Rating: ![4 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-4-0.gif) Summary: Gibson's Vanilla science fiction book Review: I've been reading many stuff about Gibson nowadays - that he "lost his touch", can't do good books anymore, etc.Truth is, the big "Wow!" factor of Gibson is really lost - he's not a "new" author anymore, he has become his standard and is now writing on his own style, not trying to do many new stuff. With this book, Gibson does a thrilling "cyberpunk" science fiction book. With post-modern science fiction from the start to the end, this is a book I enjoyed reading a lot - it doesn't get lost on any crazy philosophy/political discussion at the middle of it. It's different from previous of Gibson's books in the point that's much more of a "consumer/pop" book - easy to read, and the story itself looks much more like a hollywood-movie script - but still a book to enjoy.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: Fast paced and compelling Review: If you've read Neuromancer and Count Zero, you MUST read this book. It is the third in the trilogy, and links the seemingly unrelated first two books. As with all Gibson's work, this book charges along at a breakneck pace leaving you exhausted by the end. I loved seeing what became of some of the Neuromancer characters. If you have not read the entire trilogy, you are missing out on some of the most exciting fiction of the century. Buy it NOW
Rating: ![4 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-4-0.gif) Summary: Why I read it more than once Review: In such a rapidly evolving world as our own, the future is only just around the corner, and yet for the majority of us, beyond our imagination. Gibson has a gift; he writes of a time, not far away, in which our current technological progress has succeded and is hungry for more. The world of which you read is protratyed so convincingly that, for the reader, this vision soon becomes the backdrop for the stories Gibson has to tell. A time in which the interaction between man and machine is as easy as breathing. Gibson writes of the future as if it were history. This novel is the end of a trilogy and yet comfortably stands alone as an individual piece. With this book Gibson gives greater insight into his previous works and tells a sharp, page turning tale of corporate manipulation, zaibatsu war, and plain survival in a world that is hard to escape from. Not unlike Gibson's AI's, this story loops, intertwines and mutates what has gone before. For a newcomer to Gibson, this book will be an eye-opener - for those who know this writer's work, it's a must.
Rating: ![4 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-4-0.gif) Summary: Takes off slow, then hits hypersonic speeds. Review: Is this book good? Definitely. Is it worth reading? Absolutely. Is it the best Gibson can put out? Not quite. After reading this book, which appears to be the final chapter in the Sprawl series, the most I can say is that it could've been more gripping, but it wasn't, and that's really okay; Gibson is a master of his work, and the complex story he weaves of cyberspace gods and corporate strangeness- although slow to pick up and somewhat confusing- is worthy of its predecessors. True, Neuromancer and Count Zero were better- but this book has a special reward or two in store for those of us who paid attention through the rest of the series. You'll see.
Rating: ![4 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-4-0.gif) Summary: Classy sci-fi that still reads well after 17 years Review: Its 15 years since the straylight run and since "everything in the matrix changed". Case has given up being a cyber cowboy and last heard raising 4 kids. Molly is still around under numerous identities, involved a Casino in Germany but still with an unquenchable thirst for violence, the Fin is dead but running as a construct in cyber space and of course the slightly mixed up, unfathomably powerful and intelligent 3Jane (heir to the huge Tessier Ashpool corp.) is lurking out there in cyberspace pulling numerous strings for her own mysterious/perverted ends.
The book is linked to but does the follow its predecessors - nonetheless, if you've read the others this one will be easier to follow. All the action takes place on earth and the lingo is the same as the other books. Comparatively easy to follow that is except for the end in which the action goes pretty quickly and described from numerous points of view as the 4 stories converge - but being confused is part of the fun and challenge of reading these books.
Another of the main strengths of these books is the portrayal of earth as we know in the future but as a nightmare. This one takes place mainly in the sprawl and dirty old London (which actually seems the same as early 21st century London !) - and again all the settings are very cool. Sadly he doesn't go to much into the seedy nightlife of the future as he did previously (e.g. Case in Tokyo) but my favourite setting in this one is "Dog Solitude" a desolate, probably contaminated wasteland in the sprawl inhabited by one of the main characters into an exaggerated futuristic version of robot wars.
The other strength is the writing. Short, blunt but right on descriptions and (most) characters straight out of the gutter from modern society. Gibson is someone I would love to interview - What sort of friends does he have ? What jobs has he done ? What provided the inspiration for the drug sequences ?
My recommendation : read it and take your time, but as other reviewers say - after the other 2.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: My favorite of the Sprawl novels Review: Like other reviewers, I was happy to see Molly again-- can I be an over-thirty razorgirl? Even though all the books were great reads, somehow _Mona Lisa Overdrive_ managed to flow together with every click perfect. The other two were heartbreakingly close to perfect, but for me this one just did everything right. Excellent.
Rating: ![4 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-4-0.gif) Summary: demanding but brilliant Review: Mona Lisa Overdrive makes a brilliant job to finish Gibson's Sprawl trilogy, but isn't the easiest accessible scifi around. It starts with the stories of four different characters, taking turns with a few pages at a time, slowly casting more light to their stories and gradually building a larger story, or equally, an environment familiar from previous Gibson books Neuromancer and Count Zero. My feeling during the first half of the book changed from the exhausting start to being overjoyed with a few surprises, then enthralled. Do not put this book down due to the heavy start, you'll regret it. It's best read with proper concentration and no breaks. And if you haven't read Neuromancer and Count Zero, read them first - missing them would be like reading/seeing LotR - Return of the King first. Gibson's style is rather unique and has little room for compromises, concentrating on the environment and the characters more than building any grand plot, yet the simple plot of the book has an intensity that builds from just that - the reader relates to the story all the more, and eventwise less becomes more. If you had hard time putting Neuromancer down, this will for you be Neuromancer squared. The end is not as climactic in the traditional sense but never fear, there's plenty answers plus bang and boom for your buck.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: An excellent sci-fi tech novel... Review: One that definitely demonstrates why Gibson is considered the Father of Cyberpunk and is so well-written and exciting that it rivals the more traditional sci-fi and space operas that most of us love, like: "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Childhood's End", "Rendezvous with Rama", "2001", "I,Robot", "Foundation", "Ringworld", "Advent of the Corps", and many more.
Rating: ![4 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-4-0.gif) Summary: Third of three, very good Review: Read the other two first. I find this series to be the best of his stuff, but you need to be into it. Gibson, like most of his Sci-Fi contemporaries, is an acquired taste. Iduro is also very good, and more accessible.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: Science Fiction at its Strongest: Mona Lisa Overdrive Review: The form of this novel reminded me of a sea urchin, radiating out from a center; dense in the heart, sharp and threatening from numerous points. As spines, the narrator offered a beautiful mix of technology and humanism: at one point exploring the matrices of cyberspace while at another delving into the complexities of drug addiction and celebrity. And in keeping with this eclectic style, no single character or theme dominated the story. Moreover, by narrating clearly and entertainingly the novel ends up as a cohesive whole. It was uncanny, really, how the narrator was able to use language to not only tell a great story, but detail a universe where permanent habitats exist off of Earth, where computers commune with extra terrestrial life, and where mankind slowly continues to merge with technology. My only complaint is that I couldn't stay in that universe just a bit longer.
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