6th out of 143 books
—
520 voters
Mona Lisa Overdrive (Sprawl #3)
William Gibson, author of the extraordinary multiaward-winning novel Neuromancer, has written his most brilliant and thrilling work to date . . .The Mona Lisa Overdrive.Enter Gibson's unique world--lyric and mechanical, erotic and violent, sobering and exciting--where multinational corporations and high tech outlaws vie for power, traveling into the computer-generated univ...more
Mass Market Paperback, 308 pages
Published
December 1989
by Spectra
(first published 1988)
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Mona Lisa Overdrive is the third book in Gibson's Sprawl trilogy, and it's the most fully-realized of the three. The plots of Neuromancer and Count Zero followed the same pattern, and Count Zero really only served as a bridge between the first and third books. Mona Lisa Overdrive flips back and forth between four subplots which weave together nicely, both with each other and with the previous two books. The characters start to matter a little more and feel more like real people than 2D plot-pupp...more
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
In Mona Lisa Overdrive, the third and final novel in William Gibson’s Sprawl trilogy, it’s been seven years since Angie Mitchell (from Count Zero) was taken out of Maas Biolabs and now she’s a famous simstim star who’s trying to break her designer drug habit. But a jealous Lady 3Jane plans to kidnap Angie and replace her with a cheap prostitute named Mona Lisa who’s addicted to stimulants and happens to look like Angie.
In a dilapidated section of New Jerse...more
In Mona Lisa Overdrive, the third and final novel in William Gibson’s Sprawl trilogy, it’s been seven years since Angie Mitchell (from Count Zero) was taken out of Maas Biolabs and now she’s a famous simstim star who’s trying to break her designer drug habit. But a jealous Lady 3Jane plans to kidnap Angie and replace her with a cheap prostitute named Mona Lisa who’s addicted to stimulants and happens to look like Angie.
In a dilapidated section of New Jerse...more
So my friend John commented that, given the fact that I was "currently reading" Mona Lisa Overdrive and had Count Zero marked as "to read", it seemed like I was reading the trilogy backwards. To which my only response is "Trilo-what-now?"
The edition of MLO that I read is the exact same one as the cover scan in the GoodReads database. Yes, I know, it's too small to make out any small details. So you'll have to trust me when I say that there is no indication on either the front cover, back cover,...more
The edition of MLO that I read is the exact same one as the cover scan in the GoodReads database. Yes, I know, it's too small to make out any small details. So you'll have to trust me when I say that there is no indication on either the front cover, back cover,...more
The Count returns! It’s a fantastic ending to the trilogy. Angie – the girl with the ability to mentally connect to the internet – is back. As is Sally or Molly as she’s known in Neuromancer. New characters come in – Kukimo – a young, Japanese girl; and Mona – a young American junkie. There’s the damaged Slick Henry who builds fabulous, huge automatons to exorcise his demons. The plot is fun – 3Jane is jealous of Angie – now an international simstim star – and plans to kill her and replace her w...more
only for Neuromancer fanatics, the hazy sunday afternoon tone-piece to neuromancer's absolutist frenetic friday night. set in a somewhat cloudy london after ww3, the speed, tempo, and temperature of the prose is cool/calm rather than cool/hyper and low-key compared to the hyper-velocity and intensity of the originating work. author plays with some of the characters established in neuromancer (and famously lost artistic control over the name 'molly millions' so character goes by 'sally shears') s...more
The sum total and conclusion of the Sprawl Trilogy. If you've read one, I would say read to the end. My original understanding, before reading, was that the Sprawl Trilogy was more loosely connected and had more to do with certain themes and the occasional crossover of characters. This is a gross over-simplification at best and a flat out lie at the least. This final chapter in the trilogy manages to bring all the stories together as hinted at the end of Count Zero. In a fine fashion Gibson demo...more
If Neuromancer was debut brilliance, Count Zero was a continuation that lacked the punch of the first in the Sprawl trilogy, yet still packed enough crowd pleasing swagger to make it a top class read (with, perhaps, the lack of purpose that greatness demands).
In hindsight, this is perhaps the way a great trilogy should go, because one's expectations are set perhaps a tad lower by the time you get to Mona Lisa Overdrive. So you're nicely set up for the rabbit punch when it comes.
Gibson has broug...more
In hindsight, this is perhaps the way a great trilogy should go, because one's expectations are set perhaps a tad lower by the time you get to Mona Lisa Overdrive. So you're nicely set up for the rabbit punch when it comes.
