Book Review: Neuromancer, by William Gibson

Overall Impressions

This was obviously a reread - but I hadn't read it in over 20 years so it was nice to visit what is commonly viewed as the first cyberpunk novel. I enjoyed it but it's worth noting that the older this book gets the more things diverge from the possible future that it portrays. This is common to other books like this (see Snow Crash for another example). But it's a damn good story with some great characters and a fun style - you have have to be willing to accept that it's a story of the future... just maybe not a future that is likely to happen.

I read this on my Kindle and listened to it while I excercised thanks to my local public library. That doesn't always work for some books, but it did here.

The Good

Really great characters and a great plot that combines the sorts of long-game strategies that AIs might employ if we ever get them.

The Bad

I already mentioned, but this book is not new, and it takes place in a future that doesn't seem to be too far from today... but some things have happened since it was published that conflict with what is in the book. It's fine... it's fiction, and sometimes you have to just deal with it.

Final Thoughts

If you like science fiction, this should be considered required reading.

Probably a 4 but maybe a 5 out of 5 stars. There's a reason it's revered like it is.