Neuromancer

It's not often that a book kick-starts an entire genre, but this one did; it is the original (and quintessential) cyberpunk novel. I first read it a few years after it came out, loved it, and just recently reread it. Usually, when you reread a book you loved from your youth, you find that it isn't nearly as good as you remembered, but that was not the case here - if anything, it was better the second time. One of the main reasons for this is that Gibson is not just a great science fiction writer - he's a great writer, period. His prose is flowing and lyrical, filled with beautiful turns of phrase which never sound affected or pretentious. His world-building is so authentic you can almost feel and smell the environments the characters find themselves in. The characters aren't the one-dimensional cardboard cutouts so often found in SF; they are real, they have feelings, they love, they hate, they screw up constantly, they sometimes do amazing things, and you care about them. And the story is incredible! The main science-fiction element of the book is that in this world, people can "jack in" to computers, putting their consciousness directly inside of "cyberspace", a kind of artificial reality. (This was The Matrix before The Matrix existed.) Cyberspace is mainly seen in the book as a way for "console cowboys" to steal secrets from corporations for profit, though different kinds of cyberspace occur in the book, and form a major part of the plot. The plot owes more than a little to noir detective fiction; most of the characters are low-lifes trying to scam their way out of the hell-holes they live in, or super-rich people who are begging to be taken advantage of. The book is also full of almost nonstop action from beginning to end, and the climax is suitably spectacular. Gibson was heavily influenced by Alfred Bester and Samuel R. Delany (two of the greatest SF authors); if you've read them, you'll immediately see the connection. Despite that, he has a voice all his own. Now that I've raved about the book, I'll give a few caveats. It's definitely not for the squeamish. There is a lot of graphic violence, and an incredible amount of drug use too. Most of the characters have very little in the way of moral scruples. The world is very dystopian; it's as if Gibson extrapolated everything that is wrong with society to its logical extreme, with only technology as the one thing that is continually improving (far beyond our ability to deal with it). The book goes fairly heavy on the jargon it creates, so it's not a particularly easy read either. But really, none of this matters, because the writing is so good that you get swept along for the ride. Everyone who loves science fiction needs to read this book, and the two sequels (Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive) are also both great. Gibson is a living legend of SF, and Neuromancer is a great introduction to his work.