Gibson has broug...more
I guess I wasn't fully prepared for this book. "Mona Lisa Overdrive" is the third in Gibson's "Sprawl" trilogy, but it's been over 15 years since I read the first two and I didn't remember all the details that would help to get through this.
I'm not sure I understood all of it, definitely not much about the combination of voodoo and high tech as it was in Angie's head or the Aleph device.
This continues Gibson's futuristic, fairly dirty, gritty dystopian sort of future with drugs and a global high...more
I'm not sure I understood all of it, definitely not much about the combination of voodoo and high tech as it was in Angie's head or the Aleph device.
This continues Gibson's futuristic, fairly dirty, gritty dystopian sort of future with drugs and a global high...more
If you have read the first two books of The Sprawl series (Neuromancer, Count Zero) then you must read this as it wraps everything up nicely. I feel it is necessary to read the first two novels for this to make sense as Mona Lisa Overdrive references these and the book is already full of Gibson's well known multiple plot lines without throwing in references outside of the book - it ould just do your head in. I feel this is the best of the three books due to the way it wraps things up. It is full...more
A real-world allusion in this novel akin to the Joseph-Cornell-like boxes in Count Zero is the artist who builds mechanized sculptures, who was inspired by the founder of Survival Research Laboratories…
William Gibson's lesser achievements are still better than the best work of many other authors. But, regarding this novel and its predecessor--that is, volumes two and three of what came to be called the Sprawl trilogy--I more or less agree with the Science Fiction Encyclopedia entry on Gibson: th...more
William Gibson's lesser achievements are still better than the best work of many other authors. But, regarding this novel and its predecessor--that is, volumes two and three of what came to be called the Sprawl trilogy--I more or less agree with the Science Fiction Encyclopedia entry on Gibson: th...more
The Sprawl Trilogy consists of:
* Neuromancer
* Count Zero
* Mona Lisa Overdrive
Gibson invented the cyberpunk subgenre with this plot-wise loosely connected series of books and he revitalized SciFi in the process. His sparse, cool prose and his approach to characterization mark the writing of many of his successors, probably chief among those Neal Stephenson.
His descriptions of cyberculture have aged well, since he was wise enough not to be too specific about hardware and software. He himself at...more
* Neuromancer
* Count Zero
* Mona Lisa Overdrive
Gibson invented the cyberpunk subgenre with this plot-wise loosely connected series of books and he revitalized SciFi in the process. His sparse, cool prose and his approach to characterization mark the writing of many of his successors, probably chief among those Neal Stephenson.
His descriptions of cyberculture have aged well, since he was wise enough not to be too specific about hardware and software. He himself at...more
Yes, that's not a mistake, I gave "Mona Lisa Overdrive" a full "5.0" when I left "Count Zero" at a theoretical smidge below (but used the "4" in goodreads stars). That's not because (as I explained in the "CZ" review) "Count Zero" was not good, it just didn't surpass "Neuromancer". Subjective as charged, but that's my version and my review :-)
I remember being surprised at how Gibson extended the "world" of his world with this book and being impressed by that. The writing stayed crisp, precise an...more
I remember being surprised at how Gibson extended the "world" of his world with this book and being impressed by that. The writing stayed crisp, precise an...more
I am re-reading my old paperbacks. So I am either in my dotage or I just managed to get them out of the box and onto some new bookshelves. It is almost embarrassing to admit the impact that the Sprawl series had on me when they came out. My early college years. These were the definition of smart cool for me. Smart, because it was SF, and the dumb cool couldn't grasp it. Cool, because it was cool. Drugs, leather jackets, mirrored shades, European or Japanese branded everything. Plus, my friend Ka...more
When I started reading William Gibson's novels and short stories, I did not realize that they were component parts of larger stories. When I read Count Zero, for example, I did not realize it was part of the Sprawl trilogy, along with Neuromancer and Mona Lisa Overdrive, or that All Tomorrow's Parties was part of the Bridge trilogy, along with Virtual Light and Idoru. So I read them all out of order, and when I'd see references to the Sprawl (the domed concentration of Eastern Seaboard cities) o...more
Really this is not new for him, but it has been a while since I read some of his work. This time I experienced Mona Lisa Overdrive. The story jumps between about 4 or 5 folks and they slowly coalesce to a single plot. A plot that mirrors the drug induced state of some of his characters. The future ideal of sensory immersion was interesting. I don’t know if I ever really understood some of the biosoft and microsoft technologies, but then again I think some of it was meant to just be understood as...more
Jul 11, 2010
Rickswan
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Sci-fi enthusiasts
Recommended to Rickswan by:
the Matrix: Reloaded
At first I wasn't digging the writing style of Mr. Gibson. I had tried to read Neuromancer and some perverted bits conjoining with his scatterbrain form of writing turned me off. However, I had downloaded the coolest song from one of the best scenes in the Matrix: Reloaded entitled, "Mona Lisa Overdrive" by Juno Reactor. I thought it was a totally B.A. title, and upon looking up the title of the song on the internet one day, I discovered the title originated from this cyberpunk book. So basicall...more
Jun 22, 2010
Matt
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Cyberpunk fans, people interested in strong female chars in sci-fi
Shelves:
science-fiction,
cyberpunk
"Mona Lisa Overdrive," the third novel in William Gibson's critically acclaimed Sprawl trilogy, is a compelling and thought-provoking read full of great action and the typical trippy cyberspace romps that readers became accustomed to in Gibson's first two novels.
