Neuromancer

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Summary: Cyberpunk Hacker Epic in which the Hacker Never Programs
Review: I read this expecting a lot, but there is that gaping hole in the book's heart because the Hacker non-hero never programs. He passively watches programs run. He watches Molly of the implanted shades and fingertip razors do her thing, and tell her sad story while slicing and dicing spear carriers right and left, and departs. And he does nothing. I'm baffled by its classic status. John Brunner's _Shockwave Rider_ preceded it by a decade, and his hacker actually programmed, and his actions made a difference. Stylistically, Alfred Bester's _The Demolished Man_ and _The Stars My Destination_ preceded it in the fifties, and they still read like they were written twenty years from now. And Vernor Vinge, with True Names, a hacker classic beats it. Delaney's _Nova_ has style and imaginative density and a protagonist who actually acts. Maybe the impotence of the protagonist strikes a nerve somewhere, amid all the post-modern imagery,and cluttered culture. Zelazny's _Today We Have Faces_ used the vivid image of the ringing phones to better effect. Ah well, tastes differ. For recent cyberpunk with style, wit, and a programmer hero who actually programs, and who matters to the outcome, try Stephenson's _SnowCrash_

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Summary: Pivotal SciFi Work of Our Age: Dense, Glittering, "Techie"
Review: Gibson's allusiveness, density, and "near-future tech" ideas are staggering. COUNT ZERO (maybe a smidgen better, maybe not) and the stories in BURNING CHROME (ditto -- maybe double ditto, the best of all) show the same techno-poetic vision. MONO LISA OVERDRIVE -- which finishes Bobby's saga (from COUNT ZERO) -- pushes on in the same vein, with flashes of its own (E.G., A "DOWNLOADED" MIND AS A TERRIFICALLY COMPLEX COMPUTER GAME!). VIRTUAL LIGHT (full of clever "tech" ideas, I'll give it that) and IDORU (set in Tokyo, so THAT was a plus....) fall short of the early work. (THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE, with Bruce Sterling, shouldn't even be on the same shelf. Its characteristic Bruce Sterling "chewiness" seems to addle Gibson's talents in TDE -- "like a duck hit on the head" [Lincoln's words about Rosecrans].) NEUROMANCER is THE emblematic SciFi book of the closing years of our century. It is haunting, dense, glittering, beautiful, and (just barely) scary. Wow

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Summary: Poorly written, hard to follow
Review: When I start reading a good book, I find it hard to put down. I started reading Neuromancer and both found it easy to put down and hard to pick back up. It did not make sense and was hard to follow. I do not think this book would have been published had it not been written by a "known" author. Avoid this book!

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Summary: The Dark Future
Review: If you like dark SF, this is the book to read. This book is filled with haunting imagery and has a dark motif throughout. Case, a keyboard cowboy of the future, is double crossed. Ride with him while he tries to get back his ability to "jack in" to cyberspace. Awesomely realistic book. This is another must read

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Summary: It all happens in a nanosecond
Review: Why did I read this twice? Why will I read it again? Why should you read it? William Gibson foresaw the cyberpunk world in great detail before it existed. You'll find yourself wondering at the degree to which the story predicted the development of the Net. The story will make you wonder where we and this whole electronic culture is headed. This is a new classic, and deservedly so. And people are saying there are no great writers around anymore. Hah

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Summary: Before there was the Web, there was Neuromancer.
Review: Considering that William Gibson composed Neuromancer on a typewriter and published it in 1984, the convincing nature of the novel's world still amazes me. Gibson did coin the term "cyberspace," but in Neuromancer he paints a gritty and bleak capitalist future that has proved more accurate than his computer landscape--but only because technology hasn't caught up with his vision. He couldn't very well have depicted characters drumming their fingers in irritation waiting for their page to load! Neuromancer is the perfect introduction to Gibson's works and a helluva whirlwind tour through the next century

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Summary: Where have you all been?
Review: I read this book back in 1989 in a science fiction class in college. Great book then, even more closely refecting possible future these days

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Summary: The best sci-fi book about the internet ever written.
Review: It is a must for all the surfers in the internet. A curious note is that the author invented the term Cyberspace in this nove

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Summary: Prophecy or fiction? You pick!
Review: It took me some time to get started into this book--the "imaginary" future Gibson has created is somewhat familiar, yet bizarre enough to leave one grasping for understanding in the beginning pages. Once engrossed, I couldn't put it down! My constant back thought as I read was the absolute awe that I felt for Gibson's ability to envision a computer world so 1990's true to life at a time when Apple had yet to create their first Mac! Gibson's description of "jacking in" to the net, and "flipping" is so close to today's "logging on" and "quick-switching" that it gave me goosebumps each time he used the terms! Gibson was truly touched by the muse of inspiration when writing "Neuromancer", and I'm sure we'll see more of his *prophecies* come to pass before the millenium. This is advised reading for all who wish to understand the potential of the internet and the World Wide Web. Just take it slow, by osmosis you'll get the scenario, and by the final chapter--you'll know the concept. You'll be awestruck too, I guarantee! Can't wait to read Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive! you

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Summary: A new classic
Review: It may not be the best SF book I've ever read, but this one is definitely going to be a classic. In 30 years, it'll probably be on the same shelf as Frankenstein and Alas, Babylon