Anyone a William Gibson/Cyberpunk Reader?

FreaqyFrequency · #1 01-19-2009, 06:49 PM

I've just ordered Neuromancer, I'm looking forward to getting into the series. My sister highly recommends them.

What do you all think?

Beta · #2 01-19-2009, 07:43 PM

Read them all, back in the day. Some of my favorite stuff.

Don't like any of his newer books. He got known for science fiction, and I don't think he transitioned into "semi-realistic" fiction, for lack of a better term, too well.

If you should pick up Burning Chrome, do yourself a favor and do not watch Johnny Mnemonic if you haven't already. You will hate the movie if you read the story first (and it should be very obvious why, aside from the fact that the movie stars Keanu Reeves). I don't want to give anything away, but it has to be one of the worst movie adaptations ever.

hartke20g · #3 01-19-2009, 07:44 PM

i'm not too much for the cyberpunk stuff, but i'm a sucker for steampunk and dieselpunk. all good stuff, though. i gotta say, i wish a lot of the stuff these people come up with really existed; most of it's really cool.

kesslari · #4 01-19-2009, 07:47 PM

Neuromancer is great. Read it years ago. I sort of wonder how it will read now, 20 or so years later - if it will seem dated, or still hold up.

MakiSupaStar · #5 01-19-2009, 07:49 PM

Yep. Big fan.

Ben Lesser · #6 01-19-2009, 07:50 PM

I read Neuromancer ages ago, and am re-reading it again soon for a course I'm taking.

Steampunk is also very cool.

invisiman · #7 01-19-2009, 08:08 PM

Read Nueromancer and Mona Lisa Overdrive twice. Count Zero is the third book in my queue at the moment (just got it yesterday).

Akeris · #8 01-19-2009, 08:16 PM

LOOOOOVE the Sprawl trilogy.

And Stephenson.

And a bunch of older cyberpunk/proto-cyberpunk that no one's heard of.

FreaqyFrequency · #9 01-19-2009, 09:56 PM

Nice. I never imagined I'd get this many replies so quickly.

It'll be good to know that I'm in good company.

Bard2dbone · #10 01-19-2009, 11:28 PM

I read them a long time back. I might do it again.

lemur821 · #11 01-20-2009, 12:03 AM

I thought Neuromancer didn't live up to its first few pages, but it was cool. I like his other stuff. I'm curious to see how I like the second two books in the Sprawl trilogy, since those are the only ones I haven't read.

**bassybill** · #12 01-20-2009, 12:21 AM

Good stuff, the Sprawl trilogy. Be prepared to be pretty confused and be willing to think quite hard if you want to understand what the heck is going on. But well worth the effort.

Gibson certainly managed to weave some interesting and sometimes very cool ideas and maybe predictions about hardware/software/data storage capacities/the Net/biotechnology/big corporations/media/crime/drugs/global and national politics and power sharing into those three books.

**bassybill** · #13 01-20-2009, 12:24 AM

Anybody hear ever read The Difference Engine? Man, that was hard work, but thought provoking.

(It was all about a world where the IT revolution happened in the nineteenth century, for those who don't know the book.)

Georynn · #14 01-20-2009, 10:15 AM

Thats the one that had the Giant mechanical computers?

I read that one a few years back...not bad.. but not as dificult to get through as "FEERSUM ENDJINN"

Love cyberpunk stuff... genius stuff when well done...

**WillPlay4Food** · #15 01-20-2009, 10:24 AM

I've enjoyed most of Gibson's books that I've read except for one thing, IMHO he can't end a story to save his life. I've read Neuromancer (I thought this was the best of the books I've read), Count Zero & Mona Lisa Overdrive at least. I know I've read another book of his but cannot remember it now (wasn't Difference Engine for sure).

As for Johnny Mnemonic, if nothing else, it does have Henry Rollins in it. That's gotta count for something, right? *crickets*

WalterBush · #16 01-20-2009, 10:32 AM

I love William Gibson's work. As far as I know, I've read all of his books. If I've missed any, I'll correct the mistake as soon as I find out about it.

Pay attention, especially to the endings. They require the reader to fill in a lot of blanks, which I believe is his intention.

**baba** · #17 01-20-2009, 01:09 PM

Yes. Also try some Neal Stephenson.

chrisisnotevil · #18 01-20-2009, 02:34 PM

i love william gibson, and personally i think his work has got better as he's matured. the difference engine needs to be read and re-read, it's an amazing vision. i think the newest books are extremely well observed, but his recent fascination with and subsequent overuse of the word "crepuscular" disturbs me.

MadMan118 · #19 01-20-2009, 06:58 PM

A friend of mine got me into Gibson and the whole concept of cyberpunk in general, still lovin it.

ksandvik · #20 01-20-2009, 07:00 PM

I read this book 1987 while traveling on a train through the jungles of Sri Lanka from the southern tip to Colombo. The train stopped a couple of times -- supposedly 'accidents' along the trip.

It's best to make the environment very interesting while reading this book. In this case the contrasts were like day and night.