# Neuromancer by William Gibson



## Patrick Skelton (Jan 7, 2011)

I've heard great things about this classic sci-fi novel. Haven't read it yet, but it's on my list.  Anyone care to discuss?


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## R. H. Watson (Feb 2, 2011)

It dug deep into my brain when I read it back in the day. I suspect now it will seem dated. You might have to read it with a sense of its place in the history of science fiction to understand why people think so highly of it.


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

R. H. Watson said:


> It dug deep into my brain when I read it back in the day. I suspect now it will seem dated. You might have to read it with a sense of its place in the history of science fiction to understand why people think so highly of it.


Less dated than you think. There are a few things in the book that have actually come to pass. Keep in mind when you read it that Gibson knew basically nothing about computers at the time.

In the end, an argument could certainly be made that this book changed how the internet (and the web in particular) developed.

And, given my avatar, I think you can imagine my thoughts about the book


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## R. H. Watson (Feb 2, 2011)

Basilius said:


> Less dated than you think.


Good to know!


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

R. H. Watson said:


> Good to know!


I think the actual danger is it might seem rather heavy on cliche, as opposed to being dated.

Of course, this is until you realize _Neuromancer_ was the book that created the cliches in the first place.


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## Chris Northern (Jan 20, 2011)

Must be great to open up a whole new sub-genre. I remember liking the book a great deal. Good pace, strong characters. I'd recommend it.


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## Ben White (Feb 11, 2011)

I just read it again recently, to see if my 28-year old self might get more from it than my 16-year old and 22-year old selves.  And surprisingly, the answer was 'kind of'.  It's a good book, and has aged surprisingly well--although "three megabytes of hot RAM" and the complete absence of cellphones seem kind of glaring now.  The characters are good, the setting still feels futuristic and interesting, and it has a lot of great ideas and scenes.  The plot and pacing are a little off, especially the ending, but still.  Worth reading.  I still think Pattern Recognition is his best book, though.


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## R. H. Watson (Feb 2, 2011)

I'm getting all nostalgic. Back in the '80s when I was teaching myself airbrushing I painted a picture of Case and Molly. They were standing side-by-side, and she was holding up her hand with her finger razors extended. It was meant to be a cyberspace version of the Grant Wood painting, American Gothic. Her hand with the finger razors was the pitchfork.

I don't know where it is, but I'm sure it looks really bad.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I've tried to get into the book several times over the years. It's just never clicked for me.

Mike


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

Basilius said:


> I think the actual danger is it might seem rather heavy on cliche, as opposed to being dated.
> 
> Of course, this is until you realize _Neuromancer_ was the book that created the cliches in the first place.


I think you nailed it. When you encounter the original after seeing so many clones, the original can seem like an old clone itself. Still, I think it's absolutely worth reading once.


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## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

OK, now I have to read it again.  I don't think I've read Pattern Recognition, so I need to read or re-read it. I've read a lot of Gibson and Neal Stephenson. The Diamond Age is my fav of Stephenson's and was the first book I bought for my Kindle.

I also used to live near Wytheville, VA where Gibson spent most of his youth.  Didn't know that until a few years ago.


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## Patrick Skelton (Jan 7, 2011)

It's definitely on my list, guys!  Thanks...

When was the book written, anyway?


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

Patrick Skelton said:


> It's definitely on my list, guys! Thanks...
> 
> When was the book written, anyway?


I believe he wrote it in 1982/83. It was first published in 1984. Won the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K Dick awards. (First book to ever win all three.)


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## BMathison (Feb 4, 2011)

I would also definitely recommend it.  It was cutting-edge back in the day -- I think Gibson's take on the future was amazing, given the state of computers at the time.  For goodness sake, we weren't much farther than the Commodore 64 at that point.  I think the characters are still strong, and it's a great story.

Enjoy!


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

It's on my to-read list.


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## James Everington (Dec 25, 2010)

I loved it when I first read it - early 90s, so it still seemed futuristic then. Looking at how battered my copy is I _must_ have reread it a lot as a teenager, but while I can remember the feel & tone of it, I can't recall much of the plot. It's certainly worth reading though.


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## jasonvanhee (Feb 16, 2011)

It's a really great book, and while (as with any near-future novel) it gets a lot wrong, it gets a lot right, too.  The details are off, but the feel is growing closer and closer to reality in some aspects.  And it birthed a whole genre, so...there's that.


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## jtlindroos (Mar 3, 2011)

And the funny thing is that the book was written on a typewriter by a man who imagined computers... just didn't use them. So in a way he sidestepped the technological facts and made it science FICTION. The fact that much of it became true speaks volumes of the book. I like the second book COUNT ZERO even more than I do the first one. But it's been a decade since I read them.


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## RobynB (Jan 4, 2011)

He coined the word "cyberspace," right?


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

RobynB said:


> He coined the word "cyberspace," right?


Yep. I believe he did that in the short story "Burning Chrome" which predates Neuromancer.


