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''Neuromancer'' is a 1984 science fiction novel by American-Canadian author William Gibson. Set in a near-future dystopia, the narrative follows Case, a computer hacker enlisted into a crew by a powerful artificial intelligence and a traumatised former soldier to complete a high-stakes heist. It was Gibson's debut novel and, following its success, served as the first entry in the Sprawl trilogy, followed by ''Count Zero'' (1986) and ''Mona Lisa Overdrive'' (1988).
Gibson had primarily written countercultural short stories for science-fiction periodicals before ''Neuromancer''. Influences on the novel include the detective stories of Raymond Chandler, the comic art of Jean Giraud, and William S. Burroughs's ''Naked Lunch'' (1959). ''Neuromancer'' expanded and popularised the setting and concepts of an earlier Gibson story, "Burning Chrome" (1981), which introduced cyberspace—a digital space traversable by humans—and "jacking in", a bio-mechanical method of interfacing with computers.
''Neuromancer'' is agreed as a foundational work of early cyberpunk, although critics differ on whether the novel ignited the genre or if it was lifted by its inevitable rise. They agree it highlighted the genre's key features, like the placement of technological advancement against societal decay and criminality. Gibson's novel also defined the major conventions and language of the genre—cyberspace, jacking in, and Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics, ICE. Critics discuss the novel in the historical context of the 1970s and 1980s, a period marked by conservatism, deregulation, and free-market economics.
''Neuromancer'' was released without significant hype but became an underground hit through word of mouth. Following release, it received critical acclaim and transformed the science-fiction genre. Mainstream recognition raised Gibson from relative obscurity. It remains the first and only novel to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award for Best Novel, and the Philip K. Dick Award for best original paperback. It remains an enduring classic and was named one of ''Time (magazine), Time'' All-Time 100 Novels.
In 1981, while working as a teaching assistant at his alma mater, the University of British Columbia, Gibson's Nebula Award-nominated short story "Johnny Mnemonic" introduced one of ''Neuromancer'' main characters, Molly Millions, Molly. "Johnny Mnemonic" infused elements of crime fiction, like marginalised communities and criminal society, with technology, blurring the boundary of human and machine. The setting of the Sprawl and the concept of cyberspace first appeared in Omni (magazine), ''Omni'' the following year in his short story "Burning Chrome", and were popularised by ''Neuromancer''. Later in 1981, Gibson was commissioned to write a novel by science-fiction editor Terry Carr for his second series of Ace Science Fiction Specials; he submitted an outline later that year with the working title ''Jacked In'', eventually renaming it ''Neuromancer''. Gibson did not understand computing or networking in much detail, primarily wanting the shared vocabulary surrounding the topics.
The novel underwent considerable revision, with Gibson saying he rewrote the first two-thirds twelve times to ensure there was both stylistic consistency and a "vaguely plausible" plot. Gibson's sought to eliminate "clunk", contracting his prose to ensure "individual parts carry more weight". He did not write the novel with a concrete outline, or initially know how it would end, writing the novel in "blind animal panic" because he thought it would fail if he did not hold the reader's attention. Gibson added the novel's final sentence ("He never saw Molly again.") to prevent himself from writing a sequel.
''Neuromancer''
at the William Gibson Aleph, featuring cover art and adaptations
''Neuromancer''
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''Neuromancer''
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Study Guide for William Gibson: ''Neuromancer'' (1984)
by Paul Brians of Washington State University
Background
Author and composition
In 1981, while working as a teaching assistant at his alma mater, the University of British Columbia, Gibson's Nebula Award-nominated short story "Johnny Mnemonic" introduced one of ''Neuromancer'' main characters, Molly Millions, Molly. "Johnny Mnemonic" infused elements of crime fiction, like marginalised communities and criminal society, with technology, blurring the boundary of human and machine. The setting of the Sprawl and the concept of cyberspace first appeared in Omni (magazine), ''Omni'' the following year in his short story "Burning Chrome", and were popularised by ''Neuromancer''. Later in 1981, Gibson was commissioned to write a novel by science-fiction editor Terry Carr for his second series of Ace Science Fiction Specials; he submitted an outline later that year with the working title ''Jacked In'', eventually renaming it ''Neuromancer''. Gibson did not understand computing or networking in much detail, primarily wanting the shared vocabulary surrounding the topics.
