Summary on back of book:

"Case was the sharpest data thief in the Matrix, until an ex-employer crippled his nervous system. Now a new employer has recruited him for a last-chance run against an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence. With a mirror-eyed girl street-samurai riding shotgun, he's ready for the silicon-quick, bleakly prophetic adventure that upped the ante on an entire genre of fiction."

I was required to read this book for a class and by and large, it was hardest slog of a read I've had to do for a class in a long, long time. I'm normally a big fan of science fiction and was excited when I found out I'd finally have a chance to read the book that created cyberpunk. But this one was hard. The prose jumped around so much between characters and scenes, and Case "flipped" in and out of reality and the Matrix that most of the time, I wasn't sure where I even was. There was the detachment that I've come to associate with postmodernism and while usually, I quite enjoy it and find it humorous, for me it didn't work here. The book didn't have that ironic feel I've received from other pomo works of fiction so instead of being ironic and funny, it was just boring.

Besides that, I have really no idea what happened at the end or what part Neuromancer really even played. I'm not sure why Wintermute was after Case and company. Indeterminacy can be effective, but this was too much for me.

Honestly, I can tell the book is actually very good, so me not liking it is probably more of a difference in personal taste than the book being bad. I'm going to hang on to my copy and in the future, when I'm much more acquainted with postmodernism and cyberpunk, I plan on rereading this. I think I'll get much more out of it then than I did this time around. ( )

This was described to me as the archetypal cyberpunk novel. And perhaps it is. The world was interesting, the characters were dynamic, and the view of the future was familiar yet radically different. However, I had a terrible time following the storyline. I got what happened in a general sense, but there was still some stuff that went over my head. Like what happened to Wintermute at the end. So honestly I'm not sure if I'd recommend this book to anyone else, because I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. Perhaps I should reread it sometime. ( )

William Gibson's Neuromancer is interesting specifically for the world the author creates with it. The plot is difficult to follow, however. Gibson seems to take for granted a patient reader who is comfortable with confusion and willing to move forward in a narrative without having a clear idea of what is going on.

The plot emerges as a series of fragmented conversations and vague references to missions, training, technologies, and equipment. It is surprising, however, how I was able to approximate a plot based upon these disparate elements without a more directive, connect-the-dots sort of narrator. In many ways the aesthetic technique of the novel is as unique as the world Gibson develops here.

One element of the the novel that is really great is the cast of characters. The characters are quite memorable. Case, Molly, Armitage, Maelcum, Wintermute, Riviera, 3Jane: the characters seem to have rich developed backgrounds, and they seem be fully realized (although you only glimpse them partially).

As a foundational text for the cyber-punk sub-genre, it should be read. ( )

Slightly dated or not this was a very good read. The book starts very well and moves along at a fairly breathless pace. That is until the final 1/3 of the story - the Straylight Run. The quick moving story then judders to a halt and suddenly starts grinding its way to its conclusion. If it hadn't been for that rather methodical final section I'd give this really rather good piece of sci-fi four stars. As it is though, it's an enjoyable read but one which did feel like a bit of an effort in the closing stages. Still well worth picking up though. ( )

A quick paced sci-fi thriller that keeps the reader constantly wondering what is real and what is an illusion, this book was probably some pretty ground-breaking stuff for its time. ( )