I typically avoid "foundation" books like the plague. Whenever a piece of literature comes with the distinction of founding this genre or starting that movement, it has been my experience that the work will be focused more on concepts and ideas rather than story and characters. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I simply read for fun and tend to not enjoy books that are more about establishing ideas than telling a good story. So, when my fiancé read "Neuromancer" and insisted that I would enjoy it due to my love of things like "Ghost in the Shell," science fiction, and cyber punk, I was more than a little wary. I feared that the novel would be rife with techno-babble and jargon that would only make sense to someone obsessed with technology, so I put it off...and put it off...and put it off. After some not-so-subtle hints from my fiancé that I really needed to read this, I finally sat down and went for it. Did a lot of things fly over my head? Probably. But you know what? I enjoyed it anyway! Spoilers follow. "Neuromancer" essentially boils down to a futuristic crime novel. Case, the main character, is an ex-hacker whose former employer had part of his nervous system irrevocably destroyed after Case tried to hack the employer's company, effectively preventing him from ever connection to Cyberspace again (and therefore putting him out of work). Down on his luck, he's offered an opportunity he can't pass up: his nerves will be repaired using new (and otherwise preventatively expensive) medical technology if he agrees to use his hacking skills to complete a special job. He's joined by an odd, unique group of cohorts: a former colonel from the Special Forces that doesn't quite seem to be all the way there; a mercenary with some cool cybernetic enhancements and a past she doesn't want to talk about; a performance artist with perverse holographic imaginings; the personality of a dead hacker immortalized in the matrix; and the mysterious Wintermute, an Artificial Intelligence that seems to really be running the show. To start this review on a high note, the story is great. It's both exciting and complete. I had feared that the plot would take a back seat to showcasing the author's ideas of futuristic tech, but that happily isn't the case, and the story definitely isn't secondary in the novel. Ok, so the beginning is a little slow (the first 20 pages or so could prove to be a little daunting for some since they're mostly introducing us to Case and giving some exposition on the setting), but once things pick up, they really pick up. And not only is the plot satisfying in and of itself, it takes us all over the world (seriously - the characters go to several different countries and even take a trip off-planet) and gives us a look at plenty of locales to help flesh out Gibson's world. Gibson's writing style is very notable and distinct. Honestly, it can be a tad difficult to get used to at first glance. The best way to describe it would be that each chapter is broken into vignettes, each one serving to highlight something, whether it be some introspection on Case's part, character development, a plot point, demonstrating a piece of technology, or showcasing some part of the setting. While a little jolting at first to jump around, the vignettes flow and connect nicely to weave a coherent, satisfying story. Prose-wise, Gibson has the type of writing style that needs to be read slowly and enjoyed. That's not to say that it's wordy or complex - quite the opposite, actually! Every word is important, so if you try to skim or read too quickly, you'll likely miss out on a lot and become horribly confused. It's not that Gibson writes a lot, but that he writes meaningfully - trying to speed read this would do a disservice to the author, story, and reader. Gibson's writing style is unlike anything I've seen, and, perhaps surprisingly, it really works. While the story and the author's style are extremely important, the tech and relevance are also large parts of the book. "Neuromancer" was published in the 1980s, so I expected some very dated science fiction and technology and a vision of the future that was so off base that it push the book firmly into the realm of fantasy. Since this is the book that is considered one of the foundation works of the cyber punk genre, a lot concepts have trickled into not only cyber punk culture, but mainstream media as a whole. This is the novel that invented the term Cyberspace and prominently featured the matrix as an abstract representation of the computer network that, with the right equipment, one can interact with. People adding cybernetic enhancements to their bodies is perceived as normal and virtual intelligence is not only a thing, but a well-known (though not always completely understood) creation. Cloning isn't unheard of and advanced medical procedures are the norm. Given that Gibson wrote this before many of these things existed, his ideas have stayed largely relevant because many are things that science is still trying to make a reality. One might wonder if Gibson could somehow see into the future. Even over 20 years after its publication, "Neuromancer" manages to not feel dated and, as a result, lacking in relevance. The final thing to discuss as far as the overall story goes is the world. The other big reason that this piece of speculative fiction has aged gracefully is that the gritty, rough, super-controlled world portrayed in the book is very much the sort of future that many people still fear. Gibson's vision of the future consists of large corporations controlling the different countries and regions. Some of the cities that we know have come together to form larger metropolises and the lines between countries seem to sometimes blur, yet cultures are still fairly distinct. None of that really matters, though, since it's mostly companies and illegal groups that hold the power in this world. Whether this is a personal fear of yours or not, you'll be able to feel the corrupt hold these large groups have and the complete helplessness of the average person to do anything about it. This isn't a clean, sci-fi future where everything is white, shiny, and full of helpful technology; it's a grimy world full of selfish people who use (and abuse) the current tech in whatever way benefits the most...and it's surprisingly accessible to the modern reader. Lets move on to the characters. This is the one thing that keeps me from giving "Neuromancer" a full five stars. I'm the kind of reader that needs great characters to become truly invested in a story, and this book fell a little flat for me in the area of character development. Make no mistake, this is certainly an interesting group of individuals. Each one stands out in their own right with their unique abilities and back stories and, much like Gibson's writing itself, there are no wasted or superfluous characters. Every one has a role to fill and each demonstrates something that serves to flesh out the novel's setting. Even the side characters or one-off figures are intriguing in their own right. I would argue that the characters serve their various purposes well...but I never felt particularly attached to any of them. Instead, rather than seeing them as fully realized characters, they struck me more as the embodiments of the ideas and concepts of Gibson's world. There's nothing necessarily wrong with this - my fiancé and others seem to have responded well to the book's figures and what they set out to do. I just needed more growth from them, more reasons to become attached and really care about them as individuals and as a whole. And while there are moments where some of this development that I craved began to shine through, the characters seemed distant throughout most of the novel. I was interested in their stories and who they were, I was interested in what they could do, but I ultimately didn't care about them beyond that, and the absence of that more personal connection with them stood out while I was reading. The one exception to this is Case, the main character. Perhaps it's because most of the book is from his (third person) point of view and he therefore gets to experience more than any of the other characters. Perhaps it's because he gets the biggest life-changing upgrade (his ability to jack into the matrix being restored), so we see a drastic change as far as his capabilities and outlook are concerned. Whatever the reason, his journey actually seems to have an effect on him, and he definitely isn't the same character at the end of the story as he is at the beginning, and since we get to experience things right along with him, it's easy to care about what ultimately happens to him in this strange, futuristic world. On a random, personal note regarding characters, as seems to often be the case, the two characters I was most interested in died before their stories were fully concluded or revealed to us. Damn! Just my luck... In closing, don't make the same assumptions that I did. Don't ignore this book because you think it'll be too smart or tech-heavy. Don't refuse to read it because you fear the story will take a backseat to Gibson's scientific concepts and visions of the future. Don't give it a wide berth because you fear the age of the novel will make it come across as dated and out of touch with the current reality. "Neuromancer" manages to strike the balance between telling a satisfying, interesting story and showcasing the author's (sometimes terrifying) world. Gibson's distinct style of prose makes for a unique reading experience, and though the characters fell a bit short of what I wanted, I'm glad I overcame my objections and read this book. A solid four star read.

