Techno-Thrillers discussion

March 2025 BOTM:

Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984)

The first cyberpunk book? Maybe not the first, but evidently it sets the standard. I haven't read it. It comes highly recommended by some. #58 on the Best Technothrillers Ever list, but #17 on Best Science Fiction Ever Written.

This 1984 Neuromancer novel sure feels a bit like the 1982 Blade Runner movie.

The overall narrative arc is interesting, but often leaves something to be desired when exchanging the macro/forest view for the detailed/trees views. He speaks of using some sort of goggles or headset analogous to VR (though it never says those words) and speaks of hacking as navigating through some sort of a visual representation of computer systems. Much of that is utter nonsense and uses descriptions and skimming the surface metaphors that have no real meaning most of the time. I guess you just have to use your imagination to replace his insinuations with something sensible, because honestly, this author seems to know little about computers or networks. That is possible. The vibe and higher level story are still interesting.

Apple TV+ is making a TV series of Neuromancer for late 2035 or early 2026. Callum Turner has been cast to play Case, the main character. Callum is a British actor who starred recently in the movie Boys in the Boat and co-starred in the series Masters of the Air. Get your read in while you can. While Blade Runner is the iconic cyberpunk movie, Neuromancer is the iconic cyberpunk book. This will have that somewhat dystopian techno-geek noir feel. The tech is much more speculative than honest cyber criminal stuff. So, if your are a computer nerd … it will be more of a story with a vibe … and probably won’t have actual real-world networking jargon.

I can’t say I’ve read a realistic cyber hacking thriller. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest is probably closest, but the PBS FRONTLINE episode exposing Pegasus is the only true cybersecurity thing I’ve seen in the last 20 years.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/do...

This book is often like an acid trip or some sort of fever dream. It doesn't really make sense. There is some sort of loose visual metaphor of cyberspace/hacking, ... but that part of it is utter nonsense. It's like a mash-up of Ocean's 11 and Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation and Inception and Lawnmower Man and Tron and Alice in Wonderland ... and if that appeals to you ... then maybe ... this might book might appeal to you. But this is a book, not a movie. You can't just smoke something and settle in for something trippy and novel that lasts a couple hours. I expect we read books more or less sober, ... and it is hard to maintain attention across a trip that lasts multiple days. Apple has their work cut out to make this remotely sensical as a series. Yet, I am somehow still reading it, because I'm 2/3rd through, and just want to see how it ends now that a grand heist or something like that is underway. It is fairly creative here and there. This character Riviera is quite a trip, and even Molly. But the narrative arc is bizarre, and ... I thought it would maybe get better or come clear. Not so. My rating has been trending downward for the last few hours.

Finished. I ranked it near the bottom of the lists. There are creative ideas in it. The vibe and high-level narrative arc are sometimes appealing. The details when he jacks in and does his thing … that’s straight up hokey most of the time, though I like the notion of hooking up with an AI personification of his former boss/trainer. However, too much of the book is a vague fever dream and I put in near the bottom of the heap. I’m still interested in the upcoming Apple TV series. The cyberpunk genre is an interesting setting but the stories often feel like there’s no there there.

What’s your favorite cyberpunk novel/movie?

Favorite cyberpunk: Blade Runner

Have to agree. The book is at times borderline unreadable. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Nice review

Sad to say I DNF'd it. I wanted to like it. I've heard a lot about it on places like reddit. but just couldn't keep going.

Understood. It was hard to finish. I rated it far lower than the Best Technothrillers Ever list. That was the best list available, but I disagreed so much that I started a new list, and broke it out by decade so we could keep it sorted by decade.