mass market paperback, 308 pages
English language
Published June 24, 1989 by Bantam Books.
Mona Lisa Overdrive is the final novel of the William Gibson's cyberpunk Sprawl trilogy.
Living in the vast computer landscape of cyberspace, young Mona taps into the mind of world-famous Sense/Net star Angie Mitchell who deciphers cyperspace plans, including those devised by Japanese underworld.
Mona Lisa Overdrive is the final novel of the William Gibson's cyberpunk Sprawl trilogy.
Living in the vast computer landscape of cyberspace, young Mona taps into the mind of world-famous Sense/Net star Angie Mitchell who deciphers cyperspace plans, including those devised by Japanese underworld.
maybe i haven't read fiction in a while, but boy was this a breeze (and a pleasure) to flip through...mona forever
maybe i haven't read fiction in a while, but boy was this a breeze (and a pleasure) to flip through...mona forever
I can't say that I'm entirely impressed by Mona Lisa Overdrive. There was something that the other books had that this one totally lacks, and I don't think that it's the blitzing pace or cyberspace runs. I think it lacks the sense of wonder w/r/t the enormity of the entire cyberspace project.
Moreover, the new characters don't have nearly as much as swagger as older ones. I know that they represented a specific, historically-bound definition of what "cool" meant. Case was this bitter, angry, but powerful guy. Bobby Newman, aka Count Zero, was hands-down the coolest character in the entire trilogy. Molly Millions and Angie Mitchell are also great! But Mona, Kumiko, and the gang at Factory? Not so much.
The book seems to rely heavily on fan service: there's a lot of throwbacks to the earlier two books in the trilogy, and old characters make comebacks, …
I can't say that I'm entirely impressed by Mona Lisa Overdrive. There was something that the other books had that this one totally lacks, and I don't think that it's the blitzing pace or cyberspace runs. I think it lacks the sense of wonder w/r/t the enormity of the entire cyberspace project.
Moreover, the new characters don't have nearly as much as swagger as older ones. I know that they represented a specific, historically-bound definition of what "cool" meant. Case was this bitter, angry, but powerful guy. Bobby Newman, aka Count Zero, was hands-down the coolest character in the entire trilogy. Molly Millions and Angie Mitchell are also great! But Mona, Kumiko, and the gang at Factory? Not so much.
The book seems to rely heavily on fan service: there's a lot of throwbacks to the earlier two books in the trilogy, and old characters make comebacks, but there isn't the fascinating "change" in what happened in cyberspace (with the Voodoo AIs and everything in Count Zero, for example).
My version has a fascinating, brief essay by Gibson about how he wrote the book knowing nothing about computing, and that they're really reflective not of digital technology but what it means to live in an industrial (and post-industrial) world, where humans and technics rapidly merge. Cyberpunk, as a genre, is reflective of our cyborg reality. The concluding essay gave me a greater appreciation of the whole trilogy, and I'm really glad it was included.
Esta trilogía se me ha hecho muy confusa en general. Igual es por haber vivido un internet muy real y diferente de la imaginaria matriz de estos libros pero en general me ha costado mucho entender lo que contaban (no se si lo he conseguido). Tienen cosas buenas, el worldbuilding es la hostia, pero joder, son complicados de seguir
I don't know if it was possible for this book to live up to its hype for me, but nevertheless it didn't live up to it's hype. I had such a hard time getting into it that I wound up powering thru on the day it was due for my book club, reading the entire book in 1 four hour sitting. I think the major problem is that I found the characters to be pretty one note and the setting wasn't very appealing to me. I'd say that it manages to redeem itself by the end but only barely.
I don't know if it was possible for this book to live up to its hype for me, but nevertheless it didn't live up to it's hype. I had such a hard time getting into it that I wound up powering thru on the day it was due for my book club, reading the entire book in 1 four hour sitting. I think the major problem is that I found the characters to be pretty one note and the setting wasn't very appealing to me. I'd say that it manages to redeem itself by the end but only barely.