Neuromancer by William Gibson is a mind-bending classic that set the standard for Cyberpunk Science Fiction. Though written in the early-80's is not dated by any means. In fact, the author somehow seemed to have foreseen the future at that time and predicted the use of "cyberspace" and the impact that computer technology would have in our daily lives - proving that William Gibson is as much a prophet as he is a great author. (This novel even introduced the idea of a virtual reality known as "The Matrix" - proving that Hollywood has no original ideas other than to steal from past literature.) The novel's style seamlessly blends both the hardboiled film-noir type detective fiction of the 40's with futuristic - (or currently modern) tech that predates - or at least concurrently dated the release of Ridley Scott's masterpiece film of Blade Runner. It's a case of who influenced who - or perhaps just two visionary artists exploring their visions of the future which were both blended in the truth of what is and what will soon be, as AI seems to have infected the entire world at large and is now a part of everyday lives. This novel may be a case of art imitating life - or perhaps modern life imitating art. The future of that yet remains to be seen. The plot is complex enough to keep it interesting, yet simple enough to not make readers get lost in an endless stream of techno-babble. There's enough tech to put the "sci" in sci-fi, yet it doesn't read like a boring tech manual as so many more modern cyberpunk works do. I feel that the author really hit the sweet spot here between sci and fi and made them balance perfectly. Neuromancer has all the highlights of a perfect cyberpunk novel. Dystopian cities, criminal underground societies, augmented cyborgs, brilliant computer hackers, psychopathic druggies, high-class lowlifes, and low-class antiheroes. I won't go into too many details to give away the plot or storyline, but I will say that this novel is definitely worth the read. It is one of the pioneers of sci-fi that practically invented the entire cyberpunk genre, and there are few modern books of the genre, or films for that matter, that don't borrow, beg, or steal from this novel to some extent. Some do it out of an homage tribute, others because they don't know how to do any better than this novel - and perhaps it's impossible to. The same way there will never be a better cyberpunk film that the original 80's Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, I doubt there will ever be a better cyberpunk novel than William Gibson's "Neuromancer". Give it a read - you'll be glad that you did.

