Rating: 
Summary: When in doubt, plagiarise
Review: Ironic that this novel hinges on copyright violation as it borrows heavily from other (better) writers - Burroughs, Dick, Ballard, Gibson. The only original element is the uniquely awful wooden dialogue. It begins promisingly but from then on it's a stright-line trajectory down to the anti-climactic ending. One of those books that leaves you asking, "Why?".
Rating: 
Summary: Satisfying dark thriller
Review: It's great to see K.W. Jeter back with his own uniquely voiced novels again. NOIR is what one expects from a Jeter novel -- a darkly weird, sometimes darkly comic vision driven by a tight plot and strong characters -- and more. It's part old-time detective thriller (notice the title), part science fiction, part morality tale based in today. This time Jeter wraps a plot around an issue that's going largely unnoticed even as it's becoming more and more important: as we move more and more into an "e-" world of electronically produced and stored information and creativity, is data thievery as vile as, say, stealing the food from a man's family? In NOIR, the answer is alarmingly presented. At times the violence and punishment meted out in this novel are absolutely repellent, but nonethless fascinating as it happens. The bad guys are really bad. The good guys are ... well, that's more complicated. Recommended for fans of his other dark work (as I am), and for anyone else looking for a fine summer thriller.
Rating: 
Summary: Futuristic Sam Spade against patent thieves
Review: Jeter admitted that he's got problems with copyright thieves. What writer doesn't? Is this book wish fulfillment or what?
In "Noir" his detective McNihil (who's been surgically altered to only see the world in black and white) is tasked with chasing down copyright thieves and administering punishment.
The story's dark, and the punishments are novel---for example, a man who infringed upon an English tea cosy mystery author's domain was killed, ground up, and canned so the author could feed him to her cats.
"Noir" isn't a fast or fun read, but the book does raise questions about our cyber-corporate environment and creator's rights--and wrongs---that are interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: A nightmarish, all-too-believable vision of the future.
Review: No book that I've read in the last ten years has affected me like this one. As always, I was profoundly moved by Jeter's narrative skills and his dazzling way with words. And his vision of the information-rich world of the future left me thinking for days about the issues he raised, concerning the importance of defending intellectual property. This is a brilliant and important book.
Rating:
Summary: Hard but Good
Review: Noir is a book that one has to want to read. The first chapter throws you into the setting too quickly for you to understand, but for those what dare read on, it gets better. Noir, like all cyberpunk fiction, takes place in a bleak future. The world of Noir is dark and gloomy, reminiscent of the word noir itself. Corporations are few but powerful, either merged or subsidized into larger ones. Middle-class can be said to be non-existent, and death is no longer an escape from poverty. It has a lot of statements against certain issues that are present today, such as management and information theft, that are blown out of proportion. The plot revolves around McNihil, a protector of copyrights, who sees the entire world like an old black & white detective movie. He gets hired by one of the huge corporations to retrieve something, and gets thrown into something larger than he could have imagined. The storytelling is of excellent quality, allowing deep visualization of the scenes in the book. However, many minor things get overlooked, but it doesn't impede the story all that much. I enjoyed this book a lot, and would recommend it to anyone who can devote enough time to this book to fully appreciate it. My suggestion is to be ready to reread things, as things can get very difficult. If you can get past the difficult parts, the book can be very enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: a disturbing vision slowly becoming reality
Review: Noir is an excellent novel, particularly to those more interested in reading the book than looking for mistakes. Jeter presents a cyberpunkish world in which capitalism has achieved its ultimate triumph: there are only consumers and the corporations who rule them. With every server raid and court case against copyright infringers today, the aspheads of Noir begin to look less fantastic and more inevitable.
Rating:
Summary: Stylish
Review: Noir is cool. It has atmosphere and style and enough substance to back it up. The book sparkles with gripping visuals, betrayal, a very submerged streak of romanticism in the lead and a nasty but fun sense of humor. In fact it's very...well, noir-ish. The first chapter is hard to get through, disconnected and odd and reading like a fever dream. The story coheres quickly as you move onwards however, and it ties in neatly with the rest of the book. Noir might appeal to fans of Philip K. Dick or Steve Aylett (Although Noir's story is clearer than most of their's. Once the final revelations are pulled up the plot isn't actually terribly complex, but the ideas and characters Jeter used to move it along are interesting -- cynical and snappy and entertaining). Noir has a strange ring of truth to it. The little jabs and philosophies Jeter brings out aren't completely new but pertinent all the same. Set within a slightly quirky cyberpunk background, it's a welcome change of pace from most of the sci-fi out there.
Rating:
Summary: Stylish
Review: Noir is cool. It has atmosphere and style and enough substance to back it up. The book sparkles with gripping visuals, betrayal, a very submerged streak of romanticism in the lead and a nasty but fun sense of humor. In fact it's very...well, noir-ish. The first chapter is hard to get through, disconnected and odd and reading like a fever dream. The story coheres quickly as you move onwards however, and it ties in neatly with the rest of the book. Noir might appeal to fans of Philip K. Dick or Steve Aylett (Although Noir's story is clearer than most of their's. Once the final revelations are pulled up the plot isn't actually terribly complex, but the ideas and characters Jeter used to move it along are interesting -- cynical and snappy and entertaining). Noir has a strange ring of truth to it. The little jabs and philosophies Jeter brings out aren't completely new but pertinent all the same. Set within a slightly quirky cyberpunk background, it's a welcome change of pace from most of the sci-fi out there.
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly good
Review: Noir is fast-paced, well-written and honestly, one of the best buys in science fiction for years. Jeter has a dark sense of humor that can be disturbing for some, but that I personaly enjoy it very much. Noir is also full of references for those who can see them and is very inventive in many ways. Too bad some parts of it aren't fully developed (like the Land of the Dead). I hope we'll get another book set in the same 'universe' for it seems extremely rich and Jeter only gave us a glipse of it.
Rating:
Summary: NOIR -- smooth but out of style.
Review: NOIR lives up to its retro reputation. I felt this novel as being totally outdated. It depicts a future that is super nihilistic (though not as nihilistic as DEATHLANDS: DARK EMBLEM). *yawn* So what else is old? Though an existence where you are trapped inside your own dead body is certainly a strong metaphor for homelessness, and has its right to be within any pages wherein a future dystopia is played out, I felt it was done with particular sensitivity to the characters involved. And I saw that the protagonist's own death as something noble, and that his willingness to live as a dead person with his dead wife as something that should be seen for what it is -- the ultimate sacrifice of a loving husband towards his wife. A really powerful message there! NOIR gives new meaning to the phrase I enjoy using often when reading a slam-bang thriller or action novel: "And they died happily ever after."
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