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A review by ravenousbibliophile
Neuromancer by William Gibson
4.0
Blurb: A sizable upgrade to one's imaginative capabilities.
Neuromancer has been on my Goodreads "To-Read" screen for sometime now, and while there might be 'seminal works' that are simply re-packaged good, Neuromancer is well and truly a seminal work. It thrusts the reader into a world where the language is new, the imagery is expressed in a way that is both eloquent and inarticulate. More than once did I have to shake my head and re-read an entire page or even half a chapter in order to properly imagine the environment and actions taking place and rather than imbuing me with a sense of frustration, it only served to pique my curiosity as to what the next page/chapter might hold.
The story in one word is about "completion" and as you read, you can get the sense that pieces moving into place in order to facilitate some grand event. Gibson however, masterfully prevents you from seeing the whole picture. Because no-one likes a plot that they can solve halfway through a book (regardless of how well it's written). Sure, reading it in the 2000s, one would not be surprised to see the usual elements of a Sci-Fi/Cyberpunk plot, but considering the book was written in 1984, the reader is witnessing the birth of some of the tropes of the genre, indeed the birth of the genre itself.
Regardless of how well-read one is in the genre of Cyberpunk, I believe Neuromancer shall still tax your imagination and if nothing else, it will earn and/or demand from you the respect it deserves as the originator of the cyberpunk genre.
Neuromancer has been on my Goodreads "To-Read" screen for sometime now, and while there might be 'seminal works' that are simply re-packaged good, Neuromancer is well and truly a seminal work. It thrusts the reader into a world where the language is new, the imagery is expressed in a way that is both eloquent and inarticulate. More than once did I have to shake my head and re-read an entire page or even half a chapter in order to properly imagine the environment and actions taking place and rather than imbuing me with a sense of frustration, it only served to pique my curiosity as to what the next page/chapter might hold.
The story in one word is about "completion" and as you read, you can get the sense that pieces moving into place in order to facilitate some grand event. Gibson however, masterfully prevents you from seeing the whole picture. Because no-one likes a plot that they can solve halfway through a book (regardless of how well it's written). Sure, reading it in the 2000s, one would not be surprised to see the usual elements of a Sci-Fi/Cyberpunk plot, but considering the book was written in 1984, the reader is witnessing the birth of some of the tropes of the genre, indeed the birth of the genre itself.
Regardless of how well-read one is in the genre of Cyberpunk, I believe Neuromancer shall still tax your imagination and if nothing else, it will earn and/or demand from you the respect it deserves as the originator of the cyberpunk genre.