cyberpunk

[chrisvosje]

I have recently read 'Neuromancer' by William Gibson. I'm not a science fiction-fan, but I was quite amazed. Some call this cyberpunk the purest expression of our contemporary (postmodern, if you like) thinking, others say it's just SF linking to the internet.
I've talked to enthusiasts, but apparently there are still not much readers who take this genre seriously. They feel it is associated with films like 'Blade Runner' and 'The Matrix', which of course is very true, but they only see the special effects. I believe there might be more going on this genre. The borders between man and machine are explored, and this leads inevitably to the question what it means 'to be human'.
Most protagonists in these novels are anti-heroes. They are social outcasts, usually with a great talent in some field, but unable or unwilling to use that talent as a means to attain a 'respectable position' in society. These characters are made on the basis of stereotypes, but after reading 'Neuromancer' I am convinced that those stereotypes are something that William Gibson plays with, just like he plays with multiple layers of reality, of structure, of time,...
I would like to know what you think about this. Do you agree with me? Or do you disagree? If you disagree, please try to convince me I'm wrong.

[Munro]

I can neither agree or disagree as yet, because I am just about to start Virtual Light by William Gibson, and I've heard a lot of good things about his novels, including your comment, so I'll read it first, have a think and I'll get back to you. It should be good, it's supposed to be his best after Neuromancer.

[alatar]

if you like these stories and the questions they arouse, you should read isaac asimov's stories on robots...especially those such as bicentennial man and the three robot novels he wrote

[Mirrorshades]

I think that Science Fiction has always been looked down upon by the academic community and especially by those working in the field of literature. That said, if you study postmodern fiction at a university level you will undoubtedly end up studying cyberpunk. However, what I found when I was studying at university is that whilst the academic community are prepared to acknowledge that there has been an important relationship between SF and mainstream fiction ever since the 60s and 70s, they tend to ignore the fact that cyberpunk owes a far greater debt to to the traditions of SF than to the influence of other postmodern authors. What I mean to say is that SF has had a far greater influence on postmodern literature than postmodern literature has on SF (although there is clearly a kind of feedback mechanism in operation).

Anyway, I am digressing. I agree with you wholeheartedly. Cyberpunk is the genre which, in a time when our lives are being radically transformed by our relationships with technology, captures the zeitgeist in a way that no other genre can do. As far as I am concerned this is exaclty how it should be, as this has always been the task of SF!

If you are interested in this kind of stuff I can recommend a couple of books for you which are both informative in terms of their academic content and simply a good read.

Storming the Reality Studio, A Casebook of Cyberpunk and Postmodern Science Fiction by Larry McCaffery

Terminal Identity, The Virtual Subject in Postmodern Science Fiction by Scott Bukatman.

[chrisvosje]

Thanks.

The first time I heard - or rather: read - about cyberpunk was in Brian McHale's 'Constructing Postmodernism'. I thought it was interesting, but the whole book was a build-up towards that final chapter called POSTcyberMODERNpunkISM, or something like that.

As I said, I don't know many SF works. I'm reading Count Zero now, but either the surprise effect has disappeared or this book is not as breath-taking as Neuromancer. It's still a good book, but not the earthquake Neuromancer was. I'm planning on reading Sterling, Asimov, and maybe some others too (read a collection of short stories by P.K. Dick, a bit disappointing: great build-up, but disappointing endings, every time again). I once read something by Arthur C. Clarke (I think the title was 'Rendez-vous with Rama'), but I didn't think that was all that good. A friend of mine called it one of the best SF books ever, but I thought there was no challenge in reading it. So I didn't read any SF ever since, until I started Neuromancer, that is.

[Munro]

I have to say I was slightly disappointed with Neuromancer. I feel it was hyped up a bit, and while it was a great read and a fantastic, intelligent SF novel, it just didn't completely involve me like people said it would. Maybe as chrisvoje commented, the surpise effect of something new and cool had worn off after, what I thought was a lot better and probably the best SF novel I've read, Virtual Light. Gibson has a stange style of writing also, I often found myself having to re-read sentences and I'm not good with all that cyber-lingo etc. but don't get me wrong, Neuromancer was still cool. I got some questions for anyone who got into the book, if you could answer one, some or all of them I would be grateful (for understanding's sake): (WARNING: do not read ahead if you don't want some of the story ruined for you.)

1. What has Wintermute's freedom and subsequent merging with Neuromancer have to do with the destruction of Tessier-Ashpool's corruption and failed intentions as a family dream?
2. What would the "spindle shaped" Freeside complex look like externally? I honestly couldn't ever picture it. My picture of it is probably completely wrong.
3. Does an AI have the ability to expand into and override other computer systems, like Wintermute did to manipulate and co-ordinate it's freedom? eg. Controlling Armitage, directing Case.
4. What is the relevance of the beach world that Neuromancer created? How did he construct it in the first place?
5. What is a New Romancer? The title has that connotation...I just didn't know it's meaning specifically.
7. What exactly happened in that scene where they captured Riviera in Istanbul? There was that weird robot that disappeared...and the lights wents out...and Riviera spilt blood, or something...it was all unclear to me. And I wasn't reading drunk, either.
8. How can the merging of two AI's (like Wintermute and Neuromancer) elevate their powers so they actually become the matrix itself???

[chrisvosje]

Phew, Munro, that's quite a list of questions, and they're not easy ones either. But I guess asking questions after reading a book is a good sign. Whatever makes us think, right.

I have to think about it all, but I have given some thought to things concerning your questions 4 and 5.

As I see it Case is a loser and that shows in his relationships - in the 'sequel' (Count Zero) there is a reference to the Neuromancer story and to a man who couldn't commit himself to the ones he loved. He is down, he has lost all his abilities and he seems to have given up.
Molly is the dangerous femme fatale, an amazon. They get into a sexual relationship, but somehow they don't go deeper than that - until she starts telling him about her past (she becomes a more complete character at that point). She represents the hard way: pull Case out of the misery by force, pull him right into the action and he'll remember how strong he used to be.
Linda Lee is a different story. She's the little girl lost, the damsel in distress (no wonder she dies early on). The beach world is a world far away, a safe haven, away from the big bad world but not because that world is forgotten - remember the city that is far away, no matter how long you try to walk towards it (yes, Case gets away, but then again, he is given the choice, Linda is not: she is part of the creation). This world is an alternative: softness, kindness, love. Linda Lee has evolved herself too: she is no longer just a victim, she is still the little thief, the ex-junkie (the city in the background), but she has grown, she has been down and has crawled out of the pit. She shows Case he can find inner strength and become her partner in a relationship based on love and equality (not as the weaker party as with Molly, or as the stronger one as with Linda Lee in the beginning). Maybe that's the New Romance, made possible by Neuromancer?
After the story Case wants to create the world he had seen with Molly on the beach, but with Molly. Molly is a character all on her own and she does not (want to) fit in this world. Case is left behind all alone. One of the last things in the book is him seeing Neuromancer with Molly and a copy of himself in the matrix: his place there has been taken. Final sentence of the book: 'He never saw Molly again.' He lost it all.