Cyberpunk is my favorite subgenre of science-fiction and who better to read than William Gibson, the father of cyberpunk? He’s one of the genre’s most popular and innovate writers, but also one of its best. Ever since I’ve read Neuromancer, I’ve been obsessed with William Gibson books.
Over thirty years ago, he published Burning Chrome and Neuromancer and changed the face of science-fiction forever.
Neuromancer was a fantastic debut novel, receiving both the Hugo and Nebula award and maintains a loyal fan base to this day. The main reasons that William Gibson’s novel was entirely different from other science-fiction books at the time. Neuromancer was sleek, grim and, most of all, it was cool and full of exciting new concepts. It took us into an urban wonderland, one full of stunning technology and weird characters.
Most interesting, however, when Gibson’s works were first published, the internet wasn’t what it is today. There were no public websites, no YouTube, and no social media. Back then, it was nothing but an information network used by no one but academics.
Yet, Gibson is more than just an innovator, he’s a master of the genre. His body of work is considered by many essential reading.
While Neuromancer is by far his most popular book, all of his works are worth reading and are rightfully regarded classics in their own right.
For this list, I decided not to order the William Gibson books from my least to most favorite, but to go in chronological order. I think it’s the best way to organize his work and to showcase his evolution as a writer. I will, however, provide you with a detailed description of each William Gibson book and share their individual merit. If you’re interested in other science-fiction recommendations, you should check out my list of the best books like Dune and the best science-fiction books.
Burning Chrome
Burning Chrome is a collection of short stories dating from 1977 to 1985, comprising ten stories in total. Some stories are written by William Gibson, others are collaborations with other writers, such as John Shirley, Bruce Sterling and Michael Sawnwhick.
The most famous story in the collection, the titular Burning Chrome, stands out amongst all of them. It is here that Gibson coined the term cyberpunk.
Johnny Mnemonic, a story about a data trafficker who underwent cybernetic surgery to have a data storage system implanted in his head, is a fantastic read. It’s also our introduction to Molly Millions, one of the main characters in Neuromancer.
Other interesting stories include ‘The Winter Market,’ which centers on such topics as humanity, immortality, consumerism and shows us a frighteningly fascinating version of our future. New Rose Hotel’s the first introduction to the