Customer Reviews

Mona Lisa Overdrive

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gibson's writing is gritty urban poetry. Every phrase is polished, shaped. This is THX writing. Science fiction doesn't get any better than this.

But who cares? Molly was there. I love that razorgirl. Makes me want glass eyes.

Read the other two first. I find this series to be the best of his stuff, but you need to be into it. Gibson, like most of his Sci-Fi contemporaries, is an acquired taste. Iduro is also very good, and more accessible.

Third book in the series. Do not read this book if you have not read the first three. This one keeps the reader on the edge of their seat with great characters, technology and an interesting view of drugs in the future. The reader will be left thinking about many of Gibson's concepts after the book is over. It has a better ending then Count Zero also but as usual it leaves the reader hanging. I really enjoyed the return of Molly (who might just be the best female action character of all time).

In such a rapidly evolving world as our own, the future is only just around the corner, and yet for the majority of us, beyond our imagination.

Gibson has a gift; he writes of a time, not far away, in which our current technological progress has succeded and is hungry for more. The world of which you read is protratyed so convincingly that, for the reader, this vision soon becomes the backdrop for the stories Gibson has to tell. A time in which the interaction between man and machine is as easy as breathing. Gibson writes of the future as if it were history.

This novel is the end of a trilogy and yet comfortably stands alone as an individual piece. With this book Gibson gives greater insight into his previous works and tells a sharp, page turning tale of corporate manipulation, zaibatsu war, and plain survival in a world that is hard to escape from. Not unlike Gibson's AI's, this story loops, intertwines and mutates what has gone before.

For a newcomer to Gibson, this book will be an eye-opener - for those who know this writer's work, it's a must.

"Mona Lisa Overdrive" is an insightful look into the meaning of celebrity as it is shaped and distorted in Gibson's cyberspace future. Characters from "Neuromancer" and "Count Zero" return, showing new facets to their already complex personalities. Those who haven't read the previous two books in the "Cyberspace" trilogy should read them first, in sequence, before delving again into richly textured landscapes which Gibson evokes through his sparse, lyrical prose. Yet I can assure you that "Mona Lisa Overdrive" is well worth waiting for. The plot moves along at a more leisurely pace here than before, allowing Gibson time to delve more deeply into his character's minds. Anyone wishing to read a great work of literature that is also classic cyberpunk science fiction won't be disappointed with "Mona Lisa Overdrive".

I've been reading many stuff about Gibson nowadays - that he "lost his touch", can't do good books anymore, etc.

Truth is, the big "Wow!" factor of Gibson is really lost - he's not a "new" author anymore, he has become his standard and is now writing on his own style, not trying to do many new stuff.

With this book, Gibson does a thrilling "cyberpunk" science fiction book. With post-modern science fiction from the start to the end, this is a book I enjoyed reading a lot - it doesn't get lost on any crazy philosophy/political discussion at the middle of it.

It's different from previous of Gibson's books in the point that's much more of a "consumer/pop" book - easy to read, and the story itself looks much more like a hollywood-movie script - but still a book to enjoy.

As usual, Gibson opens with an intriguing line then proceeds to send the reader on a wild ride in a beautifully imagined world. This is the third in the Neuromancer trilogy and would be confusing to those who haven't read Neuromancer or Count Zero. Of course if you've read either of the first two books you probably can't wait to read this one. Well, it's worth the wait. These stories will be hallmarks of 20th century literature and that's no mere hyperbole.

The form of this novel reminded me of a sea urchin, radiating out from a center; dense in the heart, sharp and threatening from numerous points. As spines, the narrator offered a beautiful mix of technology and humanism: at one point exploring the matrices of cyberspace while at another delving into the complexities of drug addiction and celebrity. And in keeping with this eclectic style, no single character or theme dominated the story. Moreover, by narrating clearly and entertainingly the novel ends up as a cohesive whole. It was uncanny, really, how the narrator was able to use language to not only tell a great story, but detail a universe where permanent habitats exist off of Earth, where computers commune with extra terrestrial life, and where mankind slowly continues to merge with technology. My only complaint is that I couldn't stay in that universe just a bit longer.

I had never seen Count Zero in the stores, so I thought this one was the sequel to Neuromancer instead of the 3rd. I followed it okay, and enjoyed it too, but definitely felt like I was on the outside looking in, always playing catch up. So, read the first two first, then this one, and enjoy! Much more of this one takes place in the real world than Neuromancer, so I found it much easier to "see" what was going on. And since it's not so caught up in the gadgetry, the characters come through more fully.