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Reading Neuromancer for the first time in 2025

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Re: Reading Neuromancer for the first time in 2025

#421

Post by LightBug1 »

troseph wrote: post #394
LightBug1 wrote: post #295

Obligatory reminder to listen to the audiobook read by Gibson himself. I think they did a great job with that production. He's not a natural but his southern drawl really adds flavour, along with the soundtrack and effects. Love it.

I couldn't find this anywhere, I tried the version on audible but it can barely stay awake. The narration is soooooo bland.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYn090EvNBcinpVcrKNmY...

You're welcome. Just listened to the first chapter and the youtube version feels a tad slower than I remember. Perhaps that's just Gibson stoned. Audio versions are on the t0rr3nt sites also

Re: Reading Neuromancer for the first time in 2025

#422

Post by PontingClarke »

daremon wrote: post #107

I had the opposite experience with Neuromancer. I read it too many times! Sorry for the long post (translated by GPT as it was originally in Greek). In September 1993, I started my final year of high school in Greece, aiming to study Computer Science. A girl I barely knew heard I was into computers and handed me Neuromancer, the 1989 Greek edition. I still have it. I already loved science fiction, though my reading h…

[dead]

Re: Reading Neuromancer for the first time in 2025

#423

Post by NikolaNovak »

more_corn wrote: post #399
NikolaNovak wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fascinating story :-).Neuromancer is a book I reread often - like Dune, it has a rich tapestry of background world building. There is nothing surprising about plot anymore, but it is like a place I like to return to.

Dosadi Experiment is better than Dune. Just sayin.

I will check it out ; in which manner is it superior?

Re: Reading Neuromancer for the first time in 2025

#424

Post by wj »

roughly wrote: post #289
the__alchemist wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A more charitable description highlights that Gibson is more literary than the authors you're comparing to. He has an artistic flourish to his wording, and he's very good at it. This isn't to detract from your main point. It's interesting to think about that in Stephenson novels (I don't wish to draw too deep a comparison, but many make it between Snow Crash and Neuromancer), it is interesting to note how deep Stephe…

Yeah, I certainly didn't mean it to denigrate Gibson - his writing is beautiful, and I think he's one of the most perceptive Sci-fi writers going. The Blue Ant trilogy was one of the best encapsulations of the "new" world at the turn of the millenium, and reading The Peripheral has the terrifying quality of being given a prophecy of a future you don't want. I've mentioned it elsewhere, but "This Is How You Lose the T…

Agree with your sentiment. How to Lose the Time War read like a poem.

Re: Reading Neuromancer for the first time in 2025

#425

Post by hodgesrm »

tialaramex wrote: post #254
gcanyon wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was alive at that time and working in tech. That paragraph is not a good imitation of the atmosphere and cadence of the language. :-)

Yeah, I was alive but I wasn't yet working in this discipline. Still though I think Gibson's work is exactly the kind of thing Lem deplores about that period of US Science Fiction. The practitioners have no idea what they're talking about, so even if they are "What if?" stories - which is the whole point of SF - their answers to the question are no better than a random man on the street. Instead of the standard good…

As the Romans say, "there's no point arguing about taste." I find Gibson's stories hard to follow in some cases, but at the same time he is very inventive when it comes to language and mood. I find it worth the effort. To calibrate, my favorite sci-fi author is a toss-up between Stephenson (wildly entertaining) and LeGuin (digs into human relations and society like almost no other author).

Re: Reading Neuromancer for the first time in 2025

#426

Post by daremon »

metroholografix wrote: post #402
daremon wrote: post #107

I had the opposite experience with Neuromancer. I read it too many times! Sorry for the long post (translated by GPT as it was originally in Greek). In September 1993, I started my final year of high school in Greece, aiming to study Computer Science. A girl I barely knew heard I was into computers and handed me Neuromancer, the 1989 Greek edition. I still have it. I already loved science fiction, though my reading h…

Great story! I also read Neuromancer for the first time in Greek translation (Αίολος), around 1995, knowing nothing about the book otherwise. It was a blind buy in a bookstore solely because I liked the cover and the short synopsis on the back. It was a book that changed my life. I remember being drenched in sweat when I finished it, and I immediately re-read it without a break. I was already at age 14 hopelessly hoo…

So many common things! It also inspired my love for Linux (I installed Slackware back then), for "hacking" and also pushed me into the demoscene which I much enjoyed!

PS I read the one by AQUARIUS

Re: Reading Neuromancer for the first time in 2025

#427

Post by [deleted] »

daremon wrote: post #426
metroholografix wrote: post #402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great story! I also read Neuromancer for the first time in Greek translation (Αίολος), around 1995, knowing nothing about the book otherwise. It was a blind buy in a bookstore solely because I liked the cover and the short synopsis on the back. It was a book that changed my life. I remember being drenched in sweat when I finished it, and I immediately re-read it without a break. I was already at age 14 hopelessly hoo…

So many common things! It also inspired my love for Linux (I installed Slackware back then), for "hacking" and also pushed me into the demoscene which I much enjoyed! PS I read the one by AQUARIUS

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