Neuromancer

A 1984 science-fiction novel by William Gibson about washed-up hacker Case, who is hired for a dangerous cybercrime involving artificial intelligences. Its depiction of cyberspace helped shape cyberpunk.

Case: A skilled computer hacker whose damaged nervous system prevents him from accessing cyberspace. The novel follows his recruitment for a high-risk intrusion after his ability to jack in is restored.
Cyberspace: A computer-generated space in which users experience networked data as a navigable environment. Case’s hacking takes place in this visualized, immersive matrix.
William Gibson: An American-Canadian writer whose fiction helped establish cyberpunk in the 1980s. He wrote Neuromancer, drawing on ideas and settings developed in earlier stories.
Hugo Award for Best Novel: An annual award presented by science-fiction fans for a novel published in the preceding year. Neuromancer won the award in 1985, alongside major genre honors.
Snow Crash: A 1992 Neal Stephenson novel about a computer hacker confronting a threat in a corporate future. It revisits cyberspace and corporate power with a satirical tone unlike Gibson’s noir atmosphere.
Molly Millions: A mercenary with surgically implanted mirrored lenses and retractable blades beneath her fingernails. She is Case’s dangerous partner in the operation against Wintermute.
Artificial intelligence: The ability of computer systems to perform tasks associated with human intelligence. Wintermute’s capabilities and legal limits drive the novel’s central scheme.
Burning Chrome: A 1982 William Gibson short story about hackers who break into a criminal’s computer system. It introduces the Sprawl setting and elements that Gibson expanded in the novel.
Nebula Award for Best Novel: An annual award presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association for a novel. Neuromancer received the 1984 award, marking its immediate recognition by science-fiction writers.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: A 1968 Philip K. Dick novel about a bounty hunter tracking androids in a devastated future. Its questions about artificial life predate Neuromancer but center on empathy rather than hacking.

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Hugo AwardBroader topic: Its Best Novel win brought a defining cyberpunk work into the Hugo canon.