Back to the main page

Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: Twist0059@***.com Twist0059@***.com
Subject: Neuromancer
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 22:05:21 EDT
A lot of people have varying opinions (strong opinions, I might add) of
Gibson and this work, which pretty much everyone agrees introduced mainstream
America to cyberpunk, thereafter the hatred/andor/love comes into play.

My question is, why did Neuromancer suddenly introduce mainstream America to
cyberpunk? What made that novel so special? (Not talking about quality here,
but rather as to persuade mainstream readers to buy it.)





Twist
Message no. 2
From: Robert Watkins robert.watkins@******.com
Subject: Neuromancer
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 12:18:31 +1000
Twist writes:
> My question is, why did Neuromancer suddenly introduce mainstream
> America to
> cyberpunk? What made that novel so special? (Not talking about
> quality here,
> but rather as to persuade mainstream readers to buy it.)

Good book reviews, mainly due to the fact that Gibson was chummy with the
reviewer.

--
.sig deleted to conserve electrons. robert.watkins@******.com
Message no. 3
From: Drew Curtis dcurtis@***.net
Subject: Neuromancer
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 00:27:06 -0400 (EDT)
On Wed, 23 Jun 1999, Robert Watkins wrote:

> Twist writes:
> > My question is, why did Neuromancer suddenly introduce mainstream
> > America to
> > cyberpunk? What made that novel so special? (Not talking about
> > quality here,
> > but rather as to persuade mainstream readers to buy it.)
>
> Good book reviews, mainly due to the fact that Gibson was chummy with the
> reviewer.
>
I think it has a lot to do with the media referring to it all the time as
the first cyberpunk novel. Since no one knew any better, everyone assumed
it was so.

Drew Curtis, President, Digital Crescent, Incorporated
http://www.dcr.net (502) 226 3376 Internet and Software Design services.
Offering dial-up Access from Frankfort to Louisville and all points between.
Message no. 4
From: Quindrael D.N.M.vanNederveen@****.warande.ruu.nl
Subject: Neuromancer
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 10:23:44 +0200
>I think it has a lot to do with the media referring to it all the time as
>the first cyberpunk novel. Since no one knew any better, everyone assumed
>it was so.

It might not have been the first cyberpunk novel, but I think it was the
first one being _labeled_ cyberpunk. The term didn't exist before (AFAIK).

VrGr David

"We are all of different sexes, though with only two brands of equipment"
(Greg Bear - "Slant")

mailto:alamais@***.nl for regular mail
mailto:D.N.M.vanNederveen@****.warande.ruu.nl if your mail has any large
attachments
Message no. 5
From: James Dening james@************.force9.co.uk
Subject: Neuromancer
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 15:15:27 +0100
> Twist writes:
> > My question is, why did Neuromancer suddenly introduce mainstream
> > America to
> > cyberpunk? What made that novel so special? (Not talking about
> > quality here,
> > but rather as to persuade mainstream readers to buy it.)
>
> Good book reviews, mainly due to the fact that Gibson was chummy with the
> reviewer.
>

Two things IMO: the first was solicitious timing - modems for home computers
were just becoming affordable/available - people were starting to use JANET etc.
- 'twas the birth of the internet, which was around for *years* in a tiny way
before the boom in the mid-nineties...

And secondly, having been a book reviewer in a previous life, and an avid s-f
fan since I was about seven, I am constantly amazed by the sheer number of people
who go out of their way to tell us how little they care for Gibson's work. Idoru and
V.Light I'm not so sure about, but his initial trilogy of work remains one of the
most original, gripping, intense and farsighted pieces of literature it has ever
been my absolute joy to read. I seriously doubt the veracity of those who
claim to have read it and label it as trivial and ill thought-out. The three books
are individually good - as a series it is a tour de force. It is a rare hard s-f book
that is of sufficient quality to cross the divide into the mainstream and Neuromancer
and it's sequels were definitely of this calibre. I am embarrassed every time I read a
few pages of Gibson, and compare it with the level of dross that passes for much
sf, especially cyberpunk, these days...

Read them again, and wonder at the world that Gibson brings to life...

So, there you go: right concept at the right time, and by being very, very well
written.

James.


PS Then read The Difference Engine - lovely slant on a similar theme...

Further Reading

If you enjoyed reading about Neuromancer, you may also be interested in:

Disclaimer

These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

Thwap!