THEMES / CONCEPTS

Noting every major theme of the Neuromancer trilogy would basically be like rewriting the entire series --the series is what defines the genre! But I'll list them anyway. The same topics will be repeated (at least in part) in every other cyberpunk novel, guaranteed. So here is the all-inclusive list.

• CORPORATE POWER: government power has been replaced by giant multi-national corporations. Such powers already exist today (those with an income that far out ranks many small nations). The Corps call the shots, they fight the wars, they run the world
• CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS: present and powerful in most cyberpunk. Usually involves street level criminals all the way to Yakuza, Mafia, and pseudo-Corporate. Just about everything is illegal in one way or another, so if you're an organization, chances are you're into crime.
• CURRENCY/FINANCE: most cyberpunk likes to think that the American dollar will decline drastically in the near future. Obviously it can be seen as a metaphore for the '80s Russia, and of the fear of a Japanese takeover. Gibson confronts us with New Yen. Many other authors do the same.
• CYBERSPACE: what's cyberpunk without the net? Gibson was basically the first.
• CYBERTECH/POSTHUMANISM: the age of the cyborg, replacements for the flesh. Dehumanizing perhaps, but often more efficient and powerful. Man and machine, science conquering nature. Constructs and a digital afterlife. The ethics of playing God, genetics and cloning.
• DRUGS: they seem to sneak their way into most cyberpunk novels. Adds to the edginess of it all. Usually a form of amphetamine, though not always. Gibson is no exception.
• ORBITAL SOCIETY: Earth is almost always tainted, but life above the clouds means a better standard of living. I expect this trope stems primarily from Phil Dick's well known novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (aka Blade Runner).
• POST-WAR: it is very common for there to have been a war. The world hasn't been reduced to rubble precisely, but it has had at least some (ambiguous) effect on society, and a lot of tech is related to it.
• RELIGION: a broad topic with many avenues. In Gibson's work, it is a question of the spirituality of the machine, of the digital god. Are AI's divine? Is cyberspace a viable afterlife?
• SIMSTIM: virtual reality mixed with cinema and addiction. Like living in someone elses body.
• THE SPRAWL: the urban setting, the plague-like growth of industry, crime, smog, a low standard of living, a tough life style. Essential for setting the scene (gritty and dangerous).