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Comment by diggan | Hacker News Reader

> Fiction: Neuromancer

I've tried twice to read this, but it looses me about 10% in for some reason. Is it worth continuing past that? Does it get "better"? Or does that just signal that the whole book isn't for me?

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I was in your boat. I revisited later and powered through and it does indeed get better. The narrative forms into something more cohesive and you start being less exhausted by all the lingo because you've learned it. You settle in. You have to sort of try to immerse yourself. I'd recommend trying to read in larger chunks of time and really absorb the aesthetic of the world.

This is exactly how I feel about Dune. The invented words and world-building are overwhelming at first, but once you absorb them it makes the narrative richer.

At least Dune has a glossary in the back.

Herbert was very clever in the sense that his made up words were close to real words. They were easily guessable.

> exhausted by all the lingo

I think that was my problem with Burning Chrome. Every sentence contained a new word or three that the reader is supposed to guess by context or conversation. Combined with something that read like stream-of-consciousness narration. I literally had no idea what was even happening after 30 or 45 minutes of reading.

But then I had the same problem with Shakespeare, so maybe I'm just dimmer than most folk.

Neuromancer definitely has a unique prose style that Gibson came up with. And a lot of people do find it to be something of a turn-off. Me, I enjoyed it on the first read 30+ years ago and still enjoy it on re-reads. But it's hard to say whether or not somebody else will find it enjoyable. All I can say is that I/ve enjoyed Neuromancer enough to read it 4 or 5 times and will probably read it again at some point.

I think when you read it matters. I read it after cyberpunk was already established and so I honestly don't remember much about it.

I read it fast and ignored all the words I didn't understand. You get in the zone. It was great.

I love Neuromancer specifically for the first third or so, so maybe the latter?

IMO the first part of the book is peak cyberpunk vibes. In particular I read it almost like I would read poetry, late at night when I can't sleep, sometimes jumping back and forth between pages.

I was like you. Plowed through it a couple of times but most of the book didn't make sense.

Then I read a big plot summary I found online and read it again and I really enjoyed it.

It might be worth reading the short stories in 'Burning Chrome'.

Also, there is an excellent BBC audio drama made from the book. It's on Youtube.

It's been a long time since I read it, but it definitely gets better.

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