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## Edward W. Robertson (May 18, 2010)

I'll add to the praise. Not only did he pioneer a subgenre that ended up huge, but his noir-adapted style's influenced a lot of sci-fi, too (likely including guys like Richard K. Morgan). Gibson's definitely worth checking out.


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## SidneyW (Aug 6, 2010)

I particularly liked Gibson's "Pattern Recognition" which continues some of the same memes and themes.


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## redshift1 (Jun 20, 2009)

Patrick Skelton said:


> I've heard great things about this classic sci-fi novel. Haven't read it yet, but it's on my list. Anyone care to discuss?


A seminal work of SF that has been copied many times in many variations. Even more remarkable it was written in 1984 on the cusp of the computer revolution.
I have reread Neuromancer several times and it still seems relevant because of the prose and imagery. Gibson followed up with several similar books but IMO they were overshadowded by Neuromancer.


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## nicholaslasalla (Mar 5, 2011)

Even today, _Neuromancer_ is a tremendous work, big on imagination and power. The opening line is perhaps the best of any novel ever written. The future is a bleak place, if this book is to be believed.

I highly recommend it. But, as others have pointed out, keep in mind when it was written. It is prophetic in certain ways and waaay behind in others.

Still, a great story from the godfather of cyberpunk.


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## Edward W. Robertson (May 18, 2010)

I don't generally think science fiction is about trying to predict the future, so I don't hold what books like _Neuromancer_ got wrong against them. I think in most cases, sci-fi authors aren't approaching a book from the perspective of "Here's what I think will happen" so much as with an attitude of "Wouldn't it be cool if..?"

And Gibson's world is pretty cool.


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## Ben White (Feb 11, 2011)

nicholaslasalla said:


> Even today, _Neuromancer_ is a tremendous work, big on imagination and power. The opening line is perhaps the best of any novel ever written. The future is a bleak place, if this book is to be believed.


I read something quite a while back about Neuromancer's opening line, how it was originally intended to evoke the bleakness of a television tuned to nothing but static, but how now a 'dead channel' actually shows up as pure blue on most televisions, changing the meaning completely. I seem to recall Neil Gaiman using this in one of his books also, possibly Neverwhere, something like 'the sky was the untroubled blue of an untuned television'.


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

Ben White said:


> I read something quite a while back about Neuromancer's opening line, how it was originally intended to evoke the bleakness of a television tuned to nothing but static, but how now a 'dead channel' actually shows up as pure blue on most televisions, changing the meaning completely. I seem to recall Neil Gaiman using this in one of his books also, possibly Neverwhere, something like 'the sky was the untroubled blue of an untuned television'.


Definitely evokes the technology of the time. Digital TV was nowhere to be seen. Sort of like how so many people smoke in the Foundation trilogy.


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## nicholaslasalla (Mar 5, 2011)

Ben White said:


> I read something quite a while back about Neuromancer's opening line, how it was originally intended to evoke the bleakness of a television tuned to nothing but static, but how now a 'dead channel' actually shows up as pure blue on most televisions, changing the meaning completely. I seem to recall Neil Gaiman using this in one of his books also, possibly Neverwhere, something like 'the sky was the untroubled blue of an untuned television'.


You know, I hadn't thought of that...good point! I still like that opening, but I can see how it would be troublesome as as kid today reading it.

Pesky, fickle technology...


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## Sebastian Kirby (Jan 3, 2011)

Hi,

I had it down as a great book the first time I read it and went on to check out most of his other stuff. A lot has been said (above) that is spot on, so not much more to add. Except, I think he opened up a new terrain where an interior world can be as important in SF as anything else. And that makes it still great today. You probably don't get 'The Matrix' without Gibson's imaginative breakthroughs.

Strange, then, that he now lives in London and writes 'straight' novels.

Seb


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

Sebastian Kirby said:


> Strange, then, that he now lives in London and writes 'straight' novels.


Um... he lives in Vancouver, BC, and his current work, while set roughly in the present day, is still science fiction.


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## redshift1 (Jun 20, 2009)

Basilius said:


> Um... he lives in Vancouver, BC, and his current work, while set roughly in the present day, is still science fiction.


Comparing his recent works to his earlier efforts I find it hard to believe they were written by the same author.


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## Patrick Skelton (Jan 7, 2011)

Redshift,

What is different about his new works?


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Basilius said:


> Definitely evokes the technology of the time. Digital TV was nowhere to be seen. Sort of like how so many people smoke in the Foundation trilogy.


Another Asimov example is from _Caves of Steel_, in which case one character removes his contact lenses using a small suction cup on a stick. Corneal lenses weren't around at the time that Asimov wrote that, only scleral lenses. Such things are unavoidable. But they do tend to make me pop out of a story.

Mike


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## Sebastian Kirby (Jan 3, 2011)

Hi

Maybe I'm getting this wrong, but I couldn't find any SF in 'Pattern Recognition'.

Seb


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