Neuromancer

William Gibson's groundbreaking SF debut became an almost instant classic, coining the term cyberspace and effectively launching the cyberpunk subgenre in the mid-'80s. Case, a disaffected hustler, is hired to hack into a high-profile computer system, only to discover that his employer and the system he is breaking into are one and the same: a sophisticated artificial intelligence that seeks to free itself from its human masters. Many of the elements that became iconic in future works of cyberpunk are here, including the bleak, cynical worldview; a balkanized United States; the prevalence of cybernetic implants; frequent use of designer drugs; the idealization of Japanese culture and technology; and, most essentially, the direct linkage between mind and machine through virtual reality. NEUROMANCER won the 1985 Hugo, the 1984 Nebula, and the 1984 Philip K. Dick Awards.