Neuromancer


Moderators: Freakzilla, ᴶᵛᵀᴬ, Omphalos

Post Reply
User avatar
smugetsu
Posts: 264
Joined: 25 May 2009 12:24
Location: Lurking somewhere out there

Neuromancer

Post by smugetsu »

Hey guys...

I just finished reading Neuromancer by William Gibson about a month ago. I tried to read it when I was a kid, and failed, but picked it up again and I must say...

Awesome. Way ahead of its time...it's amazing how much of the "future tech" of this 80's novel is stuff that we actually have today.

So...any other Gibson fans on this site? And if I liked Neuromancer, can you guys recommend similar books that I might enjoy? Thanks in advance.

I've read Count Zero and I'm working on Mona Lisa Overdrive. On a somewhat similar note (but much less sci-fi) I've read Spook Country by Gibson as well.
Image
User avatar
TheDukester
Posts: 3808
Joined: 20 Jun 2008 13:44
Location: Operation Enduring Bacon

Re: Neuromancer

Post by TheDukester »

I'm thinking of re-reading it, too. I zipped through during a hot summer when I was staying in a dorm with no air conditioning ... most of my concentration went toward staying alive, not enjoying literature. I'm not sure I remember a single thing about it.
"Anything I write will be remembered and listed in bibliographies on Dune for several hundred years ..." — some delusional halfwit troll.
User avatar
Mandy
Cat Herder
Posts: 1704
Joined: 08 Feb 2008 20:18
Contact:

Re: Neuromancer

Post by Mandy »

I loved the Sprawl trilogy, Gibson is the reason I got into cyberpunk. Virtual Light was really good too.

If you're looking for something similar try Accelerando, by Charles Stross. You can read it online (free and legal!) http://www.antipope.org/charlie/accelerando/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; You may not want to read the whole thing online but you can read enough to see if you'll like it.
As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Hypatia approaches one.
User avatar
Omphalos
Inglorious Bastard
Posts: 6677
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 11:07
Location: The Mighty Central Valley of California
Contact:

Re: Neuromancer

Post by Omphalos »

I really don't like that book. I like later cyberpunk stuff, when other writers with better styles like Pat Cadigan and Bruce Sterling took it away from street-wise punks and, rightly, gave it to evil corporations. And Gibson back that early in his career was ten steps behind Daschiel Hammett in ability. On the whole the book is derivative, jumpy, ill-conceived and written like crap.
Image

The New & Improved Book Review Blog

Goodnight Golden Path!
User avatar
GamePlayer
70mm God
Posts: 2993
Joined: 09 Feb 2008 11:26
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Re: Neuromancer

Post by GamePlayer »

A fine novel that I rather enjoyed. I need to re-read it, as it's been years.
"They can chew you up, but they gotta spit you out."
User avatar
Hunchback Jack
Posts: 1983
Joined: 30 May 2008 15:02
Location: California, USA

Re: Neuromancer

Post by Hunchback Jack »

Neuromancer was exellent, although I think it's impact has been somewhat lost by so much of it coming true - in concept if not in detail. I read it while studying Computer Science at University, around 1988. It's impact was *way* greater then, and we (my fellow students and I) saw Gibson as this incredibly perceptive prophet.

Anyway, I actually like Gibson's more recent work now. The Bridge Trilogy are great, but my favourite is Pattern Recognition. I think he's become a better writer, even if his more recent books have had less impact.

HBJ
"The sky calls to us. If we do not destroy ourselves, we will one day venture to the stars."
- Carl Sagan

I'm still very proud of The Quarry but … let's face it; in the end the real best way to sign off would have been with a great big rollicking Culture novel.
- Iain Banks
User avatar
trang
Posts: 1224
Joined: 06 May 2008 18:59
Location: Hot Tub Time Machine

Re: Neuromancer

Post by trang »

I have Gibsons books, havent got to them yet.. I have collected the Tom Clancy (stamped)s eries that from the description, kind of fall into the Cyber-line:

ForceTom Clancy's Net Force

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Clancy%27s_Net_" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tom Clancy's Net Force Explorers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_Force_Explorers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Might be worth investigating, like I said I am collecting the s two series along with other Tom Clancy stamped ones.
"Long Live the Fighters", "Dragon.....the other white meat."

Image
User avatar
Robspierre
Posts: 2162
Joined: 19 Feb 2008 10:49
Location: Cascadia

Re: Neuromancer

Post by Robspierre »

His later works are leaps and bounds beyond his early efforts. Neuromancer gave us the Look and vocabulary of cyberpunk in the mainstream. Check out Spook Country, his latest, just wow, he's grown as a writer over the years. Good stuff.

Rob
User avatar
lotek
Posts: 5784
Joined: 28 Jul 2009 08:33

Re: Neuromancer

Post by lotek »

I haven't readmuch from him, some Chrome novel which i don't remember the title but it had that feel that made it stand out from the rest of the cyberpunk authors.
Bur for those who know his work a bit maybe you spotted my "online name"(pseudo in french not sure what you call it in english), which comes from "Johnny Mnemonic" and the Lo-Tek tribe of smugglers.
I chose it because here I'm part of what is called a sound system(we carry powerful and illegal speakers and play tekno music in woods and fields), and their description was so fitting my choice was made.

But enough about me!
"Johnny Mnemonic" is a data trafficker who has undergone cybernetic surgery to have a data storage system implanted in his head. The system allows him to store digital data too sensitive to risk transmission on computer networks. To keep the cargo secure, the data is locked by a password known only to the intended recipient. Johnny enters a trance-like state while the data is being transferred or the passwords are being exchanged, making him unaware of the contents and unable to retrieve it. He makes a modest living in the Sprawl by physically transporting sensitive information for corporations, underworld crime rings or wealthy individuals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Mnemonic" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

important note: ye who enter here thou shall forget the man of the wooden face
meaning Keanu Reeves and his movie suck ass so much they must be related to the man whose name is forbidden(KJA sucks KJA sucks KJA sucks... ooops i said it)

ps: the Chrome thing is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_Chrome" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Spice is the worm's gonads.
Post Reply