r/Neuromancer

Doing another re-read. Typing out some cool sentences to get that Gibson prose in my fingers.

It was a Russian military prosthesis, a seven-function force-feedback manipulator, cased in grubby pink plastic.

I like the hyper-specificity of 'seven-function'. I also like the sound of these compound adjectives. I think Gibson makes interesting sentences that are enjoyable to re-read because they can be complex but not purple. They are clinical and precise, never flowery. Some are a bit long and show-offy, more so than others, but still quite clean.

In the bars he'd frequented as a cowboy hotshot, the elite stance involved a certain relaxed contempt for the flesh.

I like the pairing of "elite" with "stance" and "relaxed" with "contempt".

The rain kept up, falling along Harajuku, beading on her plastic jacket, the children of Tokyo trooping past the famous boutiques in white loafers and clingwrap capes, until she'd stood with him in the midnight clatter of a pachinko parlor and held his hand like a child.

Gibson does seem to like alliteration too much at times, especially in names: Molly Millions, Sally Shears, Linda Lee, etc. In the above sentence we have "clingwrap capes" and "pachinko parlor". I like these, though, especially "pachinko." Advice for amateur writers seems to focus on using better verbs and avoiding weak adjectives and adverbs. I think one of Gibson's strengths is the use of concrete, specific and cool-sounding nouns, and adjectives that either contribute to rhythm or are unexpected.

She dug a crumpled pack of Yeheyuan filters from an ankle pocket and offered him one.

A fairly simple sentence, but the use of "Yeheyuan" and "ankle pocket" elevate even his very workman-like sentence to something better than average filler.

All the meat, he thought, and all it wants.

More literary than other examples above, and more famous, but so cool.

With his hands in the pockets of his jacket, he stared through the glass at a flat lozenge of vatgrown flesh that lay on a carved pedestal of imitation jade.

A "lozenge of vatgrown flesh" is both gross and cool, haha.

Then you could throw yourself into a highspeed drift and skid, totally engaged but set apart from it all, and all around you the dance of biz, information interacting, data made flesh in the mazes of the black market...

Not entirely sure what this means but I know I like it.

The eyes were vatgrown sea-green Nikon transplants.

I like how Gibson mixes familiar brands with invented ones to create texture.

Anybody have other favorites from Chapter One, besides the legendary first sentence? Why do you like it?

A few months back I finally finished reading all of the stories in The Sprawl. I started with Neuromancer probably about three years ago then finished the trilogy with Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive. Then I was hungry for more so I read the short stories set in The Sprawl (Johnny Mnemonic, Burning Chrome, and New Rose Hotel). I’ve been consistently blown away by everything I’ve read and I find (as I’m sure a lot of others do) that these are a particularly relevant read in today’s world.

I personally read the books while listening to old 90s tracker music from Andrew Sega (Necros), Dan Gardopée (Basehead), and Alexander Brandon (Siren). All of them were in a video game music company called Straylight Productions (an obvious reference to the books) and are known for their music in classic computer games like Crusader: No Remorse, Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Tyrian, Jazz Jackrabbit 2, and Deus Ex. They were also involved in a computer subculture called Demoscene and two of them were in an important netlabel called Five Musicians. I think some of their music is unbelievably fitting for the books and has the perfect combination of sounding futuristic while also being relatively “period appropriate” with its use of outdated computer technology from the mid nineties.

I know plenty of people probably read the books without music but I was curious what others might like to listen to while reading. I’d also like to know if there are any other old school Demoscene and tracker music fans in this sub.

Here’s my playlist (some are on YouTube and some are on the Netlabel Archive under Five Musicians):

Andrew Sega (Necros):
Gateway
Isotoxin
Wired96 report
Babylon (demo)

Dan Gardopée (Basehead)
Passion Play
Glow Bug
The Zen Garden
Icarus Rising

Alexander Brandon (Siren)
Exploration
Heavy
NightVision
Technojunkie
The Blue Hippo
Universe Electric
Werd7