It’s about a battle over virtual worlds, a revenge story that transcends death, and the ethics of punishment.
It has some brilliant ideas about the naIt’s about a battle over virtual worlds, a revenge story that transcends death, and the ethics of punishment.
It has some brilliant ideas about the nature of reality and simulation. Some of my favourite characters so far. And the usual political subtext and a commentary about power imbalance.
I thought the execution was a little clumsy. Like Consider Phlebas, it tends to go off on a tangent. There was a chunk I’m the middle that, maybe, wasn’t necessary. But it was thought provoking. A good book but not my favourite....more
The story follows a robot valet who loses his master and goes on a long journey. It’s about the robots search to find a new purpose and all the people The story follows a robot valet who loses his master and goes on a long journey. It’s about the robots search to find a new purpose and all the people and other robots he meets along the way. All while set against the backdrop of a collapsed society.
First off, this was way funnier than I thought it would be. You wouldn’t think a dystopia about a robot could be funny, but the valet’s naïve nature gets him into odd situations. It was deadpan and ironic in a very dry and British way that had me laughing out loud at times. The valet has such a child-like sense of optimism that you can’t help but smile at. And as a robot, he had very literal thinking, which made conversations unnecessarily difficult. There’s a subtle sense of satire as the valet starts to question the mundanity of modern life.
As humours as it was it was there’s also a great story in there filled with clever references to other literary works. The works of writers such as Orwell, Kafka, Dante, and a few others were re-interpreted in a more futuristic setting.
I found this robot valet’s journey into the real world to be enlightening, funny, and heart-warming. Not something you expect from a novel written from a robot’s perspective. One of the best novels I’ve read in a long time. Easily a five star read....more
A tech driven dystopian thriller filled with mysteries, mega-corporations, and the Matrix. The setting is bleak. The people are lowlifes. The tech is A tech driven dystopian thriller filled with mysteries, mega-corporations, and the Matrix. The setting is bleak. The people are lowlifes. The tech is out of control.
One thing I found strange about the previous book, Count Zero, was that it was a completely separate story to Neuromancer. Count Zero was set in the same world as Neuromancer, but it followed different characters and the connection to the first book was tenuous at best. Mona Lisa Overdrive fixes that. It takes all the loose threads from book one and two and ties them into a completed narrative.
There are a few little things I don’t like about Gibson’s writing style. The narrative doesn’t progress as smoothly as you would expect. It’s like, you don’t know where it’s going. It’s disjointed. Then, right around the 90% mark, all the moving parts get slammed together. I’m not a fan of that, but it’s just one small aspect of these novels. Another thing that could have been better was the characters. They felt a little two-dimensional. Out of about five main characters, only two of them had interesting back stories.
Despite the narrative style, I still think this is culturally relevant. It was ground-breaking when it came out, and even 35-ish years later it still feels ahead of its time. With the way tech companies seem to be getting so powerful and AI getting more advanced every week, Gibson’s work seems to be more relevant than ever. I like to read cyberpunk to stay on top of what’s going on....more
Set in Macau, about 80 years in the future. Main character is an Australian gangster trying to get out of the business to protect his family. It’s gotSet in Macau, about 80 years in the future. Main character is an Australian gangster trying to get out of the business to protect his family. It’s got gang warfare, chromed up fights and simulation induced paranoia. A bleak but real view of the future.
As with most cyberpunk, it’s a warning of the misuse of technology by powerful people. Tech gets more and more advanced. The little guy gets more and more screwed over.
Usually, I listen to audiobooks at a faster playback. 1.5 or 3.0 if it’s a bad book. I listened to this at regular speed. Wanted to take it all in....more
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