I’ve had a copy of Neuromancer for a very long time. I’ve enjoyed the idea of having the book for so long that I think I thought I just might get to know the book by osmosis. I figured having the book made me seem cool. (LanaBob! how many cool points do you get for owning books you don’t read?)
Finally, finally I have read it. It was hard going at the beginning. I didn’t get all the slang and the faux-Japanese industrial business made me tired. Since I don’t read that much sci-fi (I’m starting to wonder how much longer this particular excuse is going to last me but I figure I can claim this much ignorance for at least another half a dozen books), I kept thinking that I was missing large swaths of the plot. Then last night as I was recounting to Stephen what I understood of the plot, he assured me that I was getting the story and so that renewed my energy for reading it.
I got into the actual heist this morning and I just about couldn’t put the book down. I just finished reading it and going over the info in wikipedia and I can’t figure out why I waited so long to read the book. Especially given my love of all things Max Headroom-ish. I completely enjoyed it and feel like I somehow now need to jack in to upload this article. My fingers on the keyboard just don’t seem to be enough of a connection. I will definitely be thinking about that cyberspace for a very long time. And isn’t that just the very definition of a good read?
6 Comments
I don’t know about those cool points for owning books you don’t read, but I think some cool points are in order for mentioning Max Headroom in your blog!
You sure you can’t make it to my enchilada dinner?
You should read the Takeshi Kovacs series by Richard Morgan. Ask Stephen. He at least has Altered Carbon (the first in the series). I think you’ll enjoy those as well if you appreciated Neuromancer.
Oh yeah, and I still try to say that I’m not a big sci-fi reader, although I’m most likely a good dozen or two books past that point by now.
I tend to avoid sci-fi recommendations for that reason - I always feel like I am missing chunks of the plot, references, and jokes. I finish the books with a sense of enjoyment, but with a vague sense of dissatisfaction because I *know* I missed something. Fantasy seems easier to get into.
Yay! I read Neuromancer and liked the high-tech toys and everything. Another recommendation would be _When Gravity Fails_, by George Alec Effinger. Another MUDder (katre?) recommended it to me and I ate it up. It is quite understandable, and it has elements of hard-boiled detective story, New Orleans nightlife (transplanted into the desert), and wacky humor.
(in addition to cyberpunk-ish body/brain modifications)
Wow, I had those same feelings when I read “Infinite Jest” & it’s not about cyperpunk at all.