Neuromancer
By William Gibson, first published 1984 in Great Britain by Victor Gollancz.

This excellent science fiction story is rightfully considered a classic in the field. One of the first “cyberpunk” stories, it tells the story of a washed up computer “cowboy” who is recruited by a rouge AI (via a intermediary, a ex-marine who’s mind was reconstructed from basically scraps) to help remove a hardware block preventing said AI from becoming more intelligent and powerful.

In the book we find many interesting things. These include:

• A woman who has had surgery to give her retractable claws and night-vision (among other things).
• A ROM personality matrix or firmware construct of one of the best cowboys in the business.
• Urban sprawl stretching from Bostan to Atlanta.
• A Rastafarian colony in space.

Though this book wasn’t the first to use the term “cyberspace” (that was an earlier book by Gibson), it did help popularise it. The book was also a huge influence on the movie “The Matrix” (that term having been in use to reference computers for many years previous to “Neuromancer” though).

This book stands the test of time too. It has only two things that date it to a significant degree. The first is a constant reference to megabytes. When the book was written megabytes were big. Even into the early nineties PCs were still sold with megabyte sized hard-drives. The second is the references to a war with the Soviet Union. This war though plays only a minor part in the story, and mainly as background for one particular character (the ex-marine).

So, did I like the story? Yes I did. It is an excellent read, and I would recommend it to almost anybody who enjoys reading. It may have concepts that flow over the top of some people, but I still think that most people would get something out of it. Five out of five. I own a copy. And I will read again (and have read it before).

For more information, Wikipedia provides a great synopsis (including too many spoilers).

(Side-note, it shows how blind one can be. The title, made up of “Neuro” and “mancer” is obviously a play on necromancer. That is, someone who, raises the dead. “Neuro” is used instead of “necro” because while the computer raises the dead, “cowboys” interact with the “matrix” through their nervous system. They “jack in” to a virtual reality. I only just noticed the title when I started writing this review. Even though I’ve read the book many times before.)