R- Neuromancer (v,x,b-drugs,language)

Sorry, no data yet.

After reading Snow Crash, I decided to try Neuromancer, because so many critics had compared it to Stephenson�s fun, techno-chic romp of a book. At first I was overwhelmed by the stark complexities of Neuromancer; Gibson�s creative use of language threw me, and certain metaphysical aspects of the plot caused even more confusion. But after building up my confidence by reading some of Gibson�s other stuff, I decided to try tackling Neuromancer again. I was astonished. It was like I was reading a different book; I actually understood what was going on. It seemed like I was visiting Gibson�s world again, only this time I had remembered to bring my Fodor�s.

As with all great cyberpunk novels, Neuromancer�s protagonist is a hacker. Case by name, he would ride into Cyberspace (a word Gibson coined) and hussle stolen data to people willing and able to pay him for it. But at the beginning of chapter one, we realize that Case isn�t at all the admired professional he used to be.

Case�s nervous system was fried after he double-crossed an employer, leaving him unable to gain access to Cyberspace. As a result, he became a small time hood, running from drug deal to drug deal, hoping that the mean streets of Chiba City would finally put an end the misery of being separated from Cyberspace. Then a mirror-eyed street samurai named Molly shows up and offers him an out. Her boss, an ex-soldier named Armitage, has a cure for Case�s affliction. But there�s a cost: Case has to make a high stakes run against something no hacker has ever survived an encounter with, an artificial intelligence named Neuromancer. But of course things get more complicated as the story progresses.

The plot�s dense, the action�s thick, and the cast is both varied and vivid (Molly�s a personal favorite), but what makes the book such an astonishing read is Gibson�s way of writing. The dividing line between prose and poetry becomes blurred in any of his works, and Neuromancer is a good example. You�ll find yourself rereading entire paragraphs for the pure aesthetic pleasure of it. You�ll realize that Gibson�s not just a writer; he�s a literary stylist.

And a prophet at that. Gibson foresaw how ubiquitous computers would become in our lives and how highly we, as a race, would value data. Many naysayers jest that the reality of the Internet has made Gibson�s vision outdated, but I wholeheartedly disagree. As each year goes by this book becomes more and more poignant, and its events become increasingly plausible with the passage of time.

Neuromancer comes with my highest possible recommendation, but do yourself a favor by getting acquainted with some of Gibson�s works before reading it. I recommend the short stories "Johnny Mnemonic" (forget the awful movie) and "Burning Chrome", both of which are available in Burning Chrome, a wonderful collection of Gibson�s short fiction.

(Main Page) (Categories) (Awards)
(Authors) (Titles) (Top 100) (Rewrites)

This page owned by: Raven
Questions? Comments? Smart Remarks?
Email me at [email protected]
Last Updated: December 6, 1999

Author and book reviews are the copyrighted property and responsibility of the person named at the end of the review. If no one is named, they belong to Raven. Any author or publisher who does not want their copyrighted material to be on this page email the reviewer and it will be removed immediately. The reviewer reserves the right to remove material rather than alter it in any way.