This was a very strange read for me. Somehow, I was simultaneously very confused about what was going on, but also really into it and couldn't put it down. I 100% see why this book is foundational for the cyberpunk, so many of the ideas and concepts are the backbone of the entire genre and feel way ahead of their time for the mid 1980's. The characters were interesting, the plot drove forward in a way that made me want to keep reading and the actual prose was really well-written a lot of the time.

However, I probably did more going back and rereading of sentences/paragraphs in this book than I have in any other in recent memory. The book spends hardly any time with traditional exposition and often doesn't even give definitions for the slang and other made-up vocabulary which is all over. Instead, you kind of just have to figure it out from context, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it made me really glad I was reading it in print so I could constantly flip back figure something out. There were also occasional jumps in the plot that I caught me off guard, once again forcing me to go back and reread to see if there was something I missed.

Overall, this is a must read for anyone interested in the cyberpunk genre that this book helped pioneer, but its not what I would consider an easy read so be prepared.

What a moving book. This world of only women felt so well rounded and complete without falling into any of the stereotypical trappings of a “women-only society”. There was so much complexity in most of the characters, and I really feel like they carried the sometimes slower pacing of the story. The slow pacing also made the rapid pace of the final conflict feel a bit off, but the actual ending was very hopeful. The themes of change and growth really felt ingrained in the whole narrative and definitely hit home for me as there’s a lot changing in my life right now too. This is absolutely a seminal piece of feminist science fiction for a reason, very reminiscent of Ursula K Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness, and is therefore a strong recommend for anyone!