William Gibson in 1985, a year after the groundbreaking work emerged
Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images
Neuromancer
William Gibson (Orion Publishing (UK); Ace Books (US))
Neuromancer opens with, “The sky above the port was the color of the television, tuned to a dead channel.”
The book was released in 1984, in an era when very few individuals had access to computers. The esteemed William Gibson penned this work on a typewriter. Nevertheless, while data acts as currency and corporations craft striking depictions of the futuristic realm of “cyberspace,” they are also vulnerable to cyberattacks. There’s something intriguingly enchanting within the backdrop of AIS that exists beyond our grasp.
Neuromancer birthed the cyberpunk genre and reshaped literature 40 years later, establishing itself as one of the most prophetic texts ever created. It aligns with the Apple TV+ series. In a world where many of us carry computing devices in our pockets, how does this narrative endure? Is time spent in cyberspace (a term popularized by Neuromancer) still relevant? I decided to revisit it.
Having not read it in over two decades, I initially found it challenging. The distinctive style and the claustrophobic narrative of a former hacker navigating barrooms and gang troubles made me question if the novel had aged well. After all, its imagery and concepts are no longer shocking, having been endlessly replicated in television, literature, and film, often outpaced by reality.
Yet, I was drawn back in. There’s a moment when our protagonist receives a call in a hotel lobby, only for the next call to be an AI—an incident that sends chills down my spine and echoes the profound influence on The Matrix.
As action unfolds in virtual spaces, we get an intimate glimpse of AI. Upon reading, I recognized that the major themes in the book are as pertinent and thought-provoking today as they were in 1984. For instance, the concept of a power referred to as “Turing” foreshadows the rise of AI.
Ultimately, I grasped why readers like author Adrian Tchaikovsky constantly revisit Neuromancer: it demands slow attention, yet remains a classic with profound insights. The lingering question is how Gibson envisioned this world when he relied solely on a typewriter.
Fortunately, he has reflected on this extensively over the years. “I wrote Neuromancer without any knowledge of computers,” he shared with the Guardian five years ago. “I dismantled the poetic language of those already in the field, eavesdropping at the Seattle Science Fiction Convention where early computer programmers discussed their work.”
He recounted how this eavesdropping informed various abstract elements of the narrative at a time when Gibson couldn’t simply Google what a modem was.
In summary, the novel remains astonishing. I hope that the forthcoming TV adaptation does it justice.
I would also recommend Emily…
Burning Chrome
William Gibson (Orion Publishing (UK); Gollancz (US))
Gibson’s short story collection is truly remarkable. It was one of my favorites and remains vibrant today.
Emily H. Wilson is the former editor of the New Scientist and author of the Sumerian trilogy set in ancient Mesopotamia. The final installment, Ninshuval, is now available. Visit her at emilyhwilson.com or follow her on X @emilyhwilson and Instagram @emilyhwilson1.
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