Noir

Noir

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3.7 of 5 stars 3.70  ·  rating details  ·  202 ratings  ·  16 reviews
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
Paperback, 496 pages
Published September 1st 1999 by Spectra (first published 1998)
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Sam Reader
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
Scott Rhee
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
Jaine Fenn
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
Coquille Fleur
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
Ethan
Jul 19, 2008 Ethan rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: those that like P.K. Dick
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
Booknerd Fraser
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....
Noiresque
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.
Aj Reznor
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.
stephan
Jan 31, 2008 stephan rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of phillip k. dick
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.
Deren Kellogg
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.
Lewis Williams
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.
Bennie Minor
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.
Jday
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.
Catherine
Dark but fascinating
Stacy
May 16, 2013 Stacy marked it as to-read
Thomas Garrison
May 16, 2013 Thomas Garrison is currently reading it
Alicja
May 12, 2013 Alicja marked it as to-read
Michael Fisher
May 07, 2013 Michael Fisher marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: default
Kelly Schafer
May 04, 2013 Kelly Schafer marked it as to-read
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Apr 28, 2013 Leroy Rodriguez marked it as to-read
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Noir (Mass Market Paperback)
Noir (Paperback)
Noir (Bantam Spectra Book)
Noir (Paperback)
Noir (Paperback)

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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...
The Mandalorian Armor (Star Wars: The Bounty Hunter Wars, #1) Star Wars: Hard Merchandise (Star Wars: The Bounty Hunter Wars, #3) Star Wars: The Bounty Hunter Wars 2 - Slave Ship Infernal Devices The Edge of Human (Blade Runner, #2)

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