Set seven years after "Count Zero," the second book in the trilogy, "Mona Lisa Overdrive" follows four different story lines that, much like is the case in "Count Zero" interlock towards the end. A handful of characters from the first tw...more
Set seven years after "Count Zero," the second book in the trilogy, "Mona Lisa Overdrive" follows four different story lines that, much like is the case in "Count Zero" interlock towards the end. A handful of characters from the first tw...more
I really wanted to love this book. I didn't love it (5 stars), and I think I barely "really liked it" (4 stars). In all honesty, this book would be a solid 3.75. For that reason, I'm not giving it 3 stars.
First, anybody that picked this book up without reading Neuromancer and Count Zero first would be likely completely lost both in terms of plot and writing style. I also remember thinking that the conclusion of the threaded tales was a bit anti-climatic, a somewhat disappointing finish to an int...more
First, anybody that picked this book up without reading Neuromancer and Count Zero first would be likely completely lost both in terms of plot and writing style. I also remember thinking that the conclusion of the threaded tales was a bit anti-climatic, a somewhat disappointing finish to an int...more
This is the final book in Gibson's "Sprawl Trilogy," taking place fifteen years after "Neuromancer" and eight years after "Count Zero." As with the other books in the trilogy, it features three interconnected plot lines and sets of characters that join up near the end. "Mona Lisa Overdrive" includes characters from its two predecessors and nicely ties up the trilogy, while leaving a lot up to interpretation.
By the time I read this book, I felt familiar with Gibson's prose. His style can be a bit...more
By the time I read this book, I felt familiar with Gibson's prose. His style can be a bit...more
This one was a roller coaster a bit.
I got a box of books from a friend of mine who was moving, and this book was in it. Recently I've been hearing what a great book Neuromancer is supposed to be so I thought I'd give this one a go. No where printed anywhere on this book does it say it is part 3 of a trilogy. As a matter of fact, on the back it says "William Gibson, author of the extraordinary multiaward-winning novel Neuromancer, has written his most brilliant and thrilling work to date...". Th...more
I got a box of books from a friend of mine who was moving, and this book was in it. Recently I've been hearing what a great book Neuromancer is supposed to be so I thought I'd give this one a go. No where printed anywhere on this book does it say it is part 3 of a trilogy. As a matter of fact, on the back it says "William Gibson, author of the extraordinary multiaward-winning novel Neuromancer, has written his most brilliant and thrilling work to date...". Th...more
Kimiko is a young Japanese girl, whose father is a high ranking member in the Yakuza. He is expecting a war, so he sent his only daughter to London, so she will be safe. This move only allowed a power hungry flunkie better accuss. Mona is ghost in the system, and as such she has almost no rights. She is being pimped out by a man with a plan, named Eddie. Will her uncanny appearance to simstim super star, Angie Mitchell, lead her to problems? Angie Mitchell is back from a hiatus. After being add...more
I loved Neuromancer, liked Count Zero, and didn't finish Mona Lisa Overdrive.
I gave up on this about 75 pages in. It wasn't bad, per se, I was just bored and uninterested, and my "To Read" shelf is too long to spend time on a book I'm not into. Besides, I've got a stack of library books to get to, and those things have due dates, you know?
