What do the word cyberspace, the band named Straylight Run, and space-dwelling Rastafarians have in common? Neuromancer. Published in '84, this is THE cyberpunk novel in my mind. Its value is not in its archetype, but in the ability to blindside the reader and its extrapolation of concepts & scenarios which are still current today. There are two things that any writing about Neuromancer must mention: it's the origin of the word 'cyberspace,' and it's a science fiction novel that was written on a typewriter. Unfortunately these breathless reviews and retrospectives have hyped the novel out of its natural proportion. Gibson is a little irritated with the typewriter thing. He points out that everything was written on one in those days, it was pre-PC. Which may explain why the novel is so compeling today, it's not shackeld with an indoctrinated, pre-visualized version of technology. Whatever the reason, it's an awesome read. The imagrey Gibson uses and the depth of the world it shows are really what make the book. Who would seriously envision a cludged together orbital habitat full of dub-listening, ganjafied Rastafarians? It was a watershed for my 14 year-old brain when I read it and it must have gotten some other people, too, if a band would use one of the four section titles as their name. You should enjoy this even if you're old and jaded.
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