Rating: Summary: An amazingly dark and thought provoking book Review: In this, his first book, Gibson winds an intricate and almost hard-to-follow yarn of hard science fiction. The depth and richness of the Neuromancer universe is unbeliveable. This book is nothing like any of his others. It is in a league of its oown, possibly joined only by the newer Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I found it impossible to put down, stopping only when found it necessary to take a breather from the intensity of this book. It is a true must-read for any cyberpunk fan.
Rating: Summary: gibson's no genius.... Review: Wow, judging from the rants and raves this must be a good book! Well, no.. At best this might be somewhat entertaining to the average wannabe computer nerd but for me... it just doesn't work. Gibson admits he knows practically nothing about computer science, AI, etc.. and this book proves it with flying colors. After finishing this book(I never leave a book unfinished, even if it sucks as bad as this one) I truly now have no respect for Gibson.. I admire his style but I personally got annoyed by it after a while..
Rating: Summary: Read _Burning Chrome_ first Review: Less of a review and more of a comment: read the
short story collection _Burning Chrome_ first.
Some of the stories there ("Johnny Mnemonic",
which bears little resemblance to the awful
movie, and "Burning Chrome") should be considered
prerequisites if you don't want to be confused
by some of the terminology and oblique historical
references.
I can understand why some readers got turned
off. You're dropped into a foreign world and
expected to understand what terms mean from
context, but even the context is foreign. If
you find yourself getting frustrated after the
first couple of chapters, read _Burning Chrome_
first, then go back and give it another try. The
short story collection has some real gems in it,
and if you enjoyed _Neuromancer_ it's definitely
worth your time.
I thought _Neuromancer_ was an *excellent* book.
Rating: Summary: Read the review, stupid Review: Don't know where to start, but here we go... First of all, a lot of the complaints about the
book are about Case. Of course he's not a hero.
Of course he accomplishes nothing on his own. That's the point. He's just a pathetic loser who
doesn't really care about anyone but himself. If
he was Prince Valiant the book would seem unreal.
It would contradict the rest of the book's noir feel is Case was a goody two-shoes. Speaking of which, the book is really more noir than Science
Fiction. Basically, more like "Usual Suspects" than "Star Wars" or something. And comments about
lack of plot make me wonder, weak plot compaired to what? Of course none of this really matters,
because it's all just opinion. You either like it
or you don't. And Nothing Else Matters...
Rating: Summary: I think I liked It! Did I? I don't really know. Or do I? Review: I'm still confused about this book. I grabbed it because I liked the art on the cover (I know I know) It had an anarchic feel , a cool name and a swag of awards for some cred. What I ended up with is Case as some sort of graffiti artist, talented but aimless, bouncing from one strong personality to another, never really doing or accomplishing anything on his own. Things just happen to Case. This is either banal or brilliant, I'm still not sure. What I can tell you without any ambivalance is that this book makes an impact. I haven't read anything in a long time that leaves such a lasting impression of swirling images, personalitys and conflicts. Yeah I liked it
Rating: Summary: Leaves a lasting impression Review: When I read the book about a year ago, I found myself a little frustrated and confused by the "cyberpunk" lingo and dense plot... But a year later, it is this book which I keep remembering, with its amazingly imaginative descriptions of what life may someday be like. Some of the settings Gibson has dreamt up in this book are so vividly written, and in such a beautiful way, you will remember them forever
Rating: Summary: F O U N D A T I O N Review: Read this first, before you build
Rating: Summary: Only children will be impressed Review: Gibson admits to knowing nothing about computers, technology, science, politics, or much else, and it shows. Add to that his lack of writing ability, and you have a a lot of smoke and no fire. Still, it's better than anything Neal Stephenson or Oscar Scott Card ever wrote..
Rating: Summary: Great book for Advanced Readers Review: I had put off reading this book for two years because of the first two chapters. Gibson's style and literary prose are tricky to maneuver around. The plot itself if interesting, and I found it hard to put down after chapter three, but for computer techies, it might seem a little whacked. I would recommend it if your interested in not only technical cyberstuff but also an interesting view of society and mankind
Rating: Summary: A case of the "Emperor's VIRTUAL new clothes" Review: If you need an indicator of how overrated Gibson and this book are, you only need to look down this list of reviews. Someone even says Gibson is "Perhaps the best 20th century writer!" Style has truly triumphed over substance. If you demand a bit more from a book than cliches, poor plotting and characterisation, try something else
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