Book review: Neuromancer

Neuromancer is one of the best-known works in the cyberpunk genre according to wiki and that's right. Definitely a classic and one of the books you must read, like Dune and Foundation; and The Peace War isn't. Having said that, there's a review somewhere along the lines of "great book, but Gibson's ideas about computers are comically inept", and that's right too.

Somewhat a-la Dune, the words are important, giving the flavour: Neuromancer, Wintermute, Screaming Fist, Tessier-Ashpool; and so on. They are skillfully blended in, but it does become obvious that without them a major part of the aura would be lost - in a way that, say, Proust wouldn't suffer from if you renamed a pile of his characters. But, the story is good too, as long as you pretend the cyber-nonsense would work.

Despite various angst, the book is shallow. Except for the imagery: the Tessier-Ashpool clan existing largely in hibernation, exiting briefly to sample the world; the AIs patiently striving to meet; I like that.

For another review-by-me that I accidentally discover, see Neuromancer, Beedle and The Uses of Enchantment.