Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Neuromancer

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2019

I’m fairly well read, love sci-fi, and picked up Neuromancer because I was told it’s a pretty landmark piece of work for the sci-fi and cyberpunk genres.

I am so relieved it’s finally over.

One of the most painfully boring and confusing books I’ve ever read. The author offers virtually no world building or explanation; rather he throws all these foreign and made up terms at you without defining them and just expects you to catch on. Same with characters. I didn’t care about a single one of them, and honestly I only kept up with the plot by periodically referencing Wikipedia. Even having understood the plot from Wikipedia, it’s really not that intriguing.

I have no idea what fans see in this, and I’d recommend something like Snow Crash instead.

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SW

The Wikipedia summary is more enjoyable than the book.

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2020

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Prologue: I am a professional (B. Sc. in Comp. Sci.) computer programmer, loved "The Matrix" (movie) and have read this book THREE times (once in the eighties soon after it came out while I was in university, once in the early 2000's and again this year [with my wife, also a comp. sci.]).

I have never liked this book, despite sincere, repeated efforts to enjoy it and despite the enthusiasm of some of my friends for it.

The first two times I read the book, suddenly I reached the end and really could not make sense of what happened, thinking to myself: "Is that it? What happened? Where's the plot?". (Now that there's Wikipedia, I read *that* summary so I know what to look for -- if a book requires the equivalent of "Cliff Notes" to be comprehensible, that cannot be a worthwhile book, IMHO.)

To me, the book has always read like someone trying too hard to be cool, to impress and to sound scientifically and technologically savvy, but is really just a poser and a neophyte and is essentially ignorant (but can handle a dictionary and an encyclopedia to give appearances of knowledge). The language and sentences seem written to appeal to a teenage males (which I *was*, at the first reading!), but under close scrutiny frequently carry little content (but can *sound cool*) and less meaning. A more ruthless, and critical, editor would have helped.

Previously, I would have rated Neuromancer just one star, but reading the Wikipedia summary and trudging through the author's inflated prose, I think a genuinely interesting and innovative plot lies buried. So I'll give it an additional star in recognition of that.

Coda: Sorry to blast a book that so many rate highly and that has been showered with rewards and recognition, but there it is. (I also read Burning Chrome, Mona Lisa Overdrive *and* Count Zero, and have roughly the same opinion of them as well.)

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Michael

you will thoroughly enjoy reading this book - it is now probably in ...

Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2017

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I read an article that said you cannot call yourself a science fiction fan if you haven't read Neuromancer. At thirty years old, i considered myself a connoisseur of sci-fi books, movies, and television, but had never read Neuromancer. Having read it now, I'm not so sure i agree with the article I read, but i can unequivocally say that if you consider yourself a sci-fi fan, you will thoroughly enjoy reading this book - it is now probably in my top ten. Particularly if you enjoy noir-ish, gritty sci-fi like Neal Stephenson, Philip K. Dick, Richard K. Morgan, you need to read this. The story and writing are fantastic - i think the biggest reason i hadn't already read the book was because it can often be painful to read future-based computer/tech-heavy sci-fi that was written three decades or more ago. The story devices can seem (as one would imagine) dated to the extent that our own technological evolution does not gel with the predictions made by the writers. This book is a notable exception. For a book that deals heavily with tech, computer programs, AI, and "cyberspace," it is insane to think this was written in 1984. You will not be disappointed - i would expect that this will become one your favorite sci-fi books, and if not, will least enjoyable serve as another feather in your cap towards readings the genre's so-called "classics."

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Windows 98

Brilliant

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2017

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I didn't quite "get" this book the first time through, but upon rereading it, I've come to love it. Really, the biggest barrier when it comes to enjoying this book is the fact that Gibson throws the reader into the world of Neuromancer without explaining much immediately. I think that during my first reading I was confused, but my second time through, I already had something of an understanding of the book, allowing me to enjoy it more fully without being baffled. This book is brilliant. The strongest thing about it is probably the atmosphere. It is consistent throughout and just feels unique. The computer focused future of the Neuromancer feels fleshed out and alive. One thing I really loved about this was its connection between artificial intelligence and demons. It really makes you think about how what would once be considered magic is now commonplace. The protagonists are very well developed while the other characters don't get a ton of screen time. I thought this was a bad move on Gibson's part at first, but I see this move as being great for keeping the focus on computers and tech, rather than humans. While I'm not sure how I feel about having to read a book twice to enjoy it, I have to admit that I loved this book the second time through.

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Venesa

Way too confusing to be enjoyable

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2018

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Really wanted to like this, but it was way too confusing to be a fun read. Maybe if there had been a list of what everything was, like a mini dictionary of the author’s made-up terms, I might have enjoyed it more. The author sort of talks in his own made-up language and I guess you’re supposed to take notes when you finally figure out what things are. I was doing that, but it seemed like work. I want to read to relax.

My husband read it first and hated it. He recommended that I not read it at all. I think he’d give it zero stars if he could. He said it was a total waste of time. I tried reading the first few chapters a few times, then decided to trash it.

Reminded me of the JRR Tolkien books, which were difficult to read, but I thouroughly enjoyed. I read those in high school, maybe I’m not as patient as I was back then.

