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Noir
by
K.W. Jeter (Goodreads Author)
In his acclaimed novels Dr. Adder, The Glass Hammer, and the Blade Runner books, K.W. Jeter masterfully re-created the grim and gritty world of Ridley Scott's classic science fiction film masterpiece.Now Jeter returns with a startling and stylish new vision of the future as only he could imagine it, a dark and disturbing universe that can be described with one word...
Welco...more
Welco...more
Paperback, 496 pages
Published
September 1st 1999
by Spectra
(first published 1998)
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That's the essence of Noir-- someone's always getting screwed over
-Turbiner
There's a delicate balance that needs to be struck between style and substance, especially in genre fiction. Most authors decide to pack their books full of cool ideas and then skimp on the plot, leaving us drawn into their world but with nowhere to go in it*. Others decide to give their plot a few cool details here and there, but most of these small touches are better-remembered than the actual plot of the novel. Noir b...more
-Turbiner
There's a delicate balance that needs to be struck between style and substance, especially in genre fiction. Most authors decide to pack their books full of cool ideas and then skimp on the plot, leaving us drawn into their world but with nowhere to go in it*. Others decide to give their plot a few cool details here and there, but most of these small touches are better-remembered than the actual plot of the novel. Noir b...more
Remember when cyberpunk was edgy and provocative? I'm talking pre-"Matrix" cyberpunk, the cyberpunk of writers like William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. Back then it was dangerous. Today it's... uh... well, reality. I mean, seriously, who knew that this Internet thing would be so popular? (Besides Gibson et al...) Jeter's novel "Noir" was written near the end of the cyberpunk movement, just before the Internet explosion. Set in a near (enough) future, "Noir" follows an investigator named McNihil (...more
Oct 22, 2009
Jaine Fenn
added it
Perhaps I should write a full review of this book as it elicited strong emotions in me, both good and bad, but it's late and tomorrow I'm off to the Royal Observatory to try and pretend I'm as smart as a bunch of far more interesting people ... plus I'm lazy.
In short: his writing is as amazing as I remember it, his world-building is breathtaking, but the characters were little more than ciphers (perhaps deliberately) and the plot turned on a nasty outbreak of 'unreliable narrator'. And there was...more
In short: his writing is as amazing as I remember it, his world-building is breathtaking, but the characters were little more than ciphers (perhaps deliberately) and the plot turned on a nasty outbreak of 'unreliable narrator'. And there was...more
K.W. Jeter has a really cool, edgy writing style that makes this cyberpunk tale read like electric poetry. McNihil, the story's main character, has implants in his brain that cause him to see the postmodern world and its inhabitants in the dark and rainy night of a noir movie. I watched the Matrix again while reading this and really noticed the Noir scenes in that movie. This book was published right around the time the Matrix came out. While the stories are quite different, there are similariti...more
Very dark, as the title suggests. If you don't know the meaning of noir don't bother with the book. It follows a story line very similar to the plot of most noir movie thrillers, the detective even sees in black and white with a 50's style visual overlay. Tattoos that spread like viruses, companies that sell and market junk, credit count-downs on our hands, etc... are we there yet? I don't know but we are surely headed in that direction and visa/mastercard/amex executives could find a lot to lik...more
Amazing use of language, but this is very bleak and dark... and it could use at tightening of plot; there is occasional repetition of phrases too.
God, the future looks awful....
God, the future looks awful....
amazing!
I really did not enjoy this book (guess the 1 star makes that clear enough).
There is a fair probability that I am not intellectual enough to enjoy the many subtexts here. If you can call them subtexts. The plot feels like it exists just to exhibit outrageous things masquerading as intelligent comment on issues.
I would only recommend this for people who already know they like Jeter.
There is a fair probability that I am not intellectual enough to enjoy the many subtexts here. If you can call them subtexts. The plot feels like it exists just to exhibit outrageous things masquerading as intelligent comment on issues.
I would only recommend this for people who already know they like Jeter.
Per PKD's definition of science fiction as something with "the new idea", this book has it in spades. Jeter's presented so many new ideas, all cleverly intermeshed, that it almost boggles the mind yet doesn't descend in to confusing or coming off as overly complicated. There are two books I try to make room to read every other year, American Gods and Noir.
I finished it, but....
This is a pretty wierd thriller, out there with some of the Phillip K. Dick stuff - after reading this I actually wonder if Blade Runner 2 is not just commercial schlock.
Still, unless you really like the surreal I would skip this. The noir thriller wrapped up in the surrealism is not bad but also not great.
This is a pretty wierd thriller, out there with some of the Phillip K. Dick stuff - after reading this I actually wonder if Blade Runner 2 is not just commercial schlock.
Still, unless you really like the surreal I would skip this. The noir thriller wrapped up in the surrealism is not bad but also not great.
This one was effectively disturbing, but I didn't feel like it had anything else. Unlike, say, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" it didn't have the characters or plot necessary to hold my interest. I often enjoy dark novels and stories, but JUST being dark isn't enough.
I enjoyed Noir but felt like it did not exactly have the most focused final act. Jeter builds an interesting world, then wraps everything up in an ultimately dissatisfying way. I am going to read more of his works soon.
Pretty decent ending. Most times when you're not enjoying the book, its the book's fault. This novel had a lot going on and may get better with a second read. Gonna have to try other books by Jeter.
Feb 26, 2009
Jday
marked it as books-i-couldn-t-finish
Not sure if I'm going to be able to finish this one. Can't quite get into it. I'll keep it on my reading shelf for a little while longer, but I don't have a lot of hope.
Dark but fascinating
May 16, 2013
Thomas Garrison
is currently reading it
May 12, 2013
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Kevin Wayne Jeter (born 1950) is an American science fiction and horror author known for his literary writing style, dark themes, and paranoid, unsympathetic characters. He has written novels set in the Star Trek and Star Wars universe, and has written three (to date) sequels to Blade Runner.
Series:
* Doctor Adder
Series contributed to:
* Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
* Alien Nation
* Blade Runner
* Star W...more
More about K.W. Jeter...
Series:
* Doctor Adder
Series contributed to:
* Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
* Alien Nation
* Blade Runner
* Star W...more
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Feb 19, 2010 06:09pm