the very end. But in Mona Lisa Overdrive, not only do the four narrative perspectives link up much faster, they are also woven within the mythos of the Sprawl given in the first two novels. Count Zero walked so that Mona Lisa Overdrive could run.
If I could give advice to a reader, it would be to try and read the book quickly. Although each chapter is only 10-30 minutes (at most), one can easily forget what happened previously if they take extended reading breaks. I almost wish I kept a log of notes to diagram who each character is, and how they relate to one another. But maybe this is less of problem of Gibson’s writing and more of my gen-z attention span.
Molly Millions is fucking back though. So that’s sick.
A major strength of Mona Lisa Overdrive is that it ties in the first two novels, thus giving the Sprawl universe a greater cohesion. Events in the first two novels appear in the third to have a significance — sometimes very large (*the moment it changed*) and others petty and personal (3Jane’s ghostly resentment against Molly). The Sprawl appears as a real place, where characters exit and live lives outside of the confines of narration, but also enter into each others fields of reference.
Gibson piloted the shifting narrative perspective in Count Zero with some success, but the three stories did not seem to have any connecting to each other until the very end. But in Mona Lisa Overdrive, not only do the four narrative perspectives link up much faster, they are also woven within the mythos of the Sprawl given in the first two novels. Count Zero walked so that Mona Lisa Overdrive could run.
If I could give advice to a reader, it would be to try and read the book quickly. Although each chapter is only 10-30 minutes (at most), one can easily forget what happened previously if they take extended reading breaks. I almost wish I kept a log of notes to diagram who each character is, and how they relate to one another. But maybe this is less of problem of Gibson’s writing and more of my gen-z attention span.
Molly Millions is fucking back though. So that’s sick.
tfitoby's review against another edition
4.0
A much more accessible version of Gibson's cyberpunk stylings, Mona Lisa Overdrive is a pretty straight forward espionage thriller in comparison to what came before, and as such I found it that much more enjoyable.
Instead of technical information and a sentient AI point of view or endless discussions about what makes us human, the effects of technology on society and freewill we're treated to the lives of four characters in sequential chapters whose lives are on a fateful collision course plotted by unseen powers in a typical example of a cyberpunk future - chrome, imaginative technological advances, massive dichotomy between the rich and the poor, crazy new synthetic drugs, mirrorshades, a truly global society.
It's seedy and complex and Gibson writes compelling intrigue; dropping you in to the middle of these characters lives and never explaining what's going on or how the world came to be the way it is. You're led to understand what a specific piece of technology is as it's used, not explicitly just inferred, the same can be said about relationships between characters and even the way MLO ties in to the previous books in the sequence. It's impressively done and a solidly entertaining read. I always note this with Gibson and yet I continue to be surprised that it is the case.
Instead of technical information and a sentient AI point of view or endless discussions about what makes us human, the effects of technology on society and freewill we're treated to the lives of four characters in sequential chapters whose lives are on a fateful collision course plotted by unseen powers in a typical example of a cyberpunk future - chrome, imaginative technological advances, massive dichotomy between the rich and the poor, crazy new synthetic drugs, mirrorshades, a truly global society.
It's seedy and complex and Gibson writes compelling intrigue; dropping you in to the middle of these characters lives and never explaining what's going on or how the world came to be the way it is. You're led to understand what a specific piece of technology is as it's used, not explicitly just inferred, the same can be said about relationships between characters and even the way MLO ties in to the previous books in the sequence. It's impressively done and a solidly entertaining read. I always note this with Gibson and yet I continue to be surprised that it is the case.
sfreader2001's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
parwhazd's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
rvanerd's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
notablebird's review
4.0
This book was written 20+ years ago. Amazing as always just how on target Gibson is in terms of tech prediction, but even more so as to data being the crux of economic and societal control. This book has many voices that were challenging to track at times, so I was not swept up in the story, which I didn’t find as engaging as some of his others. That women are typically his main characters doesn’t always sit well with me and was the case with this novel too.
sapien85's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
elijahdavidson's review
I couldn’t put it down, though that’s as much because I was nearing the end of the trilogy—the final sprint—as it was because of the propulsiveness of the story. I feel like Gibson kind of punts on the religious ideas in the end, though I do enjoy the characters in this story more than those in the other books in this series. I think for me is 1 for the plot, 2 for the ideas, and 3 for the characters.
breakiemimosa's review
4.0
The most straightforward prose of the three, but probably the most convoluted plot.
thisisfrenchbob's review against another edition
4.0
A fitting conclusion to the Sprawl Trilogy. Gibson being Gibson...