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.
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This is an excellent story packed into a neat new edition. I only wish it had a dust jacket!
I absolutely loved this book during my first read through, and I wanted to get a hard cover copy to add to my bookshelf. This copy looks awesome, and I think it will make an excellent addition to my collection! I only wish there was a dust jacket of some sort for this book. The texture of the cover feels like it could use one. However, it does not affect the overall quality of the book. Also, I really enjoyed Neil Gaiman's forward. He made a very interesting comparison of the different generations of readers and how they will interpret this book. This was well worth what I payed for it!
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Ilya WatteauReviewed in France on February 18, 2023
Un très bon livre, mais avec un style d'écriture qui ne plaira pas à tout le monde
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.Ilya WatteauUn très bon livre, mais avec un style d'écriture qui ne plaira pas à tout le monde
Reviewed in France on February 18, 2023
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