The novel underwent considerable revision, with Gibson saying he rewrote the first two-thirds twelve times to ensure there was both stylistic consistency and a "vaguely plausible" plot. Gibson's sought to eliminate "clunk", contracting his prose to ensure "individual parts carry more weight". He did not write the novel with a concrete outline, or initially know how it would end, writing the novel in "blind animal panic" because he thought it would fail if he did not hold the reader's attention. Gibson added the novel's final sentence ("He never saw Molly again.") to prevent himself from writing a sequel.
Inspiration
''Neuromancer'' has many literary progenitors. Detective fiction, like the work of Raymond Chandler, is frequently cited as an influence on ''Neuromancer.'' For example, critics note similarities between Gibson's Case and Chandler's Philip Marlowe: Case is described as a "cowboy" and a "detective" and is involved in a heist; Molly, the novel's primary female character, has connections to the "molls" of 1940s film noir. Case's illegal practices, like theft and murder, situate him within a wider tradition of transgressive detectives, like the opiate addiction of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Gibson stated that the pulp noir core of the novel was key to engaging his readers, and cited the works of Dashiell Hammett and Robert Stone (novelist), Robert Stone as major influences on its style. For dialogue, the author incorporated late 1960s Toronto drug dealer and Motorcycle club, biker slang into the novel. Gibson's prose style—fast-paced, fragmented imagery—resembles the styles of William S. Burroughs and J. G. Ballard. Burroughs's ''Naked Lunch'' (1959) is frequently cited by critics as an influence on ''Neuromancer'', including by one as its "principal source", as a literary predecessor of Gibson's "cyberspace". Gibson's conception of cyberspace was compared by Samuel R. Delany to Roger Zelazny's early short stories; Delany and other critics have explored the character of Molly as a development on the cyborg assassin of Joanna Russ's ''The Female Man'' (1975). Visual media likewise impacted the style of ''Neuromancer''. Gibson has repeatedly mentioned the artwork of the 1970s French magazine Métal hurlant, ''Métal Hurlant'', with critics noting the proto-cyberpunk aesthetic of Jean Giraud, Jean "Moebius" Giraud's "The Long Tomorrow" (1976), republished in the American ''Heavy Metal (magazine), Heavy Metal'' magazine in 1977. John Carpenter's ''Escape from New York'' (1981) influenced Gibson's approach to world-building, pointing to throwaway lines that suggested much about the film's world and its history beyond the narrative itself. Upon seeing Ridley Scott's ''Blade Runner'' (1982), Gibson worried readers would think he had copied the film's "fine visual texture". Gibson wrote in his introduction to the graphic novel of ''Neuromancer'' that ''Blade Runner'' was not a conscious influence; in a later interview, he recounted a lunch with Scott where they both acknowledged a shared debt to Moebius's work in ''Métal Hurlant''.Plot
Case is a low-level black market, hustler in the dystopian Organized crime, underworld of Chiba (city), Chiba City, Japan. Once a talented hacker (computer security), computer hacker and "console cowboy", Case was caught stealing from his employer, who retaliated by damaging Case's central nervous system, leaving him unable to access the virtual reality Dataspaces, dataspace called the "matrix". Case is approached by Molly Millions, Molly, an augmented "razorgirl" and mercenary on behalf of a shadowy US ex-military officer named Armitage, who offers to cure Case in exchange for his services as a hacker. Case undergoes the cure, but discovers that Armitage has sabotaged him with a time-delayed poison. If Case completes the job, Armitage will disarm the poison; if not, he will find himself crippled again. Armitage has Case and Molly steal a Read-only memory, ROM module that contains the Mind transfer, saved consciousness of one of Case's mentors, legendary hacker McCoy Pauley. Suspicious of his motives and the unusual nature of the job, Molly and Case begin to investigate Armitage on the side. They discover that Armitage is actually Colonel Willis Corto, the only survivor of the failed anti-Soviet mission "Screaming Fist". He was returned to the United States for extensive psychotherapy and reconstructive surgery, but snapped after learning that the government had been aware the mission would likely fail and went ahead with it regardless. He killed his handler and disappeared into the criminal underworld, eventually resurfacing under the name