Neuromancer

By: William Gibson

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Neuromancer is the multiple award-winning novel that launched the astonishing career of William Gibson. The first fully-realized glimpse of humankind's digital future, it is a shocking vision that has challenged our assumptions about our technology and ourselves, reinvented the way we speak and think, and forever altered the landscape of our imaginations.

Now, for the first time, Ace Books is proud to present this groundbreaking literary achievement in a trade paperback edition.

Critic reviews

“One of the coolest gifts you can get for your favorite sci-fi geek . . . You’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but these new Penguin Galaxy hardcovers make it really hard.” —Gizmodo

“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

“The quintessence of cyberpunk . . . An amazing virtuoso performance.” —The Washington Post

“[Gibson] invented the future with Neuromancer.” —Entertainment Weekly

“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

Awesome. The stuff of dreams.

The amazing language used by the author created vivid and realistic images in my mind. The reader's voice was a little creepy, at first, when he attempted the female character voices, but I became accustomed to the sound and compensated.

I can easily see that this was a primary source for many other stories and movies since it was released. Why have I never seen a Neuromancer movie? I mean, we definitely have the technology to create most of what I saw in my own mind. Johnny Mnemonic is the closest thing I have seen in the way of this style of story. Suddenly, The Matrix seems like a cheap copy-cat. I absolutely wish this story would be made into a movie.

A capturing story, told by a iffy narrator.

Having completed the Sprawl Trilogy earlier today, I can easily say that these books are absolutely worth getting into, if that's all your worried about.

Neuromancer, to me, was more of a feeling than an actual story; I found the first few chapters impossibly hard to follow, and I was considering giving the book up. I'd say about 4 hours in I unconsciously changed the way I took in the story, going from my usual method of meticulously taking in every word, to instead letting the book waft me through the story. If you come into Neuromancer with the idea that you're going to take in every sentence, change your expectations -- Gibson writes incredibly densely, and the narrator speaks with a monotonous, steady voice, which can take you from dialogue to intense combat without ever wavering -- jarring, if you are not prepared.

But don't let the questionable narration keep you from trying Neuromancer, because you will not regret it. Gibson, if you will let him, will immerse you so deeply into his world that you'll forget it's not your own. The characters, the tech, the jargon and jive, all effortlessly blended together to make a classic, but unique Cyberpunk world.

Difficult listen for me

I had a very difficult time following the story for a number of reasons. I wanted to read this book, because it is said to have started the idea of the matrix and the Matrix is a top movie for me so I kept expecting twists like the matrix. Listening to this book rather than reading it didn't work well for me, a moments lack in attention and I had no idea who was talking, where they were and why. I never got a sense of true urgency of the situation that they were fighting for other than the character's personal situation. I am going to have to give this one another listen, maybe a read?

Cyberpunk Roots

Two issues. I really wish they would have female voice actresses doing the female characters. The narrator does a fine job- but its really awkward listening to men imitate female voices. it just sounds dumb. second, the afterward is atrocious and annoying. I couldn't finish it. Its a love letter to Gibson from some other author and he insults and alienates cyberpunk genre fans. Its a bit pretentious and way off topic IMHO.

Seminal fiction with perfect narration

NEUROMANCER, beyond being a landmark in the sci-fi genre, is just a plainly well-written novel by one of the best current practitioners in the English language. It's a hard-boiled noir tale set in a brilliant future imagined in the 1980s. If that doesn't sell you, then this just isn't your cup of tea.

Roberston Dean perfectly executes the narration here-- his low-toned, guttural voice complements the prose in a surprising way. I had read NEUROMANCER before listening to it here, and found I enjoyed it in a whole new way, which is rare for me when it comes to audiobooks on fiction.