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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
To an extent, Gibson can do no wrong in my eyes in the Sprawl Trilogy. The oppressive, bleak cyberpunk world is still here, albeit from a very different angle as the one taken in Neuromancer. Sexy keyboard cowboys and mirrorshaded street sam and omniscient AI are all replaced with their mirror images in Count Zero: a misguided Matrix rookie, a beat and bruised veteran corp warrior, and cryptic, mysterious, not quite whole AI are the ones that permeate this book.
While most of the book is the same slick, static-colored goodness I came to love in Neuromancer, I dock it a star from its older brother due to the ending being a little sloppy. It kind of feels like Gibson realized the book needed to end soon as he got to the last chapters, because everything kind of snaps into place in a rapid and unsatisfying way in the book's last moments. Still, this isn't enough for me to stop loving this book, and for me to not keep it on my shelf.
While most of the book is the same slick, static-colored goodness I came to love in Neuromancer, I dock it a star from its older brother due to the ending being a little sloppy. It kind of feels like Gibson realized the book needed to end soon as he got to the last chapters, because everything kind of snaps into place in a rapid and unsatisfying way in the book's last moments. Still, this isn't enough for me to stop loving this book, and for me to not keep it on my shelf.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-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:
No
If I hadn't read the summary of the book on Wikipedia I'm not sure I would have really understood what was going on, I don't typically have an issue with this, audiobook or no, but for some reason this time I was lost. Beyond that fact, the characters were a bit indistinguishable and the world was only so-so for me. But then cyberpunk is a little hit or miss for me, so I'm happy to read books written by the godfather of the genre but I think I'll try some of the newer ones instead.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
In this intricately plotted novel set several years after Neuromancer, a mercenary recovering from a devastating injury takes on a job that is not what it seems, while a young would-be cyber cowboy has an inexplicable experience on the matrix, setting a cascade of events into motion. Fascinating to read this vision of AI from 1986. Is autonomy possible when the machine knows more about you than you know about yourself? Next up: Mona Lisa Overdrive.
Far more entertaining than Neuromancer. It isn't as slow at the beginning, and the main characters are less pathetic than Case.
Works well as a stand alone novel, though you have to have read Neuromancer to understand the ending.
Works well as a stand alone novel, though you have to have read Neuromancer to understand the ending.
Moves at a good pace and keeps the interest but ultimately it is about people who are being moved along by forces out of their control rather than influencing events. Some radical ideas on weak foundations, at times.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved it. An awesome romp as fun as Neuromancer. I wasn’t expecting it to be about on par, but definitely recommend if you liked Neuromancer.