Neuromancer
by William Gibson

List Price: $7.99
Our Price: $4.16
You Save: $3.83 (48%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.19 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

• ISBN13: Suppressed
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Book Reviews of Neuromancer

Book Review: Blue Fear beyond the Holocaust Horizon
Summary: 4 Stars

Thus we have William Gibson's cyberpunk manifesto _Neuromancer_, the book that spawned a whole genre by itself and prophesized a chilling existence that, some 17 years after the fact, looks very familiar. Hackers and viral bombs? -second page news. The Sprawl? -growing every day. Cloning, VR, bio-enhancements? -already on the crest of the next wave. Thus the danger of modern sci-fi and its cyberpunk offshoot: becoming as relevant as a gutter newsrag, stigmatized by well-worn clichés and the dubious nature of experimental prose. Why would one want to spend their valuable time on yesteryear's fear?

Well, when yesteryear's hype contains the febrile energy and insight of _Neuormancer_, the read is worth the time spent. Gibson fashions a world of vivid and startling imagery, the ugliness and beauty of it leaping from type to the reader's imagination with ease. The slang and unique aspects of Chiba, the Sprawl etc. are done in a casual fashion, so that one understands the phrases and cultural particulars without getting thrown or distracted. There is a feel of something _new_ here, even if it isn't all that new by nowadays standards; _Neuromancer_ contains a force of intellect, of testing the boundaries and coming up all aces, that buoys the reader through the overly-familiar space-opera archetypes and, in passages, the stilted self-conscious prose. A commendable effort that still resonates, unlike most its contemporaries/derivatives.

But for all its hyperbole and raw intelligence, _Neuormancer_ does have its share of flaws, some glaringly apparent, others under the surface, within the structure of the novel itself. Envisioning and detailing this dystopia was an admirable feat, especially considering the time it was written and what hindsight awards the current reader, but so much effort is given to making the environment `real' that the characters themselves--the flesh and blood constructs that the reader is supposed to inhabit, sympathize with, and ultimately understand--the characters become neglected in the process, ending up rote pulp-fiction stereotypes of passing interest. Gibson tries to inject some pathos for Molly, Armitage and Case midway through the novel, but the attempt is strained and, because it is introduced so late, our neon-jazzed eyes glaze over the heavy `personal crisis' of the climax--we just want these archetypes (ie the author) to get back to the cool stuff they excel at.

The story itself is basic pulp-noir--outlaw cowboys running on societies' edge, complete with cyber-shtick saloons and the usual assortment of backstabbing betrayals--and not very interesting pulp-noir at that: both conflict and plot are ambiguous for the first half of the novel, and while Gibson's ultimate ideas are very intriguing (particularly about the cold existence of cyrogenics), the novel ultimately suffers from a crippling lack of tension. Gibson's writing can be inconsistent, as well: though parts of the novel are extremely well written, other passages become quite convoluted in their (needless) detail.

Four stars--despite its flaws, _Neuormancer_ is a seminal work, and better than ninety percent of the dumbed-down junk competing for shelf space.

Summary of Neuromancer

Case was the hottest computer cowboy cruising the information superhighway--jacking his consciousness into cyberspace, soaring through tactile lattices of data and logic, rustling encoded secrets for anyone with the money to buy his skills. Then he double-crossed the wrong people, who caught up with him in a big way--and burned the talent out of his brain, micron by micron. Banished from cyberspace, trapped in the meat of his physical body, Case courted death in the high-tech underworld. Until a shadowy conspiracy offered him a second chance--and a cure--for a price....

Literature & Fiction Books

• Subjects > Literature & Fiction
• Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > High Tech