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?
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? š
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. š
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.