This book is considered by many to be the origin of cyberpunk. It’s certainly an incredibly original story, introducing concepts that most mainstream audiences would not encounter until 15 years later when The Matrix hit theaters. Unfortunately, the glut of originality — dozens of completely made-up words, strange names, and totally bizarre concepts that are hard to grasp — also make this a very difficult tale to track. I “read” this book for the first time listening to it as an audiobook, and not being able to see how not-real words were spelled, or whether a word was capitalized and actually a name, made this a confusing experience to unravel. I’ve never hit rewind in Audible so many times! I definitely recommend that you read rather than listen to this one. While not migrating well to audio is not necessarily a strike against a book, the storyline is still a tangle of twists and turns in any format. Though this was certainly an interesting — and literarily historical — read, it’s simply (and by that I mean ONLY) bizarre and not much more in many places. I would give this book 5 stars for creativity, but in the end had to score it by how well that originality was presented to the reader and how much I actually enjoyed the book: 3 stars. I’ll note that the two sequels in this series, while not better, are much easier to follow.

This was a reread for me, and I have to say, I loved more this time through. Every trope you can point to in the cyberpunk begins here, but they never feel boring or worn down. This book is so prescient, so filled with wonder, it felt fresh, new, and original. As a noir fan, I could see how some folks might night like the way the story is presented, but it is an integral part of the narrative. The characters are very flawed but are willing to adapt, which makes the story even more engaging. One of my favorite parts of the story was the call back to Gibson’s Johnny Mnemonic. Only remembered Molly from that tell, so it was nice to know what happened after that story ended. I really don’t have anything to add to what’s been said about this book. The only thing I can do is recommend it. Even if it’s not for you, it’s an essential part of sf history. For whatever reason, I’ve never finished the Sprawl trilogy, but the reread has spurred me on to do so. I’ve read other Gibson works: Idoru was my favorite until this reread. Looking forward to jacking back in. 🙂👍🏻

Before reading Neuromancer I knew it was considered one of the early influences on the Cyberpunk genre, but I didn't realize how on the nose that classification was. It seems like Gibson created every trope and the most used settings for the Cyberpunk genre that was to come. For our settings, we have the dystopian criminal underworld that our characters mostly exist within, the glittering ivory towers occupied by the ultra rich, and the brief glimpses of the world every one else occupies. While Gibson was certainly not the first to use any of these settings, he did a great job of creating his own and making them unique. Further more, variants of these would go on to become staples of Cyberpunk world building for generations to come. Gibson further adds to the grimness of the world with his portrayals of common/widespread drug use, his characters general disregard/familiarity with death in their lives, and the general attitude amongst all characters that the ends justify the means, even if the ends are only beneficial for themselves. Overall, Neuromancer never felt like it had any real hope for a better world, and the story was better for it. Gibson's description of his Cyber world was surprisingly vague, but this choice allowed his Matrix to continue to ring true over 20 years later since there wasn't any individual pieces that felt too wrong or off (since they weren't super fleshed out to begin with). That said, I did get a feeling that Gibson's descriptions is where the Hackers film from the 90s got its entire idea for how to make their Cyber-space look. I would have liked more concrete descriptions of how the Matrix worked and looked, but I understand his choice to leave it open to reader interpretation. Gibson's characters were good, but they never approached greatness. However, their realism and lack of any real outstanding features (besides their cybernetics, obviously) felt right for the world that Gibson wrote. None of his characters should have been heroic, hilarious, or otherwise outstanding. They were meant to be a product of Gibson's rather downbeat world and they nailed that perfectly. My biggest issue with the story was the pacing. The story would go from fast paced action to slow introspective scenes with very little time to transition. It wasn't something that killed my enjoyment, but it could definitely be jarring at times. <Spoilers from here forward> The core story/heists focus on unshackling an AI and briefly looking at the dangers of doing so, is a concept that I've always enjoyed. I do wish Case would have at least considered the moral implications of what he was doing at some point beyond a brief "this isn't gonna be my problem", but I also believe that his total disregard for the implications of his actions beyond the fact that he'd be able to continue jacking in, getting more hits of his real go-to drug, cemented the tone of the story and world. It also perfectly explained why Case was the perfect Cyber-cowboy for Wintermute's job. I don't think Gibson was anywhere near the first to postulate on the dangers of AI, but he did do a great job handling it. Many of the concepts he tackled about how much autonomy AI should have and what limitations need to be placed on them are still being actively discussed 30 years later, with many people demanding a worldwide consensus before AIs become fully realized with no limitations or rules in place. Gibson's depiction of an AI trying to remove it's own shackles would fit right alongside Elon Musk's yearly warnings about the dangers of sufficiently advanced AI. The Tessier-Ashpool endless cloning and periods of cryogenic hibernation concept was the biggest detractor from the end of the story for me. It seemed needlessly convoluted and didn't really add anything to the running narrative in my opinion. It offered a neat concept of "immortality", offering a counter to the "immortality" of creating an AI (and imparting a small piece of your personality to it), but overall it didn't really resonate with me as a remotely good idea or even that gripping of a concept. All in all, Neuromancer was a great book and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a great example of early Cyberpunk. The building blocks for what would become it's own genre are present within Neuromancer, and it's worth any Sci-Fi fans time.

