Skip to main content

Book review: Neuromancer

Up today: Neuromancer by William Gibson. Summary: this seminal text in the cyberpunk genre remains excellent but a bit of research is necessary to really appreciate its originality.

I've been hitting the science fiction hard lately, I realize. Actually, during our world cup trip I read a half-dozen normal books but haven't felt inclined to lay down my thoughts. But I make no apologies; I still agree with Kurt Vonnegut: "It seemed to me that science fiction writers were writing about the most important issues of our time, and that the mainstream writers and those most respected by critics were still dealing with the subtleties of human character and motivation and all that. Meanwhile, we've created these monstrous engines and social schemes and so forth which are having more influence on us than anything else. So I created Kilgore Trout to say 'maybe these guys can't write so well, but they're sure talking about what needs to be talked about.'"

Anyway, this is a weird book to read, because you have to be constantly correcting yourself about things that sound dated but in fact were revolutionary at the time. For example, Gibson invented the word "cyberspace." He used "matrix" in the computer sense for the first time (though calling a neural implant a "microsoft" didn't catch on). Basically he laid the groundwork of the cyberpunk genre and spawned dozens of imitators, so it's a bit rewarding to take a step back and consider just how stunningly original he was.

The book follows Case, a interface cowboy (computer hacker) who is adrift in the Japanese underworld. He previously tried to steal from his employer and they crippled his computer talent with designer toxins. He's hired by a man called Armitage, who offers to fix Case's damaged brain and another job as a cowboy. Armitage also has a woman named Molly working for him as hired muscle. Together Molly and Case discover that behind Armitage is a shadowy figure called Wintermute. Action ensues.

The writing and the plotting are exceptionally good. It's got a planed-down noir feel to it that works well, and the eventual resolution of the plot is well done. There are a few weaknesses, like some Rastafarians who help Case that are frankly ridiculous. The character development is thin at best.

But overall, it definitely earned its reputation. Highly recommended.

Comments

  1. Your review is well written, concise and compelling. you cause me to want to return to my Vonnegut, Jr. days and pick up where I left off with this genre. I'll also be keeping an eye out for future postings by you.
    - Palew

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey thanks! I've also reviewed a few Philip K. Dick recently that you might be interested in.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Did Reality Winner Leak to the Intercept?

So Reality Winner, former NSA contractor, is in federal prison for leaking classified information — for five years and three months, the longest sentence of any whistleblower in history. She gave documents on how Russia had attempted to hack vendors of election machinery and software to The Intercept , which completely bungled basic security procedures (according to a recent New York Times piece from Ben Smith, the main fault lay with Matthew Cole and Richard Esposito ), leading to her capture within hours. Winner recently contracted COVID-19 in prison, and is reportedly suffering some lingering aftereffects. Glenn Greenwald has been furiously denying that he had anything at all to do with the Winner clusterfuck, and I recently got in an argument with him about it on Twitter. I read a New York story about Winner, which clearly implies that she was listening to the Intercepted podcast of March 22, 2017 , where Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill expressed skepticism about Russia actual...

The Setswana Grammar Manual

One of my few successes during my service here was formatting the Peace Corps South Africa grammar manual for Setswana, written mostly by Art Chambers, an SA16 volunteer.  For anyone wanting to learn Setswana, I reckon it's a pretty good primer, so I present it for free here .  If you think it sucks and you want to make changes, or you'd like to take a look at the raw TeX file, you can find it here .

On Refusing to Vote for Bloomberg

Billionaire Mike Bloomberg is attempting to buy the Democratic nomination. With something like $400 million in personal spending so far, that much is clear — and it appears to be working at least somewhat well, as he is nearing second place in national polls. I would guess that he will quickly into diminishing returns, but on the other hand spending on this level is totally unprecedented. At this burn rate he could easily spend more than the entire 2016 presidential election cost both parties before the primary is over. I published a piece today outlining why I would not vote for Bloomberg against Trump (I would vote for Sanders, Warren, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, or Biden), even though I live in a swing state. This got a lot of "vote blue no matter who" people riled up . They scolded me and demanded that I pre-commit to voting for Bloomberg should he win the nomination. The argument as I understand it is to try to make it as likely as possible that whatever Democrat wins t...