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Bookish Quotes
"Reading is not work, not a chore, not drudgery; reading is the most joyful thing, yet, in the world."
Neuromancer
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Neuromancer
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11 journalers for this copy...
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Official Summary"Here is the novel that started it all, launching the cyberpunk generation, and the first novel to win the holy trinity of science fiction: the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award and the Philip K. Dick Award. With Neuromancer, William Gibson introduced the world to cyberspace--and science fiction has never been the same.Case was the hottest computer cowboy cruising the information superhighway--jacking his consciousness into cyberspace, soaring through tactile lattices of data and logic, rustling encoded secrets for anyone with the money to buy his skills. Then he double-crossed the wrong people, who caught up with him in a big way--and burned the talent out of his brain, micron by micron. Banished from cyberspace, trapped in the meat of his physical body, Case courted death in the high-tech underworld. Until a shadowy conspiracy offered him a second chance--and a cure--for a price.... " Nov 2005 - My review:I have wanted to read this book for a very long time. It has been hailed as the first "cyber punk" book, and it appears that this book is itself the first part of three. Also, this book is credited as being a heavy influence on the Matrix movies. Having looked forward to reading it for so long, I would like to say that I enjoyed it. Sadly, I can't!So what didn't I like about this book? I didn't like the style for starters. The book starts by describing Chiba and the Sprawl, which are huge cites, and the hopelessness of life there. And it introduces a number of characters, some of which have bearing later in the book, and some not... This is all very well, except that liberal use is made of futuristic words, or "technobabble" as it has become known. This is a Sci-fi book, so you expect a certain amount of technobabble, but it is rather heavy here, and it makes reading rather tedious. What else did I not like? The characterisation, I felt, relied on stereotypes. ie the talented hacker down on his luck; the shell shocked ex military commander; the lethal female vigilante etc. Oh and the entire plot didn't engage my imagination either. The first half of the book I spent wondering what the story was about, and when the objective was revealed, I couldn't have cared less! Having just ripped the book to shreads, I have to say that I am glad I read it. It does introduce some interesting sci-fi ideas which I have not come across before, such as the SimStim, which is a great concept. No doubt had I read this book when it was first released in 1986, it would have had more of an impact on me. However, reading it in 2005, when we have the internet, films like the Matrix, and even cloning and tissue research, the concepts presented here don't seem quite so radical. I could only recommend this book for completists or sci-fi historians. Oh! And I still don't know what cyber punk is! Now I am done reading this, I shall send it out into the big brave world. Either as a ring or a ray. Participants (not necessarily in this order) so far are: lottiotta (UK) No longer participating. Squirk (UK) tehuti (UK) turquoisefloyd (UK) KarenBC (Canada) Hobbit (US - anywhere) marko167 (Switzerland) MrsDanvers (UK) AliceF (UK) LyzzyBee (UK/USA)<-The book is here! Matth3w (UK/USA) VasilisaSage (USA) candy-is-dandy (UK) The book left as a ray in December 2005. First stop - Squirk! July 2006 - No one can contact Akhena, who appears to be giving bookcrossing a rest. Akhena, if you still want to partake in the ring, please let me know. Aug 2007 - I moved LizzyBee down the list to be before Matth3w as they are related. |
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Sorry I took so long to read this - I was caught up in a ray-alanche. However, once I picked up the book, I could hardly put it down. A fast-paced sci-fi read. In some ways, I wish I hadn't had seen 'The Matrix' as images from it, particularly Zion and Molly, kept trying to pop up in my mind as I read, but the book's got a strong enough personality of its own and it was a fantastic read (and I know the this book was only one of very many influences for the Matrix).Many thanks Cayenne-UK for sharing. I'll post it to Tehuti when I have an address. |
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Released 5 yrs ago (8/10/2006 UTC) at Bookring in Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases WILD RELEASE NOTES:
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Journal Entry 15 by
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Journal Entry 16 by
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Released 4 yrs ago (12/5/2007 UTC) at Controlled release (bookring) in -- By post or by hand --, Greater London United Kingdom WILD RELEASE NOTES:
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Released 3 yrs ago (2/3/2009 UTC) at Book Ring!, By Post -- Controlled Releases CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
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Journal Entry 24 by
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Journal Entry 25 by
Released 3 yrs ago (2/21/2009 UTC) at Controlled Release, --by post or by hand (ie ring, ray, RABCK, trade) -- Controlled Releases CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
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Journal Entry 26 by
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