Reviews

It was a good start of the sub genre of cyberpunk. I can see how it must had been mind blowing good when it came out. After so much entertainment based in cyberpunk, it's just another book. It did make want to read other books in the sub genre.

dreamreader's review against another edition

Go to review page

Life is too short to read books that you don't like and can't understand.

crystalstarrlight's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Bullet Review:

This was a GOOD book - it may have taken me 6 months to read it, but it was absolutely fascinating. No wonder people draw so many comparisons to Blade Runner!

I kick myself for not reading in bigger or more continuous chunks; this story is very dense and reading bits and bobs over 6 months loses some of the drive of the story.

Full review:

Henry Case used to be a "digital cowboy" (a hacker) until he got caught and the companies who caught him eradicated his ability to "plug in" to the Matrix (remember this book was published LONG before Neo and Morpheus). Now he is a petty middle man in Chiba (neo-Japan), until he is approached by a mysterious Armitage, a former military guy, and Molly, an ex-prostitute, current assassin. The job? Plug in to the Matrix one more time for someone (or thing?) known only as "Wintermute".

I purchased this book for $1.99 way back in September 2014, being someone who eagerly sought out some of the classics of scifi and also someone who loves a bargain. I didn't get a chance to read it until my friend offered it as a buddy read and of course, I wanted to make a dent in my collection!

It may have taken me nearly half a year, but I did indeed finish it! Part of the slowness was my own fault - I have really struggled to keep up with my reading. Part of the slowness was also that this book is so dense! You may read a few pages, but need a lot of time to really process what was going on. I found myself sometimes avoiding it, because I knew it would need more brainpower than I really had easy access to (this pandemic has been rough on my mental health).

These days, with Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and the Wachowski siblings' Matrix, it's easy to pooh-pooh this book as being "too derivative" or not creative enough. But what astounded me was that this held up so well 30+ years later - this book was the birth of cyberpunk, of what grew into Blade Runner and the Matrix. So while it may seem like old hat is really quite creative and innovative with that in mind.

And that is really what I enjoyed about "Neuromancer"; to see how a book written when I was a baby (yes, really!) holds up after all these years. Sure I don't plug in quite the same way that Case does, but other concepts that the book has, from the influence and pervasiveness of computers to artificial intelligence, are ones that made me stop and think and realize how I am really living in the future.

One of the classics; I am glad I own and even happier to have read.

Thank you, Kendall, for recommending this for our buddy read! I had a marvelous time! :)

wsb5037's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

3.0

gwyndae's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

2.5

More...