Neuromancer

Neuromancer, written in 1984, was both William Gibson's debut novel, and the father of the cyberpunk movement in science fiction. The novel is a crowning achievement of literary fiction in every sense of the word, even so far as being the first winner of the science-fiction "triple crown" -- the Nebula award, the Phillip K. Dick award, and the Hugo award. How's that for high praise? William Gibson, if you're reading this, pat yourself on the back. Neuromancer is a high-octane, adrenaline charged, drug fuelled, violence driven, technology tangled, sex soaked, psychedelic, techno-noire masterpiece. It's also really quite prophetic for the time it was written, considering its lyrical description/exploration of 'cyberspace' (a now common phrase, which Gibson invented) was put to paper when the internet itself wasn't fully realised and in people's homes until 1990. A lot of people claim that 'The Matrix' stole, or borrowed a lot from Neuromancer, and you certainly will notice the connections, but Gibson cleared this up in an interview, when he said: "Whatever of my work may be there, it seems to me to have gotten there by exactly the kind of creative cultural osmosis I've always depended on myself. If there's NEUROMANCER in THE MATRIX, there's THE STARS MY DESTINATION and DHALGREN in NEUROMANCER, and much else besides, down to and including actual bits of embarrassingly undigested gristle. And while I was drawing directly from those originals, and many others, the makers of THE MATRIX were drawing through a pre-existing "cyberpunk" esthetic, which constituted as much of a found object, for them, as "science fiction" did for me." The tale of 'Neuromancer' follows a console cowboy (hacker) named Case who hustles for a living in the neon lit underbelly of Chiba City, Japan. As a result of events that transpire, which I won't describe, Case is hired by a dark cloaked man named Armitage (cough, Morpheus, cough), and his femme fatale henchwoman, dressed from head to toe in black leather, Molly (cough, Trinity), to crack a military AI system that Case later learns is split into two darkly mysterious, sentient cyber personalities. The book has a gritty edge to it, like a dark alleyway at night, and the world Neuromancer depicts is bleak and depressing; however, Gibson juxtaposes this sense of dread brilliantly with his subtle, and delicately poetic prose. It's a world clouded in technology, and one that we seem to be spiralling out of control towards, and yet it doesn't ever take the 'Brave New World' approach of judging or comparing it to any pre technological society. It is what it is. And it is a bloody good read.

This is the deepest and original take on the cyberpunk genre. Gibson shows computers are just a detail on a modern retelling of the communist manifesto. The central claim is that capitalism erodes all boundaries, and that's the story of necromancer. Eliminating all boundaries to achieve some kind of mediocre nirvana where our personalities live forever in a dingey datacenter. Gibson is brilliant in his realization and style, and all subsequent cyberpunk authors miss the point. The logic is unassailable, and is an informatics update to Marx's materialist dialectic. The same problem underpins it all, that if matter or information is everything, then it is very hard to find anything worthwhile. Case tries to find love, affection, friendship, community and tradition to give substance to his life. Yet it is all empty, painfully stimulating recombinations of data. The book calls this out through the Zion characters, who still have all the substance of humanity, and reject the self destruction of Babylon. They even exhibit Christian compassion in their willingness to help save Babylonites from self destruction, with the catchphrase "Jah love". As Jesus says, greater love has no other than giving up one's life for a friend. In this sense, the book is honest and insightful, recognizing what has been lost by the informatics and materialism, and the utilitarian deconstruction and recombination of modern technology. Significantly, while all the other main characters are modified up the wazoo, the Zionites keep their bodies untampered. The Zion drug of choice is also a downer, vs Babylon's drug of choice which is a stimulant. The implicit message seems to be wrestling with a gnosticism, which values the output of the mind over the body, but leads to the dystopian world that Case lives in. On the other hand, the Zionites live self sufficiently and with more societal and bodily integrity (literally) than in Babylon. Gibson is wrestling with ancient and profound themes beneath the techno dazzle. Not to diminish his style, which is very compelling and kept me engaged the whole time. At any rate, all of this is missed by The Matrix and the cyberpunk genre that followed.

Après avoir fini Cyberpunk 2077, j'avais envie de m'immerger encore plus dans ce type d'univers. J'ai donc regarder en ligne quel était les meilleurs livres dans le style "Cyberpunk" et Neuromancer par William Gibson était toujours présent dans le top des classements, j'ai donc fini par l'acheter. L'auteur a un style impeccable pour décrire l'ambiance du monde dans lequel l'histoire se déroule, on a vraiment l'impression d'être dans la tête du personnage, tellement il y a de détails dans chaque scène. Que cela soit la couleur des murs, l'odeur des lieux, les bars avec des noms japonais et français, les sons de la rue, les relations entres les personnages, la criminalité, etc. Le plus gros problème que j'ai avec Neuromancer, c'est la façon dont les dialogues sont écrits. Je ne sais pas trop comment le décrire, mais l'auteur a un style bien à lui, qui passe ou casse avec le lecteur en question. Résultat, même arriver vers la fin du livre, j'avais l'impression de comprendre seulement un quart de l'histoire, j'ai donc regarder le résume de l'histoire en ligne pour comprendre ce qui se passer et pourquoi telles personnages faisait telle actions et pour quelles raisons. C'est un phénomène très étrange, parce que j'ai lu plus d'une centaine de livres en anglais et c'est la première fois que j'ai eu autant de difficultés pour comprendre le récit. Je pense que Neuromancer, fait partie de ces livres qui doivent être lu plusieurs fois pour vraiment faire attention à tous les petits détails présents dans les pages.

Una hermosa edición de un excelente libro, compré la versión de pasta dura y llegó en perfectas condiciones.

A difficult but incredibly rewarding read, in a world ensnared by AI. Great quality of the book itself, satisfied with the product.

Thanks for fast shipping and great packing. I'm going to buy other books soon.

Loved every second. Fantasy, sci-fi, extreme personalities, and musings about blurring the lines between man and machine. Reminded me of ghost in the shell, except that this was created first.