Armitage. In Istanbul, the team recruits Peter Riviera, a Psychopathy, sociopathic thief and drug addict. The trail leads Case to Wintermute, an artificial intelligence created by the eccentric Tessier-Ashpool family. The Tessier-Ashpools spend their time in rotating cryonic preservation in their home, the Villa Straylight. The Villa is located on Freeside, a O'Neill cylinder, cylindrical space habitat which functions as a Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas-style space resort for the wealthy. Wintermute reveals itself to Case and explains that it is one half of a super-Artificial intelligence, AI entity planned by the family. It is programmed with a need to merge with its other half, Neuromancer, but because of the severe restrictions placed on AI programs by the Turing Registry, it cannot achieve this on its own. It has manipulated and recruited Armitage and his team to bring it into contact with Neuromancer, access to which is physically secured within the Villa Straylight. Case is tasked with entering cyberspace to pierce the software barriers around Neuromancer with an Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics, icebreaker program. Riviera is to obtain the password to the physical terminal from Lady 3Jane Marie-France Tessier-Ashpool, the only member of the family awake and at the Villa. Armitage's personality starts to disintegrate and he begins to believe he is back in Screaming Fist. It is revealed that Wintermute had originally contacted Corto through a computer during his psychotherapy, during which time he manipulated Corto to create the Armitage persona. As Corto breaks through, he becomes violently unstable and Wintermute ejects him into space. Riviera meets Lady 3Jane and betrays the team, helping Lady 3Jane and Hideo, her ninja bodyguard, capture Molly. Under orders from Wintermute, Case tracks Molly down. Neuromancer traps Case within a simulated reality after he enters cyberspace. He finds the consciousness of Linda Lee, his girlfriend from Chiba City, who was murdered by one of his underworld contacts. He also meets Neuromancer, who takes the form of a young boy. Neuromancer tries to convince Case to remain in the virtual world with Linda, but Case refuses. With Wintermute guiding them, Case goes to confront Lady 3Jane, Riviera, and Hideo. Riviera tries to kill Case, but Lady 3Jane is sympathetic towards Case and Molly, and Hideo protects him. Riviera flees, and Molly explains that he is doomed anyway, as she had Mickey Finn (drugs), spiked his drugs with a lethal toxin. The team makes it to the computer terminal. Case enters cyberspace to guide the icebreaker; Lady 3Jane gives her password, and the lock opens. Wintermute unites with Neuromancer, becoming a Superintelligence, superconsciousness. The poison in Case's bloodstream is washed out and he and Molly are profusely paid, while Pauley's ROM construct is apparently erased at his own request. Molly leaves Case, who finds a new girlfriend and resumes his hacking work. Wintermute/Neuromancer contacts him, claiming it has become "the sum total of the works, the whole show" and is looking for others like itself. Scanning recorded transmissions, the super-AI finds a Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence, transmission from the Alpha Centauri star system, not being decoded or interpreted before. This implies that the counterpart in the Centauri system is another, alien super-AI, so first contact is being made between AI-s, instead of humankind and alien lifeforms. While logged into cyberspace, Case glimpses Neuromancer standing in the distance with Linda Lee, and himself. He also hears inhuman laughter, which suggests that Pauley still lives. The sighting implies that Neuromancer created a copy of Case's consciousness, which now exists in cyberspace with those of Linda and Pauley.Genre
When Gibson was writing ''Neuromancer'', the term "cyberpunk" did not exist. Coined by Bruce Bethke for a short-story title, the term "cyberpunk" was popularised by Gardner Dozois in a 1984 ''The Washington Post'' article, using the term to describe Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Lewis Shiner, and Greg Bear. Gibson communicated via letter with these individuals, sharing ideas, criticism and praise with Sterling, Shiner, and, additionally, Rudy Rucker. This created a kind of shared outlook through recurring themes and motifs. As with the New Wave (science fiction), New Wave, the term could reflect a desire for the writers to be distinguished from the "old farts" previously eminent in science fiction.The cyberpunk style contrasted control and communications technologies with the rebellious, countercultural punk aesthetic, and used metaphor to blur the boundaries of human and machine: "drugs and sex and other thrills turn you on, you get a buzz, you get wired, you space out, you go on automatic". Although frequently cited as the quintessential cyberpunk novel, ''Neuromancer'' prototype status has provided wider analytical significance, extending beyond the cyberpunk movement. Owing to its clear influences, critics have discussed the novel and its structure in relation to pulp literature.Context and interpretation
