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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
medium-paced
[41/166]
Gibson writes pure sex.
Some might be enthralled by the language offered within, which another reviewer accurately described as "not jargon, but poetry". Others might revel in the glistening, break-neck plot, the cyberpunk aesthetic, the deep dive into AI and the gritty characters.
You might guess from my star-rating that I'm not that person. I will freely admit to being too stupid for Gibson, but this book also requires a certain level of acquiescence to the Rule of Cool I just wasn't feeling--at least with this one. The prose that to others might read as lyric was to me, often contradictory or purple into a neon ultraviolet. The purple prose of the future, my friends. Let alone that the constant action often fails to describe scenes in such a way that I really understood what was going on... and the motivations throughout essentially amount to "survival" for one character, his stake in them only made personal because of... Woman.
Dead Woman.
Oh man this book really loves female characters. And by that I mean loves female hood ornaments. I was so much more enthralled (that being hyperbole) by Molly than I was Linda, yet Linda haunts this book like a fart haunts a hot car. Every few pages she's back, being a perpetual motivation and literal non-entity in a way that made me want to flip a table.
That is to say, you will love this book or you won't, but let no one deceive you, this is very much a matter of taste and not necessarily a taste for "high art". It is okay to look at this, think "nope", and go on with your day, however, if you feel like it's up your alley, it probably is, and you will have a great time with it.
Gibson writes pure sex.
Some might be enthralled by the language offered within, which another reviewer accurately described as "not jargon, but poetry". Others might revel in the glistening, break-neck plot, the cyberpunk aesthetic, the deep dive into AI and the gritty characters.
You might guess from my star-rating that I'm not that person. I will freely admit to being too stupid for Gibson, but this book also requires a certain level of acquiescence to the Rule of Cool I just wasn't feeling--at least with this one. The prose that to others might read as lyric was to me, often contradictory or purple into a neon ultraviolet. The purple prose of the future, my friends. Let alone that the constant action often fails to describe scenes in such a way that I really understood what was going on... and the motivations throughout essentially amount to "survival" for one character, his stake in them only made personal because of... Woman.
Dead Woman.
Oh man this book really loves female characters. And by that I mean loves female hood ornaments. I was so much more enthralled (that being hyperbole) by Molly than I was Linda, yet Linda haunts this book like a fart haunts a hot car. Every few pages she's back, being a perpetual motivation and literal non-entity in a way that made me want to flip a table.
That is to say, you will love this book or you won't, but let no one deceive you, this is very much a matter of taste and not necessarily a taste for "high art". It is okay to look at this, think "nope", and go on with your day, however, if you feel like it's up your alley, it probably is, and you will have a great time with it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A classic for a reason. I enjoy this book a lot, but I do find I can get a bit lost in the jargon.
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
For large parts I felt as if I was hallucinating in a mind bending cage of surreal. It was strange, confusing, brilliant, confusing....did I already mention confusing? Undoubtedly though, a work of genius.
‘The drug hit him like an express train, a white-hot column of light mounting his spine from the region of his prostate, illuminating the sutures of his skull with x-rays of short-circuited sexual energy. His teeth sang in their individual sockets like tuning forks, each one pitch-perfect and clear as ethanol. His bones, beneath the hazy envelope of flesh, were chromed and polished, the joints lubricated with a film of silicone. Sandstorms raged across the scoured floor of his skull, generating waves of high thin static that broke behind his eyes, spheres of purest crystal, expanding.’
‘The drug hit him like an express train, a white-hot column of light mounting his spine from the region of his prostate, illuminating the sutures of his skull with x-rays of short-circuited sexual energy. His teeth sang in their individual sockets like tuning forks, each one pitch-perfect and clear as ethanol. His bones, beneath the hazy envelope of flesh, were chromed and polished, the joints lubricated with a film of silicone. Sandstorms raged across the scoured floor of his skull, generating waves of high thin static that broke behind his eyes, spheres of purest crystal, expanding.’
my brain is too scrambled right now to fully engage with a sci-fi novel so dense with terminology it refuses to explain that i constantly have to pull up some random, extremely long reddit post explaining what almost every other word means. maybe one day, but not today
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
informative
fast-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
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes