Gibson, William. Neuromancer. NY: Ace, 1995 (originally published in 1984). 271pp. $6.99 (paper). 91-174394. ISBN 0-441-56959-5. C.I.P.
A winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards, this book takes a dark look at the future of human civilization. Earth's governments have largely been replaced by multinational companies, especially Japanese ones. The world is managed through (and, as we find out, by) an omnipresent computer network. Civilization mainly concerns itself with money, drugs, and sex. The antihero of Neuromancer is Case, a professional hacker in today's terms. Case jacks into the network directly with neural implants and steals information from one company for another. At the beginning of the book, however, Case is a has-been. A former employer did not appreciate Case trying to make money on the side and left Case with a damaged nervous system. He meets up with Molly, a surgically enhanced mercenary, who whisks Case into the world of a mysterious figure named Armitage. Case's new employers restore his ability to interface with the network. Armitage, an agent of an artificial intelligence (AI), wants Case and Molly to break into the computer system of Tessier-Ashpool S.A., to free another AI from captivity. Tessier-Ashpool owns an orbital habitat, Freeside, and has kept itself a family-run concern by repeated cloning of its founders. Case, Molly, Armitage, and their associates in crime have to travel to Freeside to release the captive AI. Gibson handles the technical aspects of the plot believably, considering this book was written well before the Internet became as widespread as it is today. The situations, to state the obvious, are adult in nature, so this book should be used in school settings with great caution. Students will eat it up, but parents might not.—John J. Wheaton, St. Francis High School, Louisville, KY
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