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dcs

Frustrating an confusing

Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2018

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Brilliant prediction of future cyberspace. Very interesting characters. Unfortunately, the writing style left me frustrated and confused. I found it nearly impossible to follow the various plot lines. Many passages remain incomprehensible to me. Some details and descriptions were beautiful. Others were opaque and painted no picture at all.

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More impenetrable than Gene Wolfe

Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2019

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This is one of those tough reviews--I figure it's probably a good book but. . .I'm just missing something.

I compare Neuromancer to Gene Wolfe (Book of the New Sun) because BOTNS is kind of the standard for crazy words pulled out of thin air. But at least Wolfe has his own dictionary (yeah, I used it a lot!). Gibson just throws neo-logisms, and "re-definitions" at you mercilessly. How the hell am I supposed to know that a "deck" is a box that lets your brain interface with cyberspace? Or "ice" is "intrusion countermeasures electronics?" So yes, I cheated and searched on line. I can handle a certain amount of ambiguity in word choice for a while but throw in his style of disjointed noir, minimal world building, and DEEP drug use and addiction and, well, it was a struggle.

Clearly, it's not junk. There is something going on here in the book that I will probably grasp if I read it again but I have no intentions of doing that--I have other books on my list. It's just not that artistically profound for me to do that again. I'm SURE I would have enjoyed Neuromancer more if I had done more drugs. I mean there are a LOT of drugs in the book. A couple have pharmaceutical names a foot and a half long and I just can't seem to muster a "give a damn." Betaphenalmeperdinophenali-something-something just doesn't make me jump out of my seat and yell, "Damn! This book is awesome!"

But it's a classic, right? Okay. Impressive attempt at foreshadowing the internet from the mid 1980s. But the greatest criticism I have in that regard is the majority of time spent in cyberspace is simply the main character, Case, watching and feeling the experiences of an ass kicking female assassin, Molly. But. . .why not, as a writer, simply shift perspective to Molly's? Why not write certain chapters in third person but from her perspective instead of Case's? Getting "behind her eyes" comes across more as an author's trick or a gimmick than as deep insight into the possibilities of the impending computer revolution. And even if Gibson is obviously going to have Case "jack into" Molly's brain he leaves SO much on the table! If Case is obviously in her brain why not explore her memories. Why not develop her character through him?

In order to appreciate Neuromancer I have to get into my mental time machine and remember that computing in the 80s is pretty much the stone age compared to what it became today. Read it from a technological historical perspective--"This is how we thought the future would be like"--to grasp the core of the intent of the book. I think it's "cyber" for obvious reasons--immersive computer world--and "punk" because it's gritty, druggy, noir.

At least I can now say I read it. So I got that going for me.

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Alan Krug

This Changed The Genre Forever

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2017

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Today, NEUROMANCER may seem dated, as some note, but this single book, like Kubrick's "2001, A Space Odyssey " changed the look and tone of science-fiction forever. Many of the words Gibson created changed our lexicon and he helped create a way to speak and consider the rapidly evolving digital, internet world then that we can't live without today. You may not like the characters, I didn't, but he helped me grasp, as no one else, the world to come.

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James Pyles

It doesn't disappoint

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2019

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Gibson's "Neuromancer" probably launched the cyberpunk genre, and although some of the references are older (television, pay phones), it's held up very well. Today, science fiction publications are loaded with references to artificial intelligence (AI) but in the 1980s, it must have been a rarity, although I'll never know why everyone assumes a programmed, non-human intelligence must presuppose a personality or even intent.

I read this novel because it's a classic, plus it was recommended to me. I downloaded the relatively inexpensive ebook onto my Kindle Fire (the book wasn't in my local library system's catalog for some inexplicable reason) and have been working my way through it for the past several weeks in my so-called spare time.

It was wonderful and depressing. More to the point, people and machines vacillated as to which ones would be more or less human (and is being human a good or bad thing).

At the center of the story is a down and out cyber-hustler named Case who is given a second shot at being one of the world's top "console cowboys," but at a price. Thrown in with a motley crew of (possible) criminals reminiscent of a science fiction "Maltese Falcon," he is pulled deeper into a realm where varying competing AIs, particularly one called "Wintermute," are manipulating him to create their own incomprehensible endgame.

Molly, bodyguard/hit girl for the mysterious Armitage, Case's employer, becomes his lover as well as his co-conspirator, but everyone and everything in this novel isn't what they/it appears to be.

It has a happy ending of sorts, although as the intelligence that emerges out of Wintermute quipped, "things aren't different, things are things." In one sense, Case survives somewhat better off then we found him at the beginning of the story, but like the start, at the end, he's still alone and I'm not sure he's grown or changed.

It's a great story and terrific writing, but by the last virtual page, I felt like my emotions were lying limp on the floor like a deflated balloon. I know that Gibson originally had no intention of writing a sequel to "Neuromancer," but my understanding is that he did anyway. I'm not so sure he should have, but then, I'd have to read the rest of the "Sprawl Trilogy" to find out. Not sure I'm up to that yet.

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greg

Time has not been kind to this book. It does hold up in 2018.

Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2018

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This was one of those books that takes a lot of effort to finish. I was never really engaged and did not care about the central characters. Happy when I turned the last page. No to be unkind I guess just not my cup of tea.

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5 star		65%
4 star		17%
3 star		10%
2 star		5%
1 star		3%

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