The problem with Synners in my opinion is that it tries to do too much at the same time. Timeline is confusing, the characters are introduced a dozen at a time, and after 200 pages there was a lot of descriptions about not so important situations and very little was told about the plot and how the different threads related to each other. Characters are very poorly developed. Visual Mark, who is supposed to be important, has no clear identity, and other characters that could be interesting, like the boy who could read and learnt Chinese, are just forgotten.

There are a few cool ideas in this book. The brain sockets and the whole idea about hi-tech music industry are interesting concepts, but they are just not enough when compared to the silly ideas like the nonsense hit and run, the exaggerated drug apologies and things like that man with the `graphic changing' cape, etc.

Bottom line, I wouldn't recommend this book.


You've Gotta Read This Book!!   December 1, 2001
 11 out of 12 found this review helpful

Pat Cadigan's Synners is an interwoven chronicle of three main characters: Gabe, Sam, and Gina. Gabe is an advertising agent for Diversifications, Inc. and Sam, his daughter, is a hacker. Gina is a synner (creator of the near-future rock videos) whose company was bought out by Diversifications, Inc. Drugs that help with depression have been reinforced by implants provided at "feel-good clinics". Diversifications, Inc. has discovered a plan for a new implant that provides prerecorded dreams that can be accessed for entertainment. Gina's coworker, Visual Mark, has been selected as the experimental subject because of his exceptional visual imagination.

Synners uses familiar Cyberpunk concepts such as global computer networks, direct computer linkups to the brain, enhanced recreational drugs, young hackers and a modified form of rock music. This story revolves around the introduction of new technology, such as implants to treat depression and brain sockets to enhance entertainment. It also revolves around what happens when new technology begins to do the unexpected.

Synners is presented at a perfect pace and is told in a multi-threaded style, where the characters intertwine with each other. The character development and plot are written with elaborate detail, but the theme is very simple. This book is very entertaining, even though concentration and close attention are needed in order to understand what is happening. I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend reading it.


Descriptions of a drug trip instead of real science fiction.   July 5, 1999
 8 out of 23 found this review helpful

This a long, tedious novel written by a very amateur author who has no clue about her subject matter. It is obvious she knows nothing about computers, hackers, programmers, or systems. Instead of a plot, we get over four hundred pages of scenes that can only be described as a cross between a drug trip and a warped dream. And somehow, the characters in the novel use these drug trips to create music videos and fight computer viruses. The book has other problems as well, including one of time. You never know how much time has passed from one scene to the next. In the middle of the book everything gets so boring and pointless that even the author throws her hands in the air and presses fast-forward for a few months, as the discovery of brain socket technology turns into a popular business for music videos. In the first 300 pages of the book, the author tortures us by opening each chapter inside another character's mind, but you don't get to find out which mind until several pages have gone by, so you're not really sure who she's talking about. The end result is one long boring disaster.


Great cyperpunk   October 23, 1999
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

I picked up this book after reading one of Cadigan's short stories in a cyberpunk compilation, and I was thoroughly impressed by it. The way it immerses you in the character's thoughts is especially appealling. And it's one of the only books I've ever read that has a soundtrack to it... sort of... without giving anything away, I'll tell you to make sure you have a copy of George Thorogood's "Who Do You Love" and Lou Reed's "Coney Island Baby" handy, and it'll make your reading experience that much more immersive. Also, it wouldn't hurt if you bring some "change for the machine".


Forget Gibson.   July 10, 1999
 5 out of 10 found this review helpful

Synners has got to be one of my top five favorite books of all time. I've read it several times just for the sheer pleasure. Her ability to weave together the lives of several characters is nothing short of amazing. Her understanding of the effects of technology on the mass populace is spot-on. Forget Gibson, I hold this book to be the shining example of 'cyberpunk'.