Gibson, William: Neuromancer
Neuromancer
Writer: William Gibson
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 276
What on earth can I say about this SF classic that I finally, FINALLY!!! got around to reading? I've read Gibson's work before, Pattern Recognition, so I thought I knew what to expect when it came to his style. Then there's the fact that I am so well-aware of Neuormancer's impact on SF, as well as the real world, that I thought I knew what was coming.
But picking up this book and reading the first few pages was a pure adrenaline rush of words. Punctuation aside, I'd forgotten about Gibson's amazing use of words and descriptions, the zing of his language. Even so far removed from this book's debut, it's easy to see how it created such a stir in the SF world at the time. It's also easy to see how much influence this book has had on so many current writers.
I'm not going to bother with a cut here, because I have nothing spoilery to say and let's face, the book's a classic. Even if I did spoil you, it wouldn't ruin the experience of reading the book. And for me, being so far removed from the book's debut and having read its progeny in terms of the genre, Neuromancer was more of an experience than it was a life-changer. It was good, don't get me wrong. Yes, it took me a little while to get into the rhythm of Gibson's prose, and I always felt I was catching on to what was happening just a little late, and even then, I wasn't sure if I got what I thought I got. One quick check to Wikipedia pretty much confirmed my interpretation of the book, so that's good. I particularly admired Gibson's use of the simstim, which was pretty darn cool.
I can only image what kind of mindfreak this book must have been in the pre-cyberpunk SF world. This book must have been acid to those people. Again, the use of description was very enjoyable, and even I was surprised at the range of setting this book encompassed. I'm glad I finally got around to reading it, and maybe one day, I'll pick up more of Gibson's work in the future.
Though, and I'm sure this is absolute heresy, I think I enjoyed Pattern Recognition more. Just chalk that up to the fact I read it first and it had a female POV, okay? :)
Next up: Grimspace by Ann Aguirre