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William Gibson's Neuromancer was the first novel to win the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the Phillip K. Dick Award, described by one reviewer as the "holy trinity of science fiction." That, combined with a sparkling recommendation from a good friend, spurred me to give this 1984 cyberpunk novel a try. Despite having occasional problems following the story and keeping up with Gibson's futuristic lexicon, I find Neuromancer to be an electrifying introduction to the genre. Gibson is a true visionary, and, having now read his landmark piece of literature, I can see how far-reaching his influence has been in the science fiction world.

Case is a cowboy, one of the best in the business. He was, at least until he chose to cross the wrong people. Abducted and taken to a secret laboratory in Memphis, Case's neural circuitry is altered, preventing him from doing what he does best: jacking in. Case was a ruler of Gibson's vision of cyberspace, a world within a world that allows people be free of their physical bodies. He was a crack hacker, and there was nothing he could not do. Without that in his life, however, Case is a shell of a man, running through life without a direction and without a prayer.

Enter Armitage, a mysterious figure of wealth and power, and his beautiful assassin Molly. Armitage promises Case a return to the life he loved, assuming he helps Armitage with a dangerous and difficult task. Seeing his current life as a meaningless collection of nothingness, Case signs on, eager for a chance to "jack in" to cyberspace. For Case loathes the flesh, as it inhibits man's true potential. Why be trapped in the "meat" world when one can live life in the heart of the cyberworld? But who is Armitage, and what is his true goal? And, of all the cowboys in the world, why Case?

William Gibson crafts a futuristic landscape as detailed and rich as the one in which we now live. His vision is so extraordinary that one can see its echoes in such modern films as The Matrix and The Thirteenth Floor. Gibson envisioned cyberspace before many in the world were even turned on to computers, and he displays an excellent grasp of its power, a power we all seem to take for granted. Dealing with the tech world and concepts such as artificial intelligence, Gibson delivers a thinking man's thriller for the next century. For its majesty and its crushing impact on the genre as a whole, Neuromancer is a must-read for any science fiction fan.

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(Reviewed 1/30/00.)