It’s awesome when you’re 14 and into fantasy. Not so much later in life. I reread it a few years ago because I remember loving it as a kid. I couldn’t even finish it. Maybe I’m just not as into fantasy anymore.

It’s not written like typical sci-fi, it’s more like an art house (for lack of a better term) novel that happens to have a sci-fi setting. William Burroughs was a major influence on his writing and Neuromancer is perhaps the most obvious example of that.

It rewards re-reading immensely, I would advise to just go with the flow and don’t sweat the bits you can’t quite grasp, a lot of it makes more sense over time or clicks when you re-read it. It is incredibly worth it, imo, an absolute masterpiece of literary talent and prescient speculative fiction.

Having said that, if that style isn’t really your thing and you prefer more straight-forward sci-fi, then you will probably not dig it.

edit: After posting this comment I re-loaded my feed and there’s a post about William Burroughs directly above this one. Bill would be pleased.

Yeah its on another level. I think the disorientation is deliberate, to give a sense of immersion in a confusing and complex future world. Another book like that is Clockwork Orange.

If you’re really not enjoying it, maybe come back in a few years and give it another go, or try another of Gibson’s books. They aren’t all as tricky as this one. That said I do like this one and it kind of blew my mind when I first read it back in the 80s. I reread it recently and I think picked up on a lot more of the actual plot this time.

You are not alone and I did read it for the first time this year.

I also started reading count Zero and it’s much easier to follow.

Like others said it’s somewhat supposed to be disorienting in terms of world but also the phrase structure is confusing at times. I remember that in many dialogues it was hard to keep track of who said what.

It’s a pretty good book tho. At some point in the beginning I googled and got a reddit post with people in the comments summarizing the first few chapters (that I had already read) and it was good to consolidate. You can also google some of the terms at some point. By the end it’s definitely much easier to follow

It’s my favorite cyberpunk/sci-fi book, but I like a book that demands I take my time with it.

I should re-read it, actually. I don’t remember it being as hard to get into as people say, but that’s not an uncommon opinion so you’re not alone.

You’re supposed to feel disoriented. Gibson is trying to capture a sense of a future that is accellerating to the point where humans can no longer exist there as we are.

The terminology is supposed to feel bewildering. Don’t sweat it. You’ll piece things together through context.

Stick with it. It’s the kind of book that is capable of completely rewiring your brain. An absolute masterpiece.

With all that being said, maybe try reading the short story Johnny Mnemonic first? That functions as an introduction to the setting and might be a more approachable way to ease yourself into his style. Fewer characters, a smaller, more compact scenario.

First of all: you don’t have to like it.

I agree with you that the first chapters are confusing and overwhelming, but as others have already said this is deliberate. The storylines converge later on which makes it easier to follow what’s happening. In my experience the book handles it very well to balance its sci-fi themes with a compelling story you want to follow.

Go up until the first major heist and if you still aren’t a fan then I’d say don’t continue, as there’s some scenes even more confusing to come. The second time you read it it’ll be more enjoyable

I think a lot of the appeal is that it does just drop you right in at the deep end and doesn’t set out much of the bigger picture stuff right there at the front. It’s not going to be to everyone’s liking.

It’s got a lot in common with hardboiled stories, except that where your classic hardboiled detective is moving through a world we are somewhat familiar with, Case is moving through somewhere rather more exotic. You might get some benefit from reading Burning Chrome and Johnny Mnemonic which are short stories then coming back.

There is probably something to be said for just visualising rather than trying to understand.

I read the book once a decade ago and again last week. It’s supposed to be jarring and to drop you into an alien seeming world. But it does all come together in the end.

If you’re having trouble imagining the world, I recommend playing Cyberpunk 2077. It’s fuuuuull of references to the Sprawl Trilogy and honestly some things are close enough to almost be copyright violations

Not just you, relieved to see someone else express it. I always intended to give Neuromancer another try, but I got distracted. Now y’all have inspired me to shift it back to the top of the reading list.

It can’t be as difficult as Lies, Inc, right?

It doesn’t get any clearer. Just read it. Just experience it. It’ll come together at some point after you finish. Stop trying to understand everything and just read!

It’s supposed to be that way. As the novel proceeds, eventually the reader figures out what the heck is happening, more or less, and by the end, most of the confusion is gone.

I really like the last book in the same series, Mona Lisa Overdrive, and it’s written with the same approach of initial confusion that gradually becomes clear, and to me they are both really cool books. It’s fine that it doesn’t make sense at the start of the book. It gradually makes more sense, and (to me at least) it’s a cool, stylistically hip ride, even at the confusing start where things are just strange little fragments and it’s not clear who the characters are, what the main ‘factions’ are, and what the plot even is.

Also, keep in mind that when the book was written, the audience was not familiar at all with cyberpunk stuff, and yet it was really well received for the most part. It’s not expected that the reader knows what is happening at first.

After recently reading Children Of Time and Children Of Ruin, I just don’t have the heart to read Children Of Memory. So kudos to you for that accomplishment. The writing was so rambling, verbose, and often confusing. If this book is beyond that, then I’d say… perhaps it is better reused as a doorstop? 😁

If you don’t like it, don’t read it.

I personally liked it from the start, but it’s got a style that’s not easy. Also, a lot of it is very dated, so when you read about things like pocket sized VCRs it won’t make much sense.