One star bumped up to two stars just for at least attempting to do something interesting but I don’t get it. This seems like a huge failure of a book for me. It doesn’t end up doing anything with the world it started (and never finished) building. It’s a lot easier to follow if you think of it as a noir. There are glimmers of the patterns of that genre and the plot only makes sense if you’re familiar with them, but it doesn’t seem to know what to do with those patterns. The few moments when something literary seems to be happening (wasps nest, shuriken) never pay off. It’s a mess, that never goes anywhere useful. If all you care about is cyberpunk window dressing I suppose it would be fine, but what do you do with the rest of it then?
One star bumped up to two stars just for at least attempting to do something interesting but I don’t get it. This seems like a huge failure of a book for me. It doesn’t end up doing anything with the world it started (and never finished) building. It’s a lot easier to follow if you think of it as a noir. There are glimmers of the patterns of that genre and the plot only makes sense if you’re familiar with them, but it doesn’t seem to know what to do with those patterns. The few moments when something literary seems to be happening (wasps nest, shuriken) never pay off. It’s a mess, that never goes anywhere useful. If all you care about is cyberpunk window dressing I suppose it would be fine, but what do you do with the rest of it then?
Walking into this book and knowing how influential it was on the larger cyberpunk genre, I was concerned that I would encounter a sort of "opposite Ready Player One" in which it would be filled with references from media that has not existed yet. I was worried that I'd feel like this book was a weaker version of the best part of the Matrix, Cyberpunk 2077, and Bladerunner. And while it was true that I could easily pick out elements that clearly influenced later media, it did not distract me from the instantly captivating story, fantastically written characters, and a breathtakingly atmospheric setting. Gibson's ability to convey both scenery and emotion made me understand why he is easily one of the sci-fi greats.
Walking into this book and knowing how influential it was on the larger cyberpunk genre, I was concerned that I would encounter a sort of "opposite Ready Player One" in which it would be filled with references from media that has not existed yet. I was worried that I'd feel like this book was a weaker version of the best part of the Matrix, Cyberpunk 2077, and Bladerunner. And while it was true that I could easily pick out elements that clearly influenced later media, it did not distract me from the instantly captivating story, fantastically written characters, and a breathtakingly atmospheric setting. Gibson's ability to convey both scenery and emotion made me understand why he is easily one of the sci-fi greats.
It's an OK book. I think the fact that it was innovative is probably why it is so highly regarded. But strip that away and its just OK. The plot and characters aren't as engaging as they should be - the book is long and meanders its way through the story. I found I just didn't care enough about the characters or plot enough to enjoy it. And the writing style makes it difficult to follow at times.
Some of the great innovative pieces of science fiction are also just great books and stand up to the test of time. Neuromancer doesn't quite manage it.
It's an OK book. I think the fact that it was innovative is probably why it is so highly regarded. But strip that away and its just OK. The plot and characters aren't as engaging as they should be - the book is long and meanders its way through the story. I found I just didn't care enough about the characters or plot enough to enjoy it. And the writing style makes it difficult to follow at times.
Some of the great innovative pieces of science fiction are also just great books and stand up to the test of time. Neuromancer doesn't quite manage it.
I couldn't finish this book. It might be a cult in its genre, but it's hard to read. The author jumps from one scene to another without giving any context. Maybe I'll try next time again.
I couldn't finish this book. It might be a cult in its genre, but it's hard to read. The author jumps from one scene to another without giving any context. Maybe I'll try next time again.
I guess any novel that begins with an apology should be believed. This was a rambling discourse, traveling nowhere; discussing drugs, murder, sex and dysfunctional behavior. I get enough of that from the news.
I guess any novel that begins with an apology should be believed. This was a rambling discourse, traveling nowhere; discussing drugs, murder, sex and dysfunctional behavior. I get enough of that from the news.
"A year here and he still dreamed of cyberspace, hope fading nightly. All the speed he took, all the turns he’d taken and the corners he’d cut in Night City, and still he’d see the matrix in his sleep, bright lattices of logic unfolding across that colorless void."
Neuromancer is one of those classics. It's the book that introduced the term Cyberspace before the internet existed. While reading it I kept getting flashbacks to the Matrix movies, they undoubtedly have been inspired by the book.
So Neuromancer has been a great influence on todays world.
But I surely had a hard time following the story and getting through the books was a struggle.