Perhaps its a bit unfair, like loving the bands first album and then not liking their second because it isn't enough like the first, when no band wants to just...more
I gave up on this about 75 pages in. It wasn't bad, per se, I was just bored and uninterested, and my "To Read" shelf is too long to spend time on a book I'm not into. Besides, I've got a stack of library books to get to, and those things have due dates, you know?
Perhaps its a bit unfair, like loving the bands first album and then not liking their second because it isn't enough like the first, when no band wants to just...more
The third of William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy, this book spins three separate threads deftly creating (and reintroducing) characters, weaving them into the mythology of the Sprawl and then winding them together in a (slightly messy, it has to be said) big conclusion.
I found this book much easier to get into than Count Zero, although perhaps I just give it the time and attention that it deserves, which I didn't necessarily do with Count Zero. This book also starts weaving together storylines soone...more
I found this book much easier to get into than Count Zero, although perhaps I just give it the time and attention that it deserves, which I didn't necessarily do with Count Zero. This book also starts weaving together storylines soone...more
Better reviewers can find more to say about The Sprawl than I can here, so I'll put up my only two gripes about Mona Lisa Overdrive: the two protagonists of the first two novels, Case and Turner, are absent here. Sure, it could be said that the books are really about Molly and the Count and their respective journeys, but Case and Turner with their flaws and solid grounding in meatspace were our familiar guides through the new and weird. I was slightly saddened that Gibson stuck true to his desir...more
I read this one because a client suggested it for the book I'm writing on analysis of plot, and boy, was he right. This is a plot to be analyzed. It's also one of the very few books I've read that was published in the last thirty years that actually deserves its reputation for strong writing.
Now, the multiple plot threads are convoluted enough that the Climax doesn't quite explode the way it should---there's simply too much to explain---and the arch-villain doesn't come across as quite pivotal e...more
Now, the multiple plot threads are convoluted enough that the Climax doesn't quite explode the way it should---there's simply too much to explain---and the arch-villain doesn't come across as quite pivotal e...more
I get the impression that his editor/publicist/friend put a little nugget into Gibson's head one day: "Hey, what if you came up with a story that would drive both the Neuromancer and Count Zero storylines together and tie the whole thing up!" and Gibson had a little brainworm inching along from that day, until Mona Lisa Overdrive was delivered.
The plot itself, stepping back, seems more forced than the other two. The overarching idea wasn't as organic (in the colloquial sense) as the first two. W...more
The plot itself, stepping back, seems more forced than the other two. The overarching idea wasn't as organic (in the colloquial sense) as the first two. W...more
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Well This is certainly a way to finish off the Sprawl series. It's a bit of a shame that more of the first book wasn't really tied into it. Other than the fact that story of the first book happened, little else really comes of it. I'm not to sure I like how everything went overly spiritual. I knew that's how things were going to go down by the end of Book 2, but I don't think it played out as well as it could have.
Also, the ending of this one felt a bit thrown together. The other two books were...more
Also, the ending of this one felt a bit thrown together. The other two books were...more
After thoroughly enjoying Gibson's "Neuromancer", I picked this up off at Half Price Books. Gibson writes solid Sci Fi. His imagination soars and doesn't fail to disappoint: robots, ninjas, junkies, gunfire, and yakuza abound. The narrative is told through several characters who alternate chapters. It is rewarding when it all comes together at the end but it can feel disjointed at times. Gibson makes no excuses and throws you right into the mix -- he doesn't baby you with extemporaneous explanat...more
Angie called pause again, rose from the bed, went to the window. She felt an elation, an unexpected sense of strength and inner unity. She'd felt this way seven years earlier, in New Jersey, learning that others knew the ones who came to her in dreams, called them the loa, Divine Horsemen, named them and summoned them and bargained with them for favor.
. . .
Bobby had told her about a general consensus among the old cowboys that there had been a day when things had changed, although there was di...more
. . .
Bobby had told her about a general consensus among the old cowboys that there had been a day when things had changed, although there was di...more
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
William Ford Gibson is an American-Canadian writer who has been called the father of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction, having coined the term cyberspace in 1982 and popularized it in his first novel, Neuromancer(1984), which has sold more than 6.5 million copies wor...more
More about William Gibson...
William Ford Gibson is an American-Canadian writer who has been called the father of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction, having coined the term cyberspace in 1982 and popularized it in his first novel, Neuromancer(1984), which has sold more than 6.5 million copies wor...more
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:)
Aug 28, 2008 05:55am