Steven Mastroyin answers “Is it normal to be totally confused about...”

Amber asked this question about Neuromancer (Sprawl #1):

Is it normal to be totally confused about what's going on? Because I am.

Steven Mastroyin Thought I would put some thoughts here since people are still responding in 2020.

The answer is yes no and every permutation in between.

To me, the plot…moreThought I would put some thoughts here since people are still responding in 2020.

The answer is yes no and every permutation in between.

To me, the plot is very simple and has been done a million times in various ways in across tons of media. Oceans 11, The Seven Samurai, Mass Effect 2, The Good the Bad and the Ugly etc. etc. The "assemble a team of disparate people to do a thing" plot. In this way, you don't *need to know* really, what it means for the Dixie Flatline to be a cyber "construct." It helps, sure, but you don't *need to know* any more than you know the total histories of any of the characters in those movies.

The first half of the book is basically the putting together the team portion. The second half of the book is the doing the job portion.

Now, there are some things that happen late that assume you've at least absorbed some of how some of the world works (particularly how humans interface with cyberspace) to even have a basic understanding of what is happening. But I personally think this is possible without doing deep dives into every plot element that came before.

Another thing that is kind of confusing is there is a lot of action that leads up to the climax, but the climax itself is largely not a thing of great physical action. So you might think you missed it. You do have to pay careful attention, I'm not sure how to really pinpoint this without getting into spoilers.

That said, appreciating the entire *story* (not just plot) does require some re-reading. I would recommend reading the entire sprawl trilogy before coming back to Neuromancer. A lot of people like the subsequent books better, and that may help you appreciate Neuromancer more.(less)

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