“Class of ’84: When Cyber Was Punk.” In William Gibson’s “Neuromancer,” published in 1984, the market and hustle culture are the only values that matter. Those themes make the novel timely today, 40 years later, and explain why the cyberpunk genre lives on.
When we remember “Neuromancer,” we remember cyberspace and the noir story and characters, and those overshadow the sharp satire. The same applies to Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel “Snow Crash.”
I reread “Snow Crash” a few years ago and was surprised and delighted to find much of it is funny. People took the book so seriously.
I loved “Snow Crash.” I admired and respect, but did not enjoy, “Neuromancer.”