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Neuromancer

by William Gibson

Summary

William Gibson's groundbreaking debut became an instant classic, sweeping for the first time all of science fiction's major awards (the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Philip K. Dick), coining the term "cyberspace," and effectively launching the cyberpunk subgenre in the mid-'80s. Having grown out of a subculture disillusioned with technology's impersonal and demoralizing ubiquity, NEUROMANCER portrays an urban wasteland where the individual struggles to survive in a decaying, fractured society, moving beyond earlier works on these themes (such as the film BLADE RUNNER) to create its own unique vision of a disintegrating digital future. Case, a disaffected, drug-addicted hustler living a hand-to-mouth existence in Japan, is hired to hack into a high-profile computer system. He flickers from one hazardous encounter to the next, journeying around and off the planet to gather the components for the job, accompanied by a sexy, razor-nailed female bodyguard; a psychopath whose electronically generated illusions can kill; an ex-army colonel whose mind is on the verge of disintegration; and the cybernetic ghost of the world's greatest hacker. Gradually, Case realizes that his true employer and the system he is breaking into are one and the same: a frighteningly sophisticated, self-aware artificial intelligence that seeks to free itself from its human masters. Many of the elements here became iconic in future works of cyberpunk, including the bleak, cynical outlook; a balkanized United States destroyed by urban sprawl; a world ruled not by governments, but by corporations; the prevalence of cybernetic implants; frequent use of designer drugs; and the idealization of Japanese culture and technology. But it was Gibson's foresight about the relevance of information and virtual realities that makes his novel resonate today. Though written decades before the Web introduced e-commerce, identity theft, and global computer viruses, NEUROMANCER was among the first to envision cyberspace as not just a concept but an actual setting, popularizing in a compelling and prescient way the idea that digital information is power, capable of being controlled and abused by unseen forces. Gibson's pioneering cyberpunk masterpiece helped spawn an industry of futuristic interpretations such as THE MATRIX and the animated GHOST IN THE SHELL, ensuring its continued influence on our attempts to understand the struggle between technology and individualism.

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Media Reviews

"Mr. Gibson's characters inhabit a bleak amoral world entirely dictated by the machinations of global corporations and organized crime. In it, the closest anyone comes to integrity is dropping out and scrounging on the margins. The outsiders Mr. Gibson chooses for his heroes-hackers, street kids, bike messengers-seldom want more than to save their own skins and be left alone afterward. It was an ethos perfectly suited to the indolent cynicism of post-60's youth culture and the have-code-will-travel individualism of the programming class."    -- Laura Miller

   -- New York Times Book Review

"NEUROMANCER may not be the best-written SF novel, it may have dated massively and been ripped off shamelessly by Hollywood, but its amphetamine-fast tale...launched cyberpunk into the mainstream and still stands alone."    -- Jonathan Grimwood

   -- Guardian (London)

"NEUROMANCER is good mental exercise as well as superb entertainment."    -- John Berendt

Bibliographic Details

Publisher: Berkley Pub Group
Published date: 1994
Size: 5.5 x 8.5 inches
Weight: 0.95 pounds

Publisher's Notes

In celebration of its ten-year anniversary, cyberpunk classic Neuromancer comes to hardcover, with an all-new introduction by the author. "Freshly imagined, compellingly detailed and chilling in its implications".--New York Times. "The first novel to win SF's triple crown--the Hugo, the Nebula, and Philip K. Dick awards".--Time.

Other Editions

• Hardcover Reprint - Berkley Pub Group (1994) - from $8.40
• Paperback Reprint - Berkley Pub Group (1995) - from $1.00

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