Neuromancer (Sprawl Trilogy, #1) (Remembering Tomorrow)

by William Gibson

Neuromancer is the most influential science fiction novel of our time. Cyberspace and virtual reality were invented in this book. It changed forever the way we look at tomorrow. The Matrix unfolds like neon origami beneath clusters and constellations of data. Constructs, AIs, live here. Somewhere, concealed by ice, Neuromancer is evolving. As entropy goes into reverse, Molly's surgical implants broadcast trouble from the ferro-concrete geodesic of the Sprawl. Maelcum, Rastafarian in space, is her best hope of rescue. But she and Case, computer cowboy, are busy stealing data from the almighty Megacorps. If the Megacorps don't get them both, perhaps Case will fall prey to the cheap treachery of Linda Lee, someone as lost as himself.

• ISBN10: 057503470X
• ISBN13: 9780575034709
• Publish Date: 1 September 1984 (first published 1 July 1984)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 12 July 2000
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Gollancz
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 256
• Language: English

Reviews

[adamfortuna]

Yet another cyberpunk book that I didn't love. It's funny how much I love this genre in movie form, but can't stand it in book form. It's easy to appreciate this one though. Seeing how much this one parallels The Matrix was crazy.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

To be honest I was expecting something completely different when I set out to read Neuromancer. I was expecting a cyber-punk book but I think this was more of a sci-fi book with a lot of references to computers. I was expecting hackers, but I think William Gibson did a good job imagining hackers of the future. I was expecting outdated technology and while there was a small amount in the book, it was still very futuristic. This is the second Williiam Gibson book I’ve read (the other being The Difference Machine) and I kind of feel like his books can become confusing and can leave the reader with an uncertainty of what is actually happening. While Gibson is a very engaging writer about from my beef with complexity, I think this book left me wanting something different. I really think if I read this book in the 80’s it would of been a different story.

[empressbrooke]

I find myself at a loss to describe how I felt about this book. In some ways, it wasn't really that great - the characters are 2D at best, the first third of the book lacks any explanation or definitions to help acclimate the reader to the new world (for a while I was convinced I was going to read the whole book without having any idea what actually happened), and the whole thing seemed vague (who was doing what and why?).

By the end, though, things cleared up, I felt more comfortable with the vocab, and I closed the book feeling as if I'd been somewhere. A book that sends me somewhere is a book worth reading, no matter what frustrations it takes to do it.

Sitting in the middle of the Internet era, it's obviously difficult to evaluate Gibson's amazing prescience, but I will say that his seeming concern from his intro in the 20th Anniversary Edition about the book's lack of cell phones is really unwarranted. Everything in Neuromancer's world fits just so, and it never would have occurred to me that it was odd no one was picking up a cell phone to contact each other.