Neuromancer by William Gibson

Neuromancer has to be one of the most important books of the millennium, a weird fantastic mixture of futuristic technology, virtual reality, corporate power and drug use. The novel's international setting, a bio-product of globalization in literature, is very stimulating; however, its first setting Cheba or Night city is unforgettable.

'Night City was like a deranged experiment in social darwinism, designed by a bored researcher who kept his thumb permanently on the fast-forward button.'

The books main controlling idea concerns technologies evolution into a godlike consciousness. Wintermute an AI wants to merge with another AI Neuromancer, but the forces that be( Tessier Ashpool an inbred family of psychopathic cryogenetic aristocrats) won't allow it. Revolutionary at the time was the idea of cyberspace, or the matrix, a virtual reality where characters can take on physical form. The main characters themselves are devoid of human emotion. This is symptomatic. Technology is attempting to replace the body. The body is something to be overcome, transcended. Our central characters are Case, a drug addicted cyberspace cowboy and Molly, a futuristic femme fatale. They both think they are working for Armatage,but he is just a schizophrenic puppet for larger fish.
The book, written in 1984 has strangely relevant views on media and terrorism in todays post, post terror, terror world..

'There is always a point in which violence may well escalate, but beyond which terrorism has become symptomatic of the media gestalt itself.'

This is true of terrorism today. Terrorism is a media unto itself.

Politics in Neuromancer has become corporate.

'Power in Cases world meant corporate power... Viewed as organism they had attained a kind of immortality.'
The corporation figures largely in Neuromancer. They tend to control both history and future. Human evolution is cellular to the corporation, which grows only through AI.

This is my second reading of Neuromancer and i could read it again. The narrative flows well and ideas are conveyed with ease. It has that power to be both entertaining and educational.