The most important novel of the 1980s (Neuromancer - William Gibson)

Member Name: andrewl

Product:	Neuromancer - William Gibson
Date:	27/03/08 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Innovative science fiction and a cracking story

Disadvantages: Gosh-wow 3MB RAM couriers...

Neuromancer is more than twenty years old now, a fact that's a bit astonishing. Written by William Gibson, the blurb claims that the novel 'invented' cyberspace and virtual reality. Bold claims indeed (and perhaps not entirely justified in the case of VR), but there's no denying the fundamental impact Neuromancer had on the late twentieth century and beyond. This is the source text for the Matrix, not to mention every other film about computers and hackers that you've seen since the late 80s. It has shaped large swathes of the internet, and it has left a huge muddy footprint across science-fiction literature.
Set in an unspecified nearish future, full of cowboys and data jockeys, 24 year old Case has been stripped of his ability to jack into cyberspace after double-crossing his employers. Rescued from the gutter by the enigmatic Molly, he is coerced into an audacious campaign of Cyber-crime to further the ends of the mysterious Wintermute.

It is said that nothing dates quicker than the futuristic. The slick mobile phones of The Matrix already look tragic, and what about all those haircuts in Star Wars? This is equally true of literary science-fiction, but Gibson holds up well, with only the occasional bout of breathy excitement about the idea of storing a whole 3MB of RAM in a small container. He also takes the Minority Report (film version) route of grounding his futuristic world in a sea of familiar brand names and cities. You can get your blood flushed out and a new liver from organ banks at a minute's notice, but you can also drink a pint of Carlsberg or Kirin while you're recovering. The novel may eventually see the protagonists in a groovy high-orbit resort, battling against rogue Artificial Intelligences, but it lets you bed in comfortably in bars, hotel rooms and arcades.
Like a lot of great science-fiction novels, Neuromancer builds its world partly through what's left out. We're given hints of a brief but brutal war between the Russians and the Americans, and the repercussions of this float throughout the text, although we never find out a great deal about why the war happened, who started it, and even really who won it. Even the cyberspace technology is described surprisingly loosely, given the ongoing impact the novel has had on our understanding of the relationship between man and computer.

The style for the most part is very readable, and I loved the cyberspace sequences, which are described as a hallucinatory experience with almost spiritual overtones, to reflect the awe that Case has for the matrix. The whole novel is written from Case's point of view, and his journey from suicidal burnout to... well, not suicidal, is a solid progression.
There's violent action to coincide with all the conceptual stuff about AIs and cyberspace. Drugs and sex are never too far away, it's an extremely colourful novel.

I'm truly astonished it took me so long to read Neuromancer, given the number of books I've read that owe it a huge debt (most obviously the Doctor Who New Adventures range from Virgin Publishing in the 90s). The book blisters along at a fantastic pace, discarding more brilliant ideas than some novelists have in a lifetime: cyberspace, virtual reality, AI, computer constructs of dead humans' memories, orbital resorts, Rastafarian colonies, simstim, augmented humans with the power to manipulate holograms, all wrapped up in Japanese-influenced geek chic.
Alongside its cultural importance, Case and Molly are well-drawn characters, and even the apparent cliche of their boss's character, Armitage, becomes a major plot point as events start to unravel. Gibson uses his 'simstim' (technology that enables Case to experience Molly's perceptions while connected to cyberspace) to take in multiple points of view without ever demoting Case as the narrator. You can feel the bond growing between the two characters during these surreal sequences, and it's a great narrative trick.

Just read Neuromancer. It's an unmissable book, and without doubt it's my candidate for the most important novels of the 1980s.

Summary: The most important novel of the 1980s.