Rating: 
Summary: Just because it looks like and sounds like...
Review: ...cyberpunk doesn't mean it is cyberpunk. Walter John Williams uses all the archetypes of cyberpunk fiction - mind-to-machine interface, powerful corporations with money superceding national sovereignty, criminals as the 'good' guys, cybernetics becoming intimate with the human body, and such - but that doesn't make this a cyberpunk novel. Its like painting stripes on a horse and calling it a zebra.It is a good story, and the characters are compelling, but it is also very clearly written in imitation of a cyberpunk story. Part of this stems from the contrived 'future-tense' narrative style, but that's just the best example of the overall 'contrivedness' of this story. Cyberpunk doesn't have to be about futuristic technology at all (see William Gibson's "The Gernsback Continuum" and Greg Bear's "Petra") so long as it carries the cyberpunk sensibility. "Hardwired" doesn't do that. It imitates a cyberpunk story.
Rating:
Summary: Just because it looks like and sounds like...
Review: ...cyberpunk doesn't mean it is cyberpunk. Walter John Williams uses all the archetypes of cyberpunk fiction - mind-to-machine interface, powerful corporations with money superceding national sovereignty, criminals as the 'good' guys, cybernetics becoming intimate with the human body, and such - but that doesn't make this a cyberpunk novel. Its like painting stripes on a horse and calling it a zebra. It is a good story, and the characters are compelling, but it is also very clearly written in imitation of a cyberpunk story. Part of this stems from the contrived 'future-tense' narrative style, but that's just the best example of the overall 'contrivedness' of this story. Cyberpunk doesn't have to be about futuristic technology at all (see William Gibson's "The Gernsback Continuum" and Greg Bear's "Petra") so long as it carries the cyberpunk sensibility. "Hardwired" doesn't do that. It imitates a cyberpunk story.
Rating: 
Summary: Great read
Review: Fast paced and full of action with some rather suprising twists. I enjoy almost all of Williams works.
Rating: 
Summary: Character psychology in the world of cyberpunk
Review: Following the advise of a friend I entered the world of cyberpunk with this book and have been hooked ever since. More than the mastery displayed in the understanding of how new technologies can change the society, I particularly enjoyed the character developments and the fine psychology analysis. Cyberpunk is not solely defined by the use of geeky terminology and fuzzy references to corporate dominated social organisations, cyberpunk also refers to human beings and their adaptation to a near future environment. Advise: read Voice of the whirlwind, a near sequel which takes place in the same universe and time frame as Hard wired.I rate it 9/10.
Rating:
Summary: Williams does Cyberpunk, and does it very well
Review: Gibson and Sterling are often considered the masters of 80's cyberpunk fiction, with Stephenson trying to keep it alive in the 90's, but this effort by Williams proves he could master that genre. The fast-paced adventures of his protagonist are only exceeded by the unforgetable panzer-run sequence across the great plains. I found the ending a bit simplistic and predictable, but your taste may vary. Overall I enjoyed the setting, the characters, and the action as much as any cyberpunk I've read. This was the book that made me always look for Williams' latest on the shelves. What more can you say than that
Rating:
Summary: Easily the best cyberpunk
Review: Hardwired is about a panzerboy called Cowboy and a dirtgirl/assassin named Sarah and their unlikely alliance. The megacorporations that rule the earth from orbital platforms don't care too much about what goes on as long as they continue to gain in power and wealth. Sometimes the people being stepped on don't like it, but what can they do? They may not be as helpless as the people in charge think. The setting reminds me of Blade Runner, but maybe a bit grungier. The characters are well crafted and convincing. The plot is gripping, and the writing flows off the pages. This books is from 1986, so it is not the same stale cyberpunk junk that you may be used to. Check it out!
Rating:
Summary: Easily the best cyberpunk
Review: Hardwired is about a panzerboy called Cowboy and a dirtgirl/assassin named Sarah and their unlikely alliance. The megacorporations that rule the earth from orbital platforms don't care too much about what goes on as long as they continue to gain in power and wealth. Sometimes the people being stepped on don't like it, but what can they do? They may not be as helpless as the people in charge think. The setting reminds me of Blade Runner, but maybe a bit grungier. The characters are well crafted and convincing. The plot is gripping, and the writing flows off the pages. This books is from 1986, so it is not the same stale cyberpunk junk that you may be used to. Check it out!
Rating:
Summary: Not just hardware
Review: I've had this book for nine years, and re-read it probably three times per year. This book offers a great deal more complexity and action than most science fiction on the shelves today. There is a huge amount of hardware in this book, but it does not get in the way of a very good story. The characters are complex, with each having his or her own ideas about honor, loyalty, and self-preservation. That being said, I have to agree with the above reviewer about the panzer run across the Midwest--it's one of the best action sequences ever put on paper.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Cyberpunk
Review: One of the best Cyberpunk stories I have ever read. There is no black and white in this story, all the main characters have both flaws and admirable traits. This wonderfull characterisation together with the outstanding action sequences make Hardwired a must read
Rating:
Summary: One of the most important works of the last 20 years.
Review: Three works define cyberpunk as a genre -- William Gibson's "Neuromancer," Bruce Sterling's "The Artificial Kid" and Walter Jon Williams' "Hardwired." Of the three, "Hardwired" is certainly the most fun to read. Williams' writing has always jumped off the page, but none of his other books move quite as fast or quite as gracefully (with, perhaps, the exception of the three Drake Maijistral books) as "Hardwired." A chugging, gut-wrenching, pulse-pounding juggernaut of a book -- if you haven't read "Hardwired," you haven't even started understanding modern sci-fi. This is cyberpunk at its best.
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