What made the Sprawl trilogy by Gibson must-read-books for me was the noir aspects that Gibson wrapped around all his plots. Neuromancer fit that definition in spades. 'Classic cyberpunk characters were marginalized, alienated loners who lived on the edge of society in generally dystopic futures where daily life was impacted by rapid technological change, an ubiquitous datasphere of computerized information, and invasive modification of the human body.' – Lawrence Person The new science fiction writers were too like the granddaddies of the genre only paler in complexion and not as bone deep on science. The award winning novel was a breath of fresh air for a genre that had become too inbred.

Thirty years ago Neuromancer by William Gibson was published. Then speak of the handles as though they were things in themselves.” We carve history from totalities beyond our grasp. “Eras are conveniences, particularly for those who never experienced them. Publisher: He’ll never agree to that, Gibson, he’s sophisticated and stylish, he’s avant garde, he’s state of the market, forward looking, progressive, he puts it out there and we have to catch up –Įditor: But this one is hard to follow, maybe he could do a glossary for the language, it’s not Burgess, but, you know, just a little hard to follow – Publicist: It’s why they keep coming back, it’s gonna sell –Įditor: Yeah, yeah, it’s gonna sell, but you think we can get him to add in some explanations, some crumbs along the path, I mean we’re not all Gibson, the rest of us need him to step it down a little – Publisher: That’s what readers love about Gibson, he drops you into a great world building and you just have to keep up – Publisher: Ok, I got all that, I think, and Gibson’s great, witty, sophisticated and stylish writing, and also lots of great characters and snappy dialogue … but what was it about?Įditor: It’s about a lot of stuff, Gibson can stuff a lot into a book –Įditor: - but it was a little hard to follow, maybe he could have added a glossary, or a prologue, you know, just to help us out a little –

Publicist: You know, I’m interested to hear what you think it’s about.Įditor: O for God’s sake! It was about a lot of stuff, it’s Gibson after all –Įditor: - it was about time travel and alternate history and post-apocalypse and corporate espionage, and avatars and – But it was … a little hard to follow, you know? What was it about? Publisher: I know, it’s Gibson, and it’s going to sell. Publicist: It was great! It’s Gibson, it’s going to sell. Publication meeting at Berkley Publishing in early 2014.

William gibson the jackpot trilogy