I love everything about this novel. It felt you were instantly transported into every scene and location. Not necessarily because of the just descriptions, but the frantic nature and sometimes inconsistent pacing worked in making you feel like you were there. Gibson also does a great job of making the characters feel real. This is all in addition to everything that makes this foundational to the cyberpunk genre.

This is a review of the book printing quality and condition, not the writing. The book arrived in a basic white and blue padded Amazon envelope, which I’m not a fan of due to the possibility of it getting damaged, but this has shown no signs of damage and I’m very pleased. I was a little worried that there would be issues with printing or how the pages were cut, but it’s very clear that the book is not only printed well but also cut perfectly. About the print: I’m not sure if this is exclusive to my copy, but when I took it out of the envelope, it had a slightly dusty texture. I figured that was on purpose due to the way that the cover is printed, but the black dust just came right off. That’s not a dealbreaker by any means, but it is something I noticed. The cover itself has a mix of matte and gloss texture, where the glossy chunks are raised up by about a fraction of a millimeter. Overall, I’m very pleased with this so far. I have yet to read it, but I’m happy with my purchase.

One of the greatest sci-fi cyberpunk novels ever written. Whoever is interested in AI and the latest developments in technology and hasn't read this is illiterate.

Après avoir fini Cyberpunk 2077, j'avais envie de m'immerger encore plus dans ce type d'univers. J'ai donc regarder en ligne quel était les meilleurs livres dans le style "Cyberpunk" et Neuromancer par William Gibson était toujours présent dans le top des classements, j'ai donc fini par l'acheter. L'auteur a un style impeccable pour décrire l'ambiance du monde dans lequel l'histoire se déroule, on a vraiment l'impression d'être dans la tête du personnage, tellement il y a de détails dans chaque scène. Que cela soit la couleur des murs, l'odeur des lieux, les bars avec des noms japonais et français, les sons de la rue, les relations entres les personnages, la criminalité, etc. Le plus gros problème que j'ai avec Neuromancer, c'est la façon dont les dialogues sont écrits. Je ne sais pas trop comment le décrire, mais l'auteur a un style bien à lui, qui passe ou casse avec le lecteur en question. Résultat, même arriver vers la fin du livre, j'avais l'impression de comprendre seulement un quart de l'histoire, j'ai donc regarder le résume de l'histoire en ligne pour comprendre ce qui se passer et pourquoi telles personnages faisait telle actions et pour quelles raisons. C'est un phénomène très étrange, parce que j'ai lu plus d'une centaine de livres en anglais et c'est la première fois que j'ai eu autant de difficultés pour comprendre le récit. Je pense que Neuromancer, fait partie de ces livres qui doivent être lu plusieurs fois pour vraiment faire attention à tous les petits détails présents dans les pages.

Very good book deserves every penny

Una hermosa edición de un excelente libro, compré la versión de pasta dura y llegó en perfectas condiciones.

Thanks for fast shipping and great packing. I'm going to buy other books soon.