Mona Lisa Overdrive

audio cd

Published Nov. 20, 2012 by Brilliance Audio.

ISBN:
978-1-4558-6159-0
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4 stars (7 reviews)

14 editions

Review of 'Mona Lisa Overdrive' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Somewhat better than the second book, takes the standalone elements of the previous two books and combines them. Originally read in the 80s, I didn't recall these books set so far apart in time. Part heist, part thriller - good characters, great ending!

This series defined cyberpunk, and while that concept was mostly a dream while the author pecked out the first novel on a manual typewriter, it was much closer to reality in 1988. The same year this novel came out, an adventure video game was released based on the first book.

I recommend the series, even to friends who really disliked the first book. The second and third books are much more accessible (and more fun). The big picture behind them (hinted at in book two, revealed here) take the series from gritty cyberpunk to actual science fiction. Looking forward to re-reading more William Gibson this year.

Review of 'Mona Lisa Overdrive' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Reread of a classic in the relatively new genre of Cyberpunk. First read this in the mid 80s and was pretty impressed.

William Gibson, essentially a luddite in his early career, banged this story out on a 1927 portable typewriter, olive green. This sort of descriptive imagery and style are exactly what his stories were liberally dosed with. The trick is, he was writing about computer stuff that was just around the corner. My fellow techies didn't have particular names for things, so adopting Gibson technospeak like deck, construct, and icebreaker was par for the course. Reading this book 30 years later, the majority of the technobabble is still a reasonably good fit - though I can see how some would be lost.

The story itself is a heist, a favorite situation to read or watch. Case experiences a lot of character growth, especially since he was near bottom at …

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