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Fun Stuff => ENJOY => Topic started by: RedLeather on 27 Apr 2006, 16:24

Title: Neuromancer
Post by: RedLeather on 27 Apr 2006, 16:24: Has anyone read this book? <<; Is it worth a buy?
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: Trollstormur on 27 Apr 2006, 17:21: William Gibson? absolutely.
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: Gryff on 27 Apr 2006, 17:46: Well that was easy.
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: RedLeather on 27 Apr 2006, 18:34: Now i just have to find a copy of the damned book...Apparently the local bookstores have forgotten it's existence...
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: thermodynamics on 27 Apr 2006, 20:37: its been out for a bit... all william gibson books are badass in my opinion.
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: Trollstormur on 27 Apr 2006, 21:17: hit a used bookstore. the money you save will allow you to purchase Mona Lisa Overdrive by the same author as well.
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: Chesire Cat on 28 Apr 2006, 17:47: Yeah theres like 3 books in the trilogy or something. All good.
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: Phrozen on 29 Apr 2006, 21:27: Trilogy? I was unaware of any sort of continuity between his books.

I read Neuromancer, liked it.

I read Idoru and kinda liked it.

I read Pattern Recognition and thought it was a cool concept.

I started Mona Lisa Overdrive but have yet to actually read it.

One tihng I don't like about Gibson is his fetish for the Japanese "otaku" sub-cultures. He seems to have some knowledge of Japanese culture but nothing terribly real. His spelling of "Idoru" also really fucking bugs me.
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: thelsdj on 30 Apr 2006, 16:26: There are 2 trilogies that take place in the same universe:

Neuromancer
Count Zero
Mona Lisa Overdrive

Virtual Light
Idoru
All Tomorrow's Parties

Personally I've only read the first trilogy and Pattern Recognition, but I would recommend all his books to anyone.

A word of warning though, if you've never read Gibson you might have a hard time with the language the first time, he writes in a way that no one else does and it takes about 50 pages to get used to it.

Anyone else hear they are making an anime out of Idoru?

And 'Hi Everyone' this is my first post on these forums :)
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: LiterSize on 30 Apr 2006, 21:23: See, the language wasn't a problem for me, it was very noir in the detail to me and I enjoyed it immensely. Don't forget to look for Johnny Mnemonic, the short story. I found the text available in full on the net, so go nuts.
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: Simulacra on 30 Apr 2006, 22:26: I own them all (except for The Difference Engine which he didn't write, he just supplied a lot of the ideas, so i didn't like it as much.) I suggest reading the two previously mentioned series and then reading Burning Chrome, which is a lot of his early short stories and contains Johnny Mnemonic. If you do that you can see how his ideas evolved over time. it's pretty cool. but yeah, if you haven't read a lot or been exposed to varying different writing styles, you might have a little trouble with his imagery at first. he tends to use words to describe concepts that you would never have associated with each other before. For instance, first line of Neuromancer: "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." cool huh? he's my fave.
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: Bunnyman on 02 May 2006, 02:52: Agreed...Gibson is a masterful wordsmith.

The Bridge Trilogy is excellent, if only because he crafts some truly fantastic settings, insane (read: loveable) characters, and cool ideas. All three books read like Gibson pouring ten years of notebook scribblings into novel form, with a flimsy plot to tie it all together. Fine stuff.
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: zmeiat_joro on 02 May 2006, 03:29: I don't like Gibson too much, although I read an awful lot of science fiction. So he's not everyone's kind of thing. That said, Idoru I managed to read; that didn't happen with Neuromancer or some others that I only got a few pages in. Also, I dind't realise Gibson was involved in The Difference Engine, which I've been meaning to read for a while now. Now Bruce Sterling I do like a lot.
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: El Opium on 05 May 2006, 21:55: I've read Neuromancer and Burning Chrome. Count Zero is currently one foot away from my left hand; sitting at a forty-five degree angle, until I get around to reading it. Gibson is great, but I've been finding myself bowled over by the amount of literary attention he is getting. I met a guy who was about to [i[Neuromancer[/i] for post-modern fiction class, though he did imply that Gibson would be somewhat of a break after reading William S. Burroughs and Thomas Pynchon.
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: hoax on 06 May 2006, 14:25: I read Pattern Recognition for a class on new media. I thought it was cool but haven't had time to read anything else by him--maybe this summer.
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: KharBevNor on 07 May 2006, 17:44: Gibsons important for post-modernism because of all that ridiculous technological fetishism, imo anyway.

I must say though, I do rather like that sort of thing.
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: Waffles on 08 May 2006, 00:35: Seeing as there is some offtopicness to some degree or another, i feel the need to throw another name out there:
Neal Stephenson
While his newer books are arguably too long for themselves, Snow Crash and Diamond Age were absolutely rad. If you're in a bookstore and think of it, pick up Snow Crash and read the first chapter. Nevermind. just google 'deliverator'. You'll find it right quick.
Neuromancer was rather interesting, i must say, tho i've yet to read enough cyberpunk to really have much of an idea what its about.
Title: Neuromancer
Post by: mizaktik on 09 May 2006, 00:29: Gibson is awesome. Neuromancer was just an incredible read. I haven't had time to read past it, but I really want to.