Loving the 80s looking glasses!
Neuromancer by William Gibson is considered a sci-fi classic. First published in 1984, it was revolutionary for its time. We follow the story of Case, a computer cowboy who hacks into corporate systems via the Matrix, a graphic representation of the databanks of every computer in the human system. Left neurotically maimed by a former client he double-crossed, he is hired anew by a man who offers to ‘fix’ him in exchange for his hacking talents. But things aren’t as they seem and it is slowly revealed that the entity running the show is a powerful AI.
I had really high hopes for this novel. It’s famous for being the first cyberpunk novel, Gibson coining the term himself. Full of imagination beyond the technology of the time, it is impressive to know that Gibson wrote this on a typewriter and didn’t even own a computer. However, I think being a child of the technology generation, who has grown up with the many offsprings of this novel, it didn’t have nearly as much impact on me as it would have twenty or thirty years ago.
I recognised the first line of the book as one that is often picked out as a great example of a first line: The sky above the port was the color of television, turned to a dead channel. Great stuff. I then swiftly lost myself in the bombardment of characters.
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
There is so much in this novel that I love. The richness of the world, the infinate creative ideas, the tech-noir tone… There are some exceptionally written passages in this book, and some wonderfully memorable and vivid scenes, such as Riviera’s hallucinatory show at the bar and Neuromancer’s desolate beach dreamscape. However, I often found myself completely lost, not understanding what the main driving elements of the plot were suppost to be. It made me feel rather stupid at times, for not being able to follow it.
What did Armitage ask Molly and Case to do and why? I never quite understood their original task, other than it was to do with hacking. Why did they recruit Riviera? Why did he try to kill Case at the end? What were Wintermute’s motivations for anything? What did he want to do when he was free? And why the hell didn’t Case or Molly ever question it? Didn’t wonder if Wintermute might become insanly dangerous if freed?
I found Case’s character extremely lacking – but I suspect that this might be deliberate, so he is more like an emtpy vessle for the story. The element about Case finding a sense of rage also confused me. I wasn’t sure of its conclusion or purpose, though I feel it was meant to be significant at the novel’s end.
There were so many characters and corporations integral to the plot, and so much new language to get my head around, I think I would be able to enjoy this book more on a second reading. I can understand why people love this book, I really can. It has so many merits – but for me, the jumping plot and information overload frazzled my brain.