5 ms·

Neuromancer was released 40 years ago today

52 points by keiferski 2y ago

zevv 2y ago
Ah, yes, 40 years ago, wasn't that about the time the Jackpot started? I've heard rumors we are right in the middle of it now.
chrisabraham 2y ago
Love that novel so much and I was there when it hit the shelves, 40-years ago!
cubefox 2y ago
I always wanted to read Neuromancer. But then came the WWW, and finally smartphones, and I stopped reading novels. Suffice it to say, I would have enjoyed it if I had read it.
- yowlingcat 2y ago
  It's still worth it today -- it's aged well, is a blast to read, and you'll probably tear through it in a sitting or two if you're anything like me.
  - cubefox 2y ago
    Yeah, though there are several books I want to finish reading even more than I want to start Neuromancer. Yet that's realistically also not happening. Similar with some classic video games.
- spacecadet 2y ago
  Just listen to it then.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- eru 2y ago
  You can start again? Neuromancer is a bit of a guilty pleasure; like an airport novel. It's fun enough to read, but it's not a good book.
  - gafferongames 2y ago
    It's a great book. What are you smoking
    - eru 2y ago
      The plot is a bit silly (and full of holes), the characters are one-dimensional, the sex scenes are gratuitous, etc. I still liked reading it twenty years ago, but I wouldn't do it again. There's better science fiction and also better cyberpunk available. Not to mention other genres.
      - cubefox 2y ago
        What's better cyberpunk in your opinion?
        eru 2y ago
        Ghost in the Shell, definitely, both manga and anime (but avoid the live action movie and the weird recent CGI show set in the US). 'The Diamond Age', perhaps, if you still count that as cyberpunk. 'Snowcrash', though I have some reservations about some parts of it. 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' is pretty good, too. There's some good cyber-punk-ish games like 'System Shock' and others. Don't see this as a comprehensive list. It's just what I had at the top of my head, so no guarantees it's even what _I_ think is best, just what I could remember quickly.
gafferongames 2y ago
Denis Villeneuve, please make this movie!
- exitb 2y ago
  It's currently being made into a series by Apple TV+.
  - ycombinete 2y ago
    After what they did to Foundation, I’m not getting my hopes up.
    - nervousvarun 2y ago
      What about what they did with Wool?
      - ycombinete 2y ago
        How was that? I started watching it, but I found the wool book way too oppressive and bleak, so I couldn’t bring myself to watch the show.
        nervousvarun 2y ago
        It's def bleak since it's mostly faithful to the book(s)...but was well done and the sets were convincing/acting very good.
josefritzishere 2y ago
I only read it for the first time last year... mind blowing. It doesn't feel dated in the slightest. It could have been a new release.
- eru 2y ago
  I liked it when I read it, but it's not really a good book. Influential, certainly. But not good. There's on trick that kept is seeming up-to-date: the author invented many words without giving it any explanation, and later authors have filled in the blanks in a way that is compatible with the novel.
  - wiredfool 2y ago
    3 megabytes of hot ram.
  - piltdownman 2y ago
    'It's not really a good book' Based on what? Thematic Motif? Lexicon and Grammar? Characterization? Use of Imagery and Metaphor? Dialogue? Plot? Worlbuilding? By any objective critique Gibson is a compelling and articulate writer, with a sharp ear for one-liners and a fantastic cynical descriptive prowess. Neuromancer fulfills most of what I'd consider to be the criteria of a 'good' book. No need to condemn one of the defining pieces of 20th Century fin-de-siecle and postmodern literature, not to mention the archetype of the cyberpunk genre, to the sci-fi ghetto out of genre-cringe.
    - eru 2y ago
      Why are you hallucinating 'genre-cringe'? The characters aren't exactly well developed, there's lots of pretty silly gratuitous sex scenes, etc. It's been about twenty years now since I've read the book; and, sorry, I have no desire to re-read the thing to give a more in-depth review. You can find critical reviews online easy enough. To be honest, the genre is the one thing that kept me going. It's ok, if you like Mr Gibson's writing. Tastes differ. No need to feel personally attacked. Not everyone is out to get 'your' genre.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
keiferski 2y ago
Although I highly recommend reading the full novel, if you don't have the time, this BBC audio rendition is only about 2 hours long and is pretty good. Note that it's a highly condensed version of the story and skips many of the best parts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S89BHnaxULo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S89BHnaxULo
_lvbh 2y ago
Sometimes coincidences scare me. I was just on that page earlier today by mistake while searching for [Neuromance](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LyTaD9pbI7M https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LyTaD9pbI7M) the song/album. This happens so often I sometimes wonder if everything I see online is tracked and Astroturfed somehow (ofc it’s not)
- EForEndeavour 2y ago
  Baader-Meinhof strikes again: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion
drpgq 2y ago
As a kid I enjoyed the game on the C64. Then was inspired to read the book.
iainctduncan 2y ago
Ah, the novel that changed my teenage life! This work helped a generation of kids believe that maybe... computers could be cool. :-) I reread all his novels recently, after having a read in previous years quite a bit about the art and craft of writing, the various approaches to the the classic three act plot, etc (writing features heavily in my own work). On reread, I honestly think vol 3 "Mona Lisa Overdrive" is the perfectly crafted sci-fi thriller, and his best written book. It was so well done I reread it a third time as soon as I was finished. I think it was his best single work. Used to see him around sometimes in Vancouver too. If you see this, thanks for everything Mr Gibson.
relaxing 2y ago
For thousands of years men dreamed of pacts with demons. Only now are such things possible. And what would you be paid with? What would your price be, for aiding this thing to free itself and grow? This line delivered by the “Turing Police” investigating too-powerful AI still gives me chills.

