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| Copyright © Mark R Kelly 2025 |
Without doubt, William Gibson's 1984 book, 'Neuromancer' is a seminal piece of science fiction. It gave the embryonic essence of early cyberpunk a jolt of definition. Gibson gave it a voice, combined with texture and a rhythm, capturing the elusiveness of hacker culture, corporate machinations and oppression, suffused with artificial intelligence on a level to make today's political elite AI concerns appear laughable.
In essence, Neuromancer turned an idea that had been juggled by many into a solid, grounded literary movement.
I discovered this novel late in life, and not too long ago. I had been reading a cyberpunk series by a different author, and although the writing was pretty good (in my opinion), the plot felt too cliched, tired and predictable, as did the setting.
So a quick question to ChatGPT for cyberpunk book recommendations, and 'Neuromancer' came out on top. The following day, my copy landed in the post from Amazon.
Book cover design is a big aspect for me, being a visual individual with a graphic design background, a book cover can make or break my decision as to whether or not I purchase. This edition, in my personal opinion, didn't have a strong cover design; supposedly representative of 'the Sprawl' within Gibson's story setting, this cover version is a collage of photographed buildings, slanted at an angle, whilst the title and author name slant in an opposite direction, with some New York Times blurb in the lower right corner.
It neither grabs nor fires my imagination. If I didn't know about William Gibson and 'Neuromancer', based on the cover alone, I probably would have ghosted past it.
But in the reading, for the time it was written, it's incredibly difficult not to think of Gibson as a visionary. His use of language is visual, sometimes even visceral, drawing your imagination down avenues that leave you wondering, 'How the Hell did he think of that?' There is no denying, Gibson's talent was near prophetic in its execution when he wrote 'Neuromancer'.
In truth it wasn't always smooth sailing when making my way through the pages. There were parts that had me working so damned hard to arrange inside my head, that at times frustrated me. Gibson would create abstract environments that often seemed comparable of a bad dream episode. The urge to read through these moments was strong, as was the urge to put the book down - which I did frequently.
THE CORE:
There is a darkness to 'Neuromancer' that is a touch depressing, oppressive, and at times, disturbing. Some scenes do an excellent job of conveying the disjointed social aspect of Gibson's cyberpunk world, and the decadent rot and decay often associated with it juxtaposed against high tech.
Artificial intelligence entities waging war against each other, and in the process manipulating humans around them, often creating a world within a world in order to conduct their business of manipulation.
Gibson's visionary world does a wonderful job of dealing with the dystopian authoritarian setting, merging aspects of the technical elite and powerfully wealthy pitted against the rebellious, disillusioned and displaced actors within its grim setting.
IN CLOSING:
Read in light of today's global, political, social and technological events, it almost serves as a mirror to our potential future path for humanity. A grim prospect to abstract against.
I've still forty pages left before finishing the book, primarily because I've struggled with certain elements and aspects of Gibson's writing, and because there are times I feel as if I'm experiencing someone else's bad trip laid out through words. But that's just me.
This isn't an effort to put people off 'Neuromancer', just a little discourse of my own based off what I've read up to present time. The book has sat on my bedside table untouched for the best part of several weeks, and my desire to dive back in and finish it is, shall we say, not my top priority, currently.
Undoubtedly the urge to 'jack in' and ride the neural net of Gibson's world will draw me in, finally. But until then, it will lay there in standby mode, silently waiting for me.
I leave you with the brilliant Leonard Cohen - "You Want It Darker".
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