Published: 26 Aug 2024
Neuromancer
- Release date: 1984
- Genre: Science-Fiction
- Themes/Moods: Fast-paced, Adventurous, Dark, Mysterious
- Rating: 3/5
- Originally written: 4th May 2024
Quick storygraph summary:
- Q: Plot- or character-driven? - A: Plot driven
- Q: Strong character development? - A: No
- Q: Loveable characters? - A: No
- Q: Diverse cast of characters? - A: Yes
- Q: Flaws of characters a main focus? - A: Yes
Dispensing ideas about old, genre-defining books can be difficult. Both in the sense of coming out with any sort of novel or interesting opinion, and also not succumbing to the fact that what was undeniably groundbreaking, can look quaint and relatively unimportant after years and decades of providing inspiration either directly or indirectly.
Regardless, as a casual reader with some interest in Sci-Fi, Neuromancer is still absolutely worth reading for its influence alone. It has plenty of interesting ideas, themes and Gibson really nailed the aesthetic and atmosphere of what a cyberpunk world would look, sound and feel like.
However, that is part of the problem, as you are pretty quickly immersed in a world with all this (now outdated and retro) technobabble and lingo, with neither Gibson nor the characters involved feeling generous enough to allow you to get a grip on the world created. You either let your imagination run wild, infer what you can from the technical jargon and flowery prose and breeze past what is quite a simple story told in quick yet abstract fashion, all whilst enjoying every second. Or you don’t, and instead chafe against the lack of detail, the chaotic storytelling and the inability to visualise the world built from incoherent snippets of detail.
The litmus test is the first few chapters and you’ll quite quickly recognise whether you gel with the uncompromising prose or not. I did, with some reservations throughout, leading to a similarly incoherent rush of thoughts when reading that did not really come much clearer even upon a re-read a year later. Either way, I enjoy Neuromancer a lot more when I let my brain run wild with crazy visualisations, allowing the plot to drag me every which way and simply admiring the whole piece at a fuzzy distance like a grand painting - and I enjoy Neuromancer a whole lot less when I’m picking against slang, jargon, the frenetic storytelling and judging individual brushstrokes with undue attention.
