The Sprawl trilogy (also known as the Neuromancer trilogy) is
William Gibson
William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...
's first set of novels, and is composed of ''
Neuromancer
''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 traumatis ...
'' (1984), ''
Count Zero
''Count Zero'' is a science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson, originally published in 1986. It presents a near future whose technologies include a network of supercomputers that created a "matrix" in "cyberspace", an acce ...
'' (1986), and ''
Mona Lisa Overdrive'' (1988).
The novels are all set in the same fictional future. The Sprawl trilogy shares this setting with Gibson's short stories "
Johnny Mnemonic" (1981), "
Burning Chrome" (1982), and "
New Rose Hotel" (1984).
Setting and story arc
The novels are set in a near-future world dominated by
corporations
A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...
and
ubiquitous computing. The events of the novels are spaced over 16 years, and although there are familiar characters that appear, each novel tells a self-contained story. Gibson focuses on the effects of technology: the
unintended consequences as it filters out of research labs and onto the street where it finds new purposes. He explores a world of direct
mind-machine links ("jacking in"), emerging
machine intelligence, and a global information space, which he calls "
cyberspace
Cyberspace is an interconnected digital environment. It is a type of virtual world popularized with the rise of the Internet. The term entered popular culture from science fiction and the arts but is now used by technology strategists, security ...
". Some of the novels' action takes place in The Sprawl, officially the "Boston-Atlanta Metropolitan Axis" - an urban environment extending along most of the East Coast of the United States (as a fictional extrapolation of the real-life
Northeast megalopolis
The Northeast megalopolis, also known as the Northeast Corridor, Acela Corridor, Boston–Washington corridor, BosWash, or BosNYWash, is the most populous megalopolis exclusively within the United States, with slightly over 50 million resident ...
).
The
story arc
A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of a plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing narrative, storyline in episode, episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strip ...
which frames the trilogy follows a wide cast of characters in a persistent, ongoing narrative - the major commonality between the three being The Sprawl itself. It focuses on the self-contained stories of each character, and highlights their narrative links through suggestion, references, and imagery.
''
Neuromancer
''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 traumatis ...
'' tells the story of Case, a cyberspace "cowboy" (hacker) who gets picked up for a job with an unknown benefactor. The book is the only one in the trilogy that follows a single cohesive plot, with the sequels both featuring multi-strand narrative structures that culminate in the end.
''
Count Zero
''Count Zero'' is a science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson, originally published in 1986. It presents a near future whose technologies include a network of supercomputers that created a "matrix" in "cyberspace", an acce ...
'' consists of three major protagonists, and chapters alternate from one character's story to the next. The first of these is Turner, an ex-military mercenary. After becoming the victim of a bombing attack, Turner is hired by an old colleague to assist the dangerous extraction of a tech developer. The second is of Bobby Newmark, a teenager living in the slums with his mother. After an attempt at an illegal cyberspace run, Bobby is forced into hiding when it becomes apparent his experiment has put a target on his back. The third is of Marly Krushkova, a disgraced art museum curator who, after being caught in a major fraud scam, is hired by the immensely wealthy Josef Virek to find the artist behind a series of enigmatic artworks.
Finally'',
Mona Lisa Overdrive'' follows four narrative plot threads in a pattern similar to that of ''Count Zero''. The first is of Kumiko, teenage daughter to a Yakuza boss, whose father sends her to London to keep her safe during an anticipated gang war. The second is of artist Slick Henry, who spends his time making robots from scrap metal. Slick is suddenly thrust into the intrigue of the novel when someone calls in a debt by asking him to watch over a cyberspace cowboy locked in a run. The third thread follows prostitute Mona and her relationship with her abusive boyfriend/pimp. The final plot thread follows Angie Mitchell, a "simstim" (virtual sensory movies) actress in rehabilitation who can access cyberspace mentally.
Reception
The trilogy was commercially and critically successful.
Steven Poole
Steven Poole (born 1972) is a British author, journalist, and video game theorist. He particularly concerns himself with the abuse of language and has written two books on the subject: ''Unspeak'' (2006) and ''Who Touched Base in My Thought Showe ...
, writing in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', described "''Neuromancer'' and the two novels which followed, ''Count Zero'' (1986) and the gorgeously titled ''Mona Lisa Overdrive'' (1988)" as making up "a fertile holy trinity, a sort of Chrome Koran (the name of one of Gibson's future rock bands) of ideas inviting endless reworkings".
All three books were nominated for major science fiction awards, including:
* ''
Neuromancer
''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 traumatis ...
'' – Nebula & Philip K. Dick Awards winner, British Science Fiction Award nominee, 1984;
Hugo Award winner, 1985
* ''
Count Zero
''Count Zero'' is a science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson, originally published in 1986. It presents a near future whose technologies include a network of supercomputers that created a "matrix" in "cyberspace", an acce ...
'' – Nebula and British Science Fiction awards nominee, 1986;
Hugo and Locus Awards nominee, 1987
* ''
Mona Lisa Overdrive'' – Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards nominee, 1989
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprawl trilogy, The
William Gibson
William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...
Cyberpunk novels
Novel series
Science fiction book series
Science fiction novel trilogies