Neuromancer

By: William Gibson

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Twenty years ago, it was as if someone turned on a light. The future blazed into existence with each deliberate word that William Gibson laid down. The winner of Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards, Neuromancer didn't just explode onto the science fiction scene - it permeated into the collective consciousness, culture, science, and technology.Today, there is only one science fiction masterpiece to thank for the term "cyberpunk," for easing the way into the information age and Internet society. Neuromancer's virtual reality has become real. And yet, William Gibson's gritty, sophisticated vision still manages to inspire the minds that lead mankind ever further into the future.

©1984 William Gibson (P)2011 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Unforgettable ... The richness of Gibson’s world is incredible.” (Chicago Sun-Times)

“Freshly imagined, compellingly detailed, and chilling in its implications.” (The New York Times)

"Serious science fiction and fantasy readers cannot resist the classics.... That’s what makes the Penguin Galaxy series so appealing.... Each of the novels here has earned their place in the halls of literary history.... Their small form factor and minimalist covers call out to readers and make them fun to read all over again.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Prophetic

Would you listen to Neuromancer again? Why?

I will for sure re-listen to this audio book. I read Neuromancer in high school but decided to give it a try as an audio book since I am walking with my phone a lot for my job. It's one of those books you need to read / listen to several times to fully grasp the characters and the world at large. Plan on several listens, because, like most good books, if you try to pick everything up the first time, you won't get into the book. It's just too good. Too prophetic. Considering this was written in the 80s, the number of books and movies to spin off from this book are just too many to list at this point. Modern readers may not pick up on how ahead in his thinking Gibson was when he wrote this. Just small details like how The Matrix enables the youth culture to have fleeting subcultures. Such a fun book. Psychedelic at times. Love it. Love hearing it read to me like a creepy bedtime story.

What other book might you compare Neuromancer to and why?

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Blade Runner). The worlds are similar but different enough to have fun comparing the two while you read.

What does Robertson Dean bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Great tone of voice and fun parts read in character voices.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The details are astonishing, but not overwhelming. The details make this book.

Any additional comments?

Great for repeat listens.

Almost impossible to listen to

I love audio books, but the performance in this book is atrocious. The narrator drones on and on, giving no personality to the text. I know this is because of the cyberpunk detachment they're trying to capture, but it does not make the book fun to listen to. Get the physical copy and read it yourself.

What Goes With a Published Edition Colors the Work

Any additional comments?

I give the book 4 stars because while it is a very important work, I'm rating not just on the quality, but the potential enjoyment of readers as well, and the inherent cynicism and intermittent unfocused scenes won't appeal to all readers.

Additionally, the afterword is--interesting. I'm 43 as of the time of this review, and have lived in the shadow of Gibson's work for a long time. It is important for predicting the direction society might be going, and does this in a manner that doesn't become so apocalyptic that what could happen doesn't appear to be impossible or removed from the present day. He is a very skilled writer that wrote a very important work that did an exceptional job of synthesizing multiple cultural trends.

If you stick around for the afterword, however, you will find out that not only are Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and Gene Roddenberry hacks, but that science fiction has no business every being optimistic, and that Gibson didn't just do an amazing job of reading trends, but actually predestined the internet and multi-national corporations just be being the best writer to ever walk the face of the Earth.

Additionally, he should be proud that he did this, because the world sucks anyway, so it only matters that you do something great and world changing, not that you do anything positive in life, because optimism is a fool's game.

If anything, the afterword marks Gibson as one of the clear inspirations for the modern day internet Troll Culture, where you can't show that you care about anything, have to be relentlessly cynical at all times, you always predict the worst, and you point and laugh when the worst actually happens, because why attempt to make the world any better.

Read the book. Skip the afterword.

Good sifi for a credit

This is a standard sifi style of book. It is like Johnny nonmonic, Matrix, and out of this world mash up. The level of AI and cyber punk is beyond its time and aligns with current events.

Groundbreaking

If you're into Cyberpunk this is a must-read. Countless pieces of media have drawn from it, including but not limited to: The Matrix, Deus Ex, and Shadowrun

CourtReinland

Read the book before, awesome. The audiobook gripped me even more because of the well executed read. Gibson, still amazing after all these years.

The narrator kills it.

This is a cyberpunk classic, assassinated by the narrator. Do not try to listen to this one while driving. It will be the same as taking an ambien.

Great read

What made the experience of listening to Neuromancer the most enjoyable?

The story, being the first to start the "Cyber-Punk" story line, is still strong today as it was 20+ years ago. Being a "Techy" I could imagine most of what was written. I could still see this playing out in this day and age, even with the other technologies we have around us.

true classic sci Fi. highly recommend this one!

true classic sci Fi. highly recommend this one! really looking forward to reading the rest in the series on Audible.

It's the future of the 80s!

Badass story, fantastic writing, and really good narration. I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. It's amazing to think how much this book affected the present day.