Political and economic
''Neuromancer'', its sequels and other cyberpunk stories are often discussed within the socio-economic context of the 1980s, a period of economic restructuring, corporate globalization, and government deregulation. In the 1990s, a particularly influential view was that the novel reflected the "dilemmas of Post-Fordism, post-Fordist work and life", with Gibson reflecting or recreating the societal change brought on by the economic and industrial changes of the 1970s and 1980s. Cyberspace's reliance on the circulation of data can be understood as a metaphor for the global circulation of financial capital, and its addictiveness parodies the culture of Workaholic, workaholism among Silicon Valley developers. His protagonists have been identified as resembling contract workers, with Case dependent on diazepam to cope with the barrage of "relentless and fragmented data [and] get through the workday". The novel's characters represent the professional–managerial class and the novel was popular with the demographic. While the novel represents anxiety about societal change, it is not generally viewed as being about resisting it. Gibson's protagonists do not threaten the social order of his worlds. Corporations view the novel's freelance criminal protagonists as another tool at their disposal. Gibson's inexperience as an author led to the novel capturing the essence of 1980s inequality but reinforcing and appealing to the dominant power structure, leaving his "dead-cynicism [and] fashionable survival". Caroline Alphin writes that human life is worth whatever it is worth to an employer. After his nervous system is damaged and he loses his ability to work as a hacker, Case must murder people for money to replenish his human capital because of Chiba (city), Chiba City's Neoliberalism, neoliberalist order, expanding that death in the novel is represented as "failure to maximise one's human capital". The novel shows that human minds can be saved to a CD-ROM, preserving deceased or unwilling people's technical skills for at-will use by corporations.Technological
Gibson's generation was the first to write science fiction at a time when the genre's concepts were becoming part of daily life. Gibson recognised, and benefitted from, the growing public fascination with the evolving technology landscape, and used these concerns to "create an entire cultural vocabulary", merging the language of human experience with the electronic. Bruce Sterling relates the cyborg to the increasing use of technology that directly interfaces with the human body, citing contact lenses and the Walkman, Sony Walkman.Race
Some critics consider ''Neuromancer'' depiction of an in-orbit Rastafarianism, Rastafarian cluster called Zion. Scholar Andrew Strombeck writes that their vocabulary is distinct from the jargon used elsewhere, but notes that the portrayal embodies stereotypes about Rastafarians. He highlights both the group's origin as a Labour movement, labor protest movement and that they are the only group to perform Manual labour, manual labor in the novel. Their society could provide an alternative to corporate hegemony but ultimately form "another node in the capitalist network". Samuel R. Delany, an African Americans, African-American writer, criticized the portrayal. Tom Moylan notes that ''Neuromancer'' loses its "critical edge" in exploring Zion's within the primary narrative, and describes a pattern in Gibson's ''Sprawl'' trilogy of including the racial Other (philosophy), Other but limiting their role to "happy helper".Reception