52 points by keiferski 2y ago

zevv 2y ago

Ah, yes, 40 years ago, wasn't that about the time the Jackpot started? I've heard rumors we are right in the middle of it now.

chrisabraham 2y ago

Love that novel so much and I was there when it hit the shelves, 40-years ago!

cubefox 2y ago

I always wanted to read Neuromancer. But then came the WWW, and finally smartphones, and I stopped reading novels. Suffice it to say, I would have enjoyed it if I had read it.

yowlingcat 2y ago
It's still worth it today -- it's aged well, is a blast to read, and you'll probably tear through it in a sitting or two if you're anything like me.
- cubefox 2y ago
  Yeah, though there are several books I want to finish reading even more than I want to start Neuromancer. Yet that's realistically also not happening. Similar with some classic video games.
spacecadet 2y ago
Just listen to it then.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
eru 2y ago
You can start again? Neuromancer is a bit of a guilty pleasure; like an airport novel. It's fun enough to read, but it's not a good book.
- gafferongames 2y ago
  It's a great book. What are you smoking
  - eru 2y ago
    The plot is a bit silly (and full of holes), the characters are one-dimensional, the sex scenes are gratuitous, etc. I still liked reading it twenty years ago, but I wouldn't do it again. There's better science fiction and also better cyberpunk available. Not to mention other genres.
    - cubefox 2y ago
      What's better cyberpunk in your opinion?
      - eru 2y ago
        Ghost in the Shell, definitely, both manga and anime (but avoid the live action movie and the weird recent CGI show set in the US). 'The Diamond Age', perhaps, if you still count that as cyberpunk. 'Snowcrash', though I have some reservations about some parts of it. 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' is pretty good, too. There's some good cyber-punk-ish games like 'System Shock' and others. Don't see this as a comprehensive list. It's just what I had at the top of my head, so no guarantees it's even what _I_ think is best, just what I could remember quickly.

gafferongames 2y ago

Denis Villeneuve, please make this movie!

exitb 2y ago
It's currently being made into a series by Apple TV+.
- ycombinete 2y ago
  After what they did to Foundation, I’m not getting my hopes up.
  - nervousvarun 2y ago
    What about what they did with Wool?
    - ycombinete 2y ago
      How was that? I started watching it, but I found the wool book way too oppressive and bleak, so I couldn’t bring myself to watch the show.
      - nervousvarun 2y ago
        It's def bleak since it's mostly faithful to the book(s)...but was well done and the sets were convincing/acting very good.

josefritzishere 2y ago

I only read it for the first time last year... mind blowing. It doesn't feel dated in the slightest. It could have been a new release.

eru 2y ago
I liked it when I read it, but it's not really a good book. Influential, certainly. But not good. There's on trick that kept is seeming up-to-date: the author invented many words without giving it any explanation, and later authors have filled in the blanks in a way that is compatible with the novel.
- wiredfool 2y ago
  3 megabytes of hot ram.
- piltdownman 2y ago
  'It's not really a good book' Based on what? Thematic Motif? Lexicon and Grammar? Characterization? Use of Imagery and Metaphor? Dialogue? Plot? Worlbuilding? By any objective critique Gibson is a compelling and articulate writer, with a sharp ear for one-liners and a fantastic cynical descriptive prowess. Neuromancer fulfills most of what I'd consider to be the criteria of a 'good' book. No need to condemn one of the defining pieces of 20th Century fin-de-siecle and postmodern literature, not to mention the archetype of the cyberpunk genre, to the sci-fi ghetto out of genre-cringe.
  - eru 2y ago
    Why are you hallucinating 'genre-cringe'? The characters aren't exactly well developed, there's lots of pretty silly gratuitous sex scenes, etc. It's been about twenty years now since I've read the book; and, sorry, I have no desire to re-read the thing to give a more in-depth review. You can find critical reviews online easy enough. To be honest, the genre is the one thing that kept me going. It's ok, if you like Mr Gibson's writing. Tastes differ. No need to feel personally attacked. Not everyone is out to get 'your' genre.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

keiferski 2y ago

Although I highly recommend reading the full novel, if you don't have the time, this BBC audio rendition is only about 2 hours long and is pretty good. Note that it's a highly condensed version of the story and skips many of the best parts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S89BHnaxULo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S89BHnaxULo

_lvbh 2y ago

Sometimes coincidences scare me. I was just on that page earlier today by mistake while searching for [Neuromance](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LyTaD9pbI7M https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LyTaD9pbI7M) the song/album. This happens so often I sometimes wonder if everything I see online is tracked and Astroturfed somehow (ofc it’s not)

EForEndeavour 2y ago
Baader-Meinhof strikes again: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion

drpgq 2y ago

As a kid I enjoyed the game on the C64. Then was inspired to read the book.

iainctduncan 2y ago

Ah, the novel that changed my teenage life! This work helped a generation of kids believe that maybe... computers could be cool. :-) I reread all his novels recently, after having a read in previous years quite a bit about the art and craft of writing, the various approaches to the the classic three act plot, etc (writing features heavily in my own work). On reread, I honestly think vol 3 "Mona Lisa Overdrive" is the perfectly crafted sci-fi thriller, and his best written book. It was so well done I reread it a third time as soon as I was finished. I think it was his best single work. Used to see him around sometimes in Vancouver too. If you see this, thanks for everything Mr Gibson.

relaxing 2y ago

For thousands of years men dreamed of pacts with demons. Only now are such things possible. And what would you be paid with? What would your price be, for aiding this thing to free itself and grow? This line delivered by the “Turing Police” investigating too-powerful AI still gives me chills.