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quiteawful's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Gore, Grief, Death, and Murder
Minor: Sexual violence, War, and Torture
excavatinglizard's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I read this before neuromancer, but if neuromancer was about lesbians. And tarot cards. And more space, a bit less cyberspace. That’s this book. Everything I like from sci-fi books, although <spoiler<the attitude towards the main character’s Muslim heritage was. Definitely strange. ‘She’s Muslim, but don’t worry this will never come up again!’ ?????
nlgn's review against another edition
5.0
"A bit opaque to get into, but ultimately satisfying. Greater depth than first appears. Very impressive that a first-time, male author has chosen to use female leads almost exclusively. Another to reread at some point."
gengelcox's review
3.0
Simon sent me this, his first novel, over six months ago. My taking so long to get to is should be no reflection on the work, which is quite good, but just my general slowdown. Hot Head is post-cyberpunk fiction, like [a:Neil Stephenson]'s [b:Snow Crash|830|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477624625s/830.jpg|493634]. Both novels deal in themes raised by [a:William Gibson|9226|William Gibson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1373826214p2/9226.jpg], et al., but in here Simon takes the mileu and stretches it out onto a third world political canvas while Stephenson poked at it with the satire stick. The novel sputters a bit in the front as Simon info dumps the background of his protagonist, Malise. But as he warms up to his subject, and as the novel moves into the "present" line of the story rather than Malise's past, Simon hits stride. Many writers have toyed with the human/software implant (best done in [a:George Alec Effinger|76471|George Alec Effinger|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1329456097p2/76471.jpg]'s [b:When Gravity Fails|132694|When Gravity Fails|George Alec Effinger|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1316729685s/132694.jpg|127822], I feel), but Simon's able to make it new here. Possibly it's because he realizes that it (the technology) is not the story (even though the novel is named after it), but a part of the story. This novel could as easily have been titled Moonwolf (but, then, that sounds slightly like a horror or fantasy novel, doesn't it?). I was thrown off a bit by the sudden impact of the ending, but I think that was due more to my start-n-stop reading method than any fault of Simon's.
I did have one other comment. I ran across something early in the book-- I think it was about walking and falling--that reminded me of Laurie Anderson. I thought it mere coincidence until I came across:
Which I can't place, but it's somewhere in United States Live ("Walk the Dog"?). Given this novel, and the fact that he quotes Laurie Anderson, how can I help but look for Simon's next?
Postscript 30 October 2014: As I was reviewing this commentary 20 years later, I finally notice yet another Laurie Anderson reference in the title itself. The song is on her album Mister Heartbreak and is about Adam, Eve, and the snake, with Eve falling for the snake hard. Why? "Because she was a hot head...she was a woman in love."
I did have one other comment. I ran across something early in the book-- I think it was about walking and falling--that reminded me of Laurie Anderson. I thought it mere coincidence until I came across:
"Do you want to go home?" they said, "Do you want to go home now?"
Which I can't place, but it's somewhere in United States Live ("Walk the Dog"?). Given this novel, and the fact that he quotes Laurie Anderson, how can I help but look for Simon's next?
Postscript 30 October 2014: As I was reviewing this commentary 20 years later, I finally notice yet another Laurie Anderson reference in the title itself. The song is on her album Mister Heartbreak and is about Adam, Eve, and the snake, with Eve falling for the snake hard. Why? "Because she was a hot head...she was a woman in love."
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