Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Neuromancer

this book was mildly confusing, which i want to add first and foremost as it is not an "easy" read. i have mixed feelings on it; i found it very interesting but i'm not sure if i would personally call it a really good book. i think from a subjective standpoint, as is the case with many books in this genre, it's really good. i like the way it was written, the problems it deals with, the struggles of the characters. for me, though, it didn't quite grip me in the way i was hoping it to - it was more of a casual read. it's quite enjoyable though, so if you want to stretch yourself or enjoy questioning life a little this is a good book for you. otherwise don't bother because you'll probably get bored. and heads up! the ending is not what you'll expect (for me it even felt a little lackluster, but it was fitting).

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minzzi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

This book was ok. The writing is just the way I like it, kinda poetic/metaphorical and not a lot of exposition. I also liked that, even though It's a book about computers and hackers, the narrative was more fantastical than hardcore sci-fi and the plot is very easy to follow.
The characters, on the other hand... The main cast is fine (I am biased towards asshole protagonists after all) and so is Wintermute, but some of the side characters felt like just huge racial steriotypes to me and I couldn't concentrate in some parts because of how bad it was.
This book also falls into that old tale of "female character suffers sexual related trauma, but it's ok because she is a badass warrior" and I hate that so much.

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sarah984's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This is definitely a foundational work in the genre and the descriptions are lush and amazing. I love reading older sci-fi for the kind of grimy analog futurism and no one does that like Gibson. However, the main character is kind of pathetic and weird, the women feel like props, and the characters of colour are embarrassing.

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storyorc's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

Despite only understanding about 65% of what was going on at any one time, it was easy to get caught up in the frenetic heists. Contains surprisingly little hokey VR hacking, a fascinating take on AI, and cybernetics that straddle the line between ingenious and depressing (so many new ways to monetise yourself!). Gobsmacked to find out the author hadn't even touched a computer.

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surelyinthefountain's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The writing is arresting -- gorgeous descriptions of ugliness throughout. The first 40% to half feels like a very different book than the latter half of the novel. I really liked the second half, which starts to skew a bit existential and pulls out of the viewpoint of Case more, giving a bit more perspective; I'd say if you're having trouble with the first half, keep in mind that this was written in the 80s and there was a...shall we say "certain kind of audience" that was into sci-fi at that time, especially hard science fiction. Gibson is very deliberately trying to hook in that kind of reader before punching them in the gut in the second half, so if you're not in that target audience, the first half can feel a little alienating, but I promise the second half earns the cult status this book has. It has so much to say that's still really relevant in 2021 (when I'm writing this review), even if a bit of a sledgehammer with those ideas in places, and it's cool to see the roots of what we now view as cyberpunk staples in their original context. There's some dated stereotypes, but I think overall the book holds up well, even in spite of its flaws.

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c_l's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

Brutal and poetic. For the impact on media, and our current 2021 society, Gibson deserves the praise he's been handed. I'm interested to read some of the cultural criticism written in the last forty years. All of the characters are flawed, and most are pretty fucked up (particularly Case, the protag).

Gibson's writing style caught me off guard, and it took me some time to settle into. I bet this would make for a much better re-read. It's highly metaphorical/poetic, without taking length to fine-tune a description. The characters all point to a dynamic, hostile, and compelling broader culture. This is probably my fav takeaway, especially when the settings are more alluded to than less concretely described (it works). I would recommend because:

Valuable for understanding influence/lineage on media ("first cyberpunk").
Observe future-casting for a hostile, techno-focused, late-capitalist world.
[maybe spoilers? books been out since 1984 so...] ~~I've never seen AI used in a plot arc with this finish.~~
Gibson's writing style is worth digging into.
Cool science fiction.
Lots of heists.
The matrix.

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