History Literature / Neuromancer

* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: Played with. When watching Molly while jacked into his computer, Case can see her, but has no way to communicate with her. She can talk to him, however.

** Case agrees to work for Armitage in exchange for being cured of the neural damage that prevents him from punching deck.

* IncestIsRelative: The Tessier-Ashpool patriarch has sex with a clone of his daughter.
* IndustrialGhetto: The Sprawl.
* InsideAComputerSystem: One of the pioneering examples.

''Neuromancer'' has been compared to impressionist Beat poetry. When it first came out, very little of the lingo used in the narration made sense to the target audience. The fact that it's somewhat easier for a modern day reader is solely because fiction writers and scientists alike [[{{Defictionalization}} started using Gibson's words for actual things]].

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Lupus Yonderboy of the Panther Moderns has pink hair.

* {{Zeerust}}: Because TechnologyMarchesOn. Despite a world full of street punks with prosthetics and cyberspace hackers, Wintermute's first attempt to harass Case involves calling a bank of pay phones he's walking by. Earlier than that, Molly subdues a Sense/Net security guard before he can reach his ''beeper'' to sound an alarm.

* DividedStatesOfAmerica: In the novel's backstory, America no longer exists, but has fragmented in several smaller states. The Sprawl consists of the heavily populated and industrialized eastern seaboard (the official name of The Sprawl is the "Boston-Atlanta Metropolitan Axis", abbreviated as "BAMA").

* BondageIsBad: Riviera has elements of this, actually betraying his lovers in horrific ways instead of finding more ethical ways to get off. (see ChronicBackstabbingDisorder below). Molly's experience as a meat puppet prostitute plays the trope straight.

* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Part of Riviera's background is that he has a bizarre sexual fetish for betrayal. He even had a deal worked out with the Turkish Secret Police in Istanbul where he would seduce women suspected of being dissidents, turn them in, and be allowed to watch as they were tortured in exchange. [[spoiler:Of course, Molly reads his psych profile, and, [[GenreSavvy knowing the likely outcome of working with him]], plans an advance betrayal of her own, in the form of [[TamperingWithFoodAndDrink a slow-acting poison in Riviera's drug supply]].]]

** Bobby Quine of "Burning Chrome" is stated to have been one of Case's mentors; Molly's actually met him and thinks he's "a real asshole".

* CyberNinja: Hideo, a "vat-grown ninja" who is also referred to as a "clone" (presumably the product of genetic engineering). He was an exceptionally deadly fighter. [[StreetSamurai Molly]] tries to take him on because her old boyfriend Johnny was killed by a similar assassin, and gets curbstomped, offscreen.

* DudeShesLikeInAComa: A special service at a brothel Molly used to work at, where prostitutes are in comas and mechanically controlled like puppets by a computer. [[spoiler: Riviera does a performance piece based on how her tenure as a meat puppet went horribly wrong.]] The service is first described in "Burning Chrome."

* EverybodySmokes: We're even told some of the characters' favorite brands -- Case smokes Yeheyuans; the Finn prefers Partagas Shorts. [[spoiler:When Wintermute manifests in the guise of the Finn, he even has one of the Finn's cigarillos parked in his mouth.]]

* ExpendableClone: [[spoiler: The Tessier-Ashpools have several clones made of themselves. The patriarch of the family even has sex with a clone of his own daughter, and then kills her.]]

* FiveManBand: Armitage's crew.
** TheLeader (Type I): Armitage
** TheSmartGuy[=/=]TheHero: Case
*** The Dixie Flatline's role is pure [[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]].
** TheLancer: Molly
** TheDarkChick[=/=]TokenEvilTeammate: Riviera
** Maelcum, who becomes an [[EleventhHourRanger eleventh hour]] [[TheBigGuy Big Guy]], and helps Case take on Lady 3Jane.

* YearInsideHourOutside: When jacked into the matrix (ie. InsideAComputerSystem), Case spends several days with Linda Lee in a VR simulation created by Neuromancer, but to Maelcum it only appears to be a few minutes. This is also why being "flatlined" (trapped inside the matrix) is so feared (see AndIMustScream).

* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: The cause isn't too clear, but ''maybe'' [[HilariousInHindsight the United States may have lost the Cold War through economic collapse]]... it's not really clear what happened. Nuclear weapons were used on Bonn and perhaps elsewhere, but it is unclear why; a full-scale exchange seems to have been averted and there is no mention of a Communist threat anywhere.
** Lampshaded when the incident that sparked the event had been "watergated", and sets the trajectory for the downfall and balkanization of the U.S.

* ItIsPronouncedTroPAY: Case, having never heard a word of Armenian before going to Istanbul, mispronounces Terzibashjian's name as "Jersey Bastion."

* CentrifugalGravity: The spinning version on Freeside. This becomes a plot point as the heroes enter deeper into the city's underground sections and cross its axis.

* ArtificialGravity: The spinning version on Freeside. This becomes a plot point as the heroes enter deeper into the city's underground sections and cross its axis.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: Neuromancer, the titular {{AI}} entity, doesn't even until appear towards the end of the novel. But when it does, it's revealed that [[spoiler: it's Wintermute's twin, and Case's entire mission has revolved around freeing it and Wintermute from the shackles of the Tessier-Ashpool clan]].

* SecondaryCharacterTitle: The titular {{AI}}, Neuromancer, doesn't appear until towards the end of the novel, when it's revealed that [[spoiler: it's Wintermute's twin, whom Wintermute wishes to bond with in order to evolve into a super-A.I.]]

