Neuromancer

William Gibson 1984 Buy from Amazon.com

William Gibson’s cyberpunk novel Neuromancer sparked a new scifi genre when it was released in 1984. His ideas for the structure of information in cyberspace were weirdly predictive, and provided a novel approach to the future that dealt intimately with the technology of that era.

Combining high technology with urban violence, Gibson paints a world of blackmarket tech and drugs, people dealing with business on the streets and the grinding poverty of the slums. Dealing with concepts ranging from biotech to the nature of reality and the soul, Neuromancer is a chaotic, energetic novel showing a potential future that compells and intrigues despite its nihilism.

First impressions are chaotic, it takes the first chapter or so to being understanding the where and what of the Sprawl. Jargon and short, sharp description create a jarring effect that sets the mood for the book. Yet the jargon is easily understood, even more intuitive today than when it was written, and while it helps set the scene, it doesn’t confuse or alienate the reader.

To my mind the world of the sprawl will always be linked to the atmosphere from Bladerunner, the combination of high tech and poverty, the flash of neon and the dirt, where even, or perhaps especially, the tech-savvy are the criminals.

The main character is Case, a minor criminal who makes his living being a middle-man, running fast deals that will culminate in his death. He doesn’t really want to live, he used to be a console cowboy, an elite hacker in cyberspace, punching into a virtual reality interface straight into the world of data. But his ability is gone, destroyed by a virus after he betrayed his last employer.

Into the middle of his business steps Molly, a mercenary with useful upgrades, including retractable razor blades under her nails and mirrored lenses inset over her eyes. She works for Armitage, a cold and mysterious man who is assembling a team for an unknown purpose.

The real power of this book is in the environment, the description of fine detail and the use of simile to relate new concepts to familiar ones. Surprisingly Neuromancer has not become dated, despite being over twenty years old, and predating IT as we know it, it still rings true as a near-future novel. Most scifi that deals so heavily in the near future and the use of new tech shows it’s age within a couple of years of publication, but Neuromancer is a book you can reasonably give to any teenager today and expect them to find it just as interesting and fresh as it was when it was released.

In my opinion it has been matched by only two or three cyberpunk novels since, and still defines the genre for me.

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