Friday, October 25, 2024

Neuromancer

Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984) 288 pages

This originated the term Cyberpunk. It is a hard-boiled crime novel with a heist as the central plot device. It takes place in a futuristic world that would inspire the Blade Runner movies and The Matrix movies. Designer drugs, genetic manipulation, violence, and virtual reality are present everywhere. The main character Chase, while working to plant a computer virus as part of the heist, has to navigate three layers of virtual reality. The technobabble, made up terms for the future technology and the slang used in talking about it, is pretty dense. It was a struggle to find my bearings in the beginning. What is a noun and what is a verb in the sentence? From context, I'm pretty sure this is a noun. But is it a person, place, or thing? It is a bit shocking being dropped into this world, and each scene moves along very quickly. Eventually, I did become more accustomed to Gibson's use of language and went along for the fast-paced ride.
 

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