''Neuromancer'' was released to immense critical success, becoming the only novel ever to win the "triple crown"—Hugo Award for Best Novel, the Nebula Award for Best Novel and the Philip K. Dick Award for original paperback fiction. It was nominated or shortlisted for virtually every other science-fiction prize, including the 1984 BSFA Award for Best Novel. Released "without fanfare" as a Paperback, mass-market paperback, ''Neuromancer'' gained an audience primarily through word of mouth, coinciding with the boom in personal computing. ''The Observer'' noted that ''The New York Times'' didn't mention the novel until 10 years after release, but contemporary reviews were largely positive. ''The Observer'' and ''The Evening Sun'', agreed that the novel presented a compelling image of a near-future. One critic compared Gibson's cyberspace to Disney Corporation, Disney's Tron (1982). It appealed to people who were fans of Gibson's short stories, and found success with readers who were not previously interested in computer fiction. Gibson recorded an abridged version of the novel as cassette-based audiobook in 1995, which a reviewer for Wired (magazine), ''Wired'' found somewhat disappointing but repeated praise for the novel itself.Impact
The novel catalysed the cyberpunk movement, influencing artists across virtually all forms of media, including film, literature, visual art, fashion and video gaming. It has been described as "the quintessential cyberpunk novel", and the "archetypal cyberpunk work", and the most notable 1980s science-fiction novel. Edward Bryant sarcastically referred to subsequent cyberpunk works as NOGS—novels of Gibsonian sensibility. In 2005, Time (magazine), ''Time'' named ''Neuromancer'' one of its All-Time 100 Novels. The novel's immense success, alongside the continuous output work of other early cyberpunk writers—most commonly listed as Bruce Sterling, Lewis Shiner, John Shirley and Rudy Rucker—virtually guaranteed the genre's immediate survival. In particular, ''Neuromancer'' provided future cyberpunk stories with a basic structure and vocabulary: protagonists who interface with computer hardware using a biological port, circumvent anti-hacking protocols (Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics, or ICE) and navigate a three-dimensional virtual world (cyberspace). Motifs and terminology popularised by the novel—the matrix, flatlining, cranial jack, biological microchips and traversal in cyberspace—were replicated or parodied by other authors. Developments anticipated by the novel include reality TV, nanomachines and virtual communities. It inspired early computer programmers in the creation of the Internet and impacted early computer culture. Gibson has rejected the novel's characterisation as impactful on real-life technologists, reasoning that the ideas came "from the same place [he] got them". In 1992, John Perry Barlow, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, introduced the term "cyberspace" to the US Intelligence Community during a speech in 1992, mentioning ''Neuromancer'' directly. To Gibson's dismay, the term provided a name for a product by Autodesk.Adaptations
In 1989, Marvel Comics, Marvel's Epic Comics imprint published a 48-page graphic novel version by Tom De Haven, Tom de Haven and Bruce Jensen. It only covers the first two chapters, "Chiba City Blues" and "The Shopping Expedition", and was never continued. A loosely based Neuromancer (video game), video game adaptation of the same name was published in 1988 by Interplay Entertainment for the Apple II and Commodore 64. While ''Neuromancer'' has never been adapted into a film, there have been several attempts; several journalists have described the novel as "unfilmable". British director Chris Cunningham and musician Aphex Twin were attached to the project, providing the script and soundtrack, respectively. While Cunningham's script gained Gibson's blessing, Cunningham ultimately withdrew over not being given final cut privilege. Actor Hayden Christensen was rumoured to be attached. Other directors with previous connections to aborted film projects include Chuck Russell, Vincenzo Natali and, most recently, Deadpool (film), ''Deadpool'' director Tim Miller (director), Tim Miller in 2017. Natali, who also had Gibson blessing, spent several years the project; offers were extended to actors Liam Neeson and Mark Wahlberg until Natali became unavailable. In February 2024, Apple Inc, Apple announced that it had greenlit Neuromancer (TV series), a 10-episode series for Apple TV+, co-produced by Skydance Television, Anonymous Content, and DreamCrew Entertainment, with J. D. Dillard joining Roland as co-showrunner. The announced cast includes Callum Turner as Case, Briana Middleton as Molly, Joseph Lee (actor), Joseph Lee as Hideo, Mark Strong as Armitage, and Clémence Poésy as Marie-France Tessier.'Notes and references
Notes
References
Bibliography
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*''Neuromancer''
at the William Gibson Aleph, featuring cover art and adaptations
''Neuromancer''
at Worlds Without End
''Neuromancer''
at Goodreads
Study Guide for William Gibson: ''Neuromancer'' (1984)
by Paul Brians of Washington State University