# Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/mona-lisa-overdrive/

2 people recommended Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 12 months, in 2 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

1 of the 2 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a good start alongside Neuromancer and Count Zero in Gibson's cyberpunk books. Critics find the prose dense and the book can become a slog to finish.

Summary written by Claude from 5 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 4 of those comments still count.

## Why people recommend it

- Good start with Neuromancer and Count Zero (1 comment in the sample): "I suppose Neuromancer/Count Zero/Mona Lisa Overdrive are a good start." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48330269))

## What people warn about

- Dense prose is hard to enjoy (1 comment in the sample): "I don't enjoy the prose, and how dense it is I guess cause I am not a careful reader." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49389610))
- Becomes a slog to finish (1 comment in the sample): "becoming a real slog to finish" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49595199))
- Stories feel bland and weird (1 comment in the sample): "the stories were more bland and weird" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47330611))

## Other science fiction novels people recommend

- [Blindsight by Peter Watts](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blindsight/): 78 recommend, 18 mixed, 23 criticize
- [Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/children-of-time/): 64 recommend, 1 mixed, 4 criticize
- [Accelerando by Charles Stross](https://hackerapproved.com/p/accelerando/): 63 recommend, 7 mixed, 8 criticize
- [There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/there-is-no-antimemetics-division/): 57 recommend, 34 mixed, 28 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson", https://hackerapproved.com/p/mona-lisa-overdrive/ (2 recommend, 1 mixed, 2 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.