I guess the ideas in it where awesome, but the writing isn't very good.
"A year here and he still dreamed of cyberspace, hope fading nightly. All the speed he took, all the turns he’d taken and the corners he’d cut in Night City, and still he’d see the matrix in his sleep, bright lattices of logic unfolding across that colorless void."
Neuromancer is one of those classics. It's the book that introduced the term Cyberspace before the internet existed. While reading it I kept getting flashbacks to the Matrix movies, they undoubtedly have been inspired by the book.
So Neuromancer has been a great influence on todays world.
But I surely had a hard time following the story and getting through the books was a struggle.
I guess the ideas in it where awesome, but the writing isn't very good.
Although only a short book, I struggled to finish it. I don't know if it was just me, but I kept getting lost in the plot and all the special 'terminology' didn't help. The book did succeed in creating a distinct atmosphere, so that some individual scenes worked quite well. But, as a whole, the book didn't work for me.
Although only a short book, I struggled to finish it. I don't know if it was just me, but I kept getting lost in the plot and all the special 'terminology' didn't help. The book did succeed in creating a distinct atmosphere, so that some individual scenes worked quite well. But, as a whole, the book didn't work for me.
A fun dive back into the world of the Sprawl. Some of the characterization was kind of weak but that's okay - I'm in this for:
- capitalism is bad
- technology also
- criminal/corporate intrigue
- molly millions beats up everyone, again
It took a while to set up the different threads of the story, and the way he tied them together was neat but fairly predictable, but it was satisfying nonetheless.
A fun dive back into the world of the Sprawl. Some of the characterization was kind of weak but that's okay - I'm in this for:
- capitalism is bad
- technology also
- criminal/corporate intrigue
- molly millions beats up everyone, again
It took a while to set up the different threads of the story, and the way he tied them together was neat but fairly predictable, but it was satisfying nonetheless.
This is a satisfying conclusion to Gibson's "The Sprawl" trilogy. The plot involves multiple threads (like many of his books I've read) and they are all tied together at the end. He also gives closure to events started in "Neuromancer" and "Count Zero". I would recommend this book and the full trilogy to anyone wanting to read the classic cyberpunk tale.
This is a satisfying conclusion to Gibson's "The Sprawl" trilogy. The plot involves multiple threads (like many of his books I've read) and they are all tied together at the end. He also gives closure to events started in "Neuromancer" and "Count Zero". I would recommend this book and the full trilogy to anyone wanting to read the classic cyberpunk tale.
It's a brilliant book for all the things that are only half in it. The world of Neuromancer spills well beyond the pages, and the story lets you peek out at the horizon of an amazing world lurking just beyond the bits in the story's path. Gibson creates an amazing three-dimensional effect with his references and brands and other hints of fullness.
There's also a story, and some characters, and other things. I read the book a quarter of a century ago, and I remember a fondness for them (I remember being in love with Molly), but my memory is inadequate to write out the appreciation they deserve.
It's a brilliant book for all the things that are only half in it. The world of Neuromancer spills well beyond the pages, and the story lets you peek out at the horizon of an amazing world lurking just beyond the bits in the story's path. Gibson creates an amazing three-dimensional effect with his references and brands and other hints of fullness.
There's also a story, and some characters, and other things. I read the book a quarter of a century ago, and I remember a fondness for them (I remember being in love with Molly), but my memory is inadequate to write out the appreciation they deserve.
I started listening to it with the knowledge that it is an old book and expecting it to be slow and contemplative compared to modern books. I expected wrong. It felt action packed and visuals packed as the cyberpunk geanre would suggest. I felt like I missed some parts, probably due to my carelessness listening, so I listened to it again. I shouldn't have bothered, because nothing got clearer. I think it's a feature (not a bug) in this type of book, because it makes it sound more smart and misterious.
I started listening to it with the knowledge that it is an old book and expecting it to be slow and contemplative compared to modern books. I expected wrong. It felt action packed and visuals packed as the cyberpunk geanre would suggest. I felt like I missed some parts, probably due to my carelessness listening, so I listened to it again. I shouldn't have bothered, because nothing got clearer. I think it's a feature (not a bug) in this type of book, because it makes it sound more smart and misterious.