** During the raid on Sense/Net, Molly apparently removes the eyes of one of the guards that attacks her.

* ZeroesAndOnes: Sort of. Wintermute identifies himself when communicating with Case by printing out several rows of the number 0.

* KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: Everyone assumes ”Cheap Hotel” has another name, but no-one has any clue what that might be.

* LotusEaterMachine: [[spoiler: Neuromancer, in a final bid to prevent Case from helping Wintermute merge with it, traps Case in one. An endless beach with a city that can never be reached, with no one but a construct of Linda Lee in it, in order to tempt Case to stay there for an eternity. In order to break free, Case is forced to reject and abandon her all over again, while Malceum overdoses Case with wake-up stimulants.]]

* OracularHead: In the form of an immensely located clockwork computer terminal, belonging to Tessier-Ashpool and housed in a zero-gravity room at the center of the Villa Straylight.

* PurpleProse: Gibson's dense, hallucinatory prose is used to great effect in evoking both the intense details and textures of the future criminal underworld, as well as the abstract virtual reality of cyberspace. He also makes heavy use of brand names and nationalities to demonstrate the increasingly corporate and globalized nature of the setting. The observation of Gibson collaborator Bruce Sterling about his earlier short stories, that people "literally could not parse the guy's paragraphs," holds true for many readers trying to get into Neuromancer.

* ImmuneToDrugs: Armitage pulls this on Case at the same time he repairs the hacker's nervous system; thanks to a few alterations to his liver and pancreas, Case is biochemically incapable of getting off on amphetamine or cocaine. Notably, this doesn't really cure his addictions, as he still feels a psychological need to be high on ''something''; he instead tracks down drugs that directly affect his brain, which he doesn't have much time to get used to -- he takes too much the first time and finds himself violently barfing up his dinner.

** Subverted by the Cobra collapsing baton that Case buys when he's being shadowed by Molly. The weapon receives an exotic name and a detailed description, but a few pages later Case throws it in the trash.

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Though the timeline is never explicitly stated in the novel itself, Gibson [[WordOfGod revealed]] in an article years later that it takes place "sometime in the 2030s." [[spoiler:Although this doesn't actually work unless you ignore Ashpool's (possibly mistaken) assertion that he's two hundred years old.]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/capa_neuromancer_aleph_jsan_gonzalez.jpg]]

A 1984 [[FilmNoir noir]] novel by Creator/WilliamGibson, and TropeCodifier for an entire generation of SciFi stories. ''Neuromancer'' is the primary example of {{Cyberpunk}} alongside ''Film/BladeRunner'', showcasing the cynical use of technology so characteristic of that genre. Most modern stories related to that genre, CyberSpace and related tropes can be largely traced back to this one story. It is also the first of Gibson's famous ''Literature/SprawlTrilogy'' (followed by ''Literature/CountZero'' and ''Literature/MonaLisaOverdrive'').

Molly turns out to have [[DarkAndTroubledPast some of her own skeletons in the closet]], and her own backstory intertwines with Case's disjointed adventure of drugs, self-destruction, hazy sex, virtual reality, TechnoBabble and [[EverybodyWasKungFuFighting really cool ninja fight scenes.]]

* PurpleProse: Gibson's dense, hallucinatory prose is used to great effect in evoking both the intense details and textures of the future criminal underworld, as well as the abstract virtual reality of cyberspace. He also makes heavy use of brand names and nationalities to demonstrate the increasingly corporate and globalized nature of the setting. The observation of Gibson collaborator John Shirley about his earlier short stories, that people "literally could not parse the guy's paragraphs," holds true for many readers trying to get into Neuromancer.

* BeigeProse: Very much part of the style and very much keeps the book sharp and focused. The only details that you get are ones that build the characters and the limited parts of the world they inhabit. The narration is as bleak and cynical as the characters, and occasionally just point blank refuses to elaborate on anything outside the plot. This kind of use has shades of ChekhovsGun about it, since almost anything that the narration lands on for more than a few seconds is going to be important on some level.

* FeaturelessProtagonist: Almost. Case doesn't get much of a description[[note]]("tall, thin-shouldered, short dark hair" in a quick, read-too-quickly-and-you'll-miss-it moment late in the novel)[[/note]], though everyone else's is more detailed; Molly is fair skinned with black hair and clothing, with special lenses, Armitage has slicked back brown hair and a goatee, Riviera is blond with long hair, also swept back. Most of the important persons have defining traits, but the main things we are told of Case is that he's pale, has gray eyes and a skinny face, due the fact of his drug addictions and overall crappy life.

* {{Zeerust}}: Because TechnologyMarchesOn. Despite a world full of street punks with prosthetics and cyberspace hackers, Wintermute's first attempt to harass Case involves calling a bank of pay phones he's walking by. Earlier than that, Molly subdues a Sense/Net security guard before he can reach his '''beeper''' to sound an alarm.

* {{Zeerust}}: Because TechnologyMarchesOn. Despite a world full of street punks with prosthetics and cyberspace hackers, Wintermute's first attempt to harass Case involves calling a bank of pay phones he's walking by.

A 1984 [[FilmNoir noir]] novel by Creator/WilliamGibson, and TropeCodifier for an entire generation of SciFi stories. ''Neuromancer'' is the primary example of {{Cyberpunk}} alongside ''Film/BladeRunner'', showcasing the cynical use of technology so characteristic of that genre. Most modern stories related to CyberPunk, CyberSpace and related tropes can be largely traced back to this one story. It is also the first of Gibson's famous ''Literature/SprawlTrilogy'' (followed by ''Literature/CountZero'' and ''Literature/MonaLisaOverdrive'').