Throughout Neuromancer, I found it difficult not to be reminded of Snow Crash. It is clear that Neuromancer influenced Snow Crash- and I together they changed the course of Science Fiction and possibly influenced technological innovation of the past few decades. In both, the protagonist starts out a talented burnout at the bottom of his game, only to be chosen by the ruling powers of the time and sucked in to an epic struggle for the fate of the future dystopia. Both protagonists are more concerned about the digital world than the real one, and both authors offer a chaotic future where the 20th century nation-built world order has collapsed.
So we follow Case, Neuromancer’s protagonist, through the anarchic sprawl of Japan to floating metropolises in zero G. At points the technological changes are intriguing to ponder, such as the plethora of biotech available or Gibson’s invention of the Cyberpunk themes like terms ‘the matrix’ and ‘jacking in’. Yet while the book does represent an interesting showcase of ideas, the plot was never compelling. I kept waiting for a non-visual description of what the matrix was, but as if Gibson had no understanding of Computer Science or was simply disinclined to share, the only descriptors of the digital world were permutations of ‘neon light in a dark background’. In the same sense, many of the characters felt like a surface with no substance. Perhaps I wasn’t paying attention, but what constitutes the AIs other than the fact that they are incomprehensible is still a mystery.
So, read this book as an interesting exposition of an invented future, not as a uniquely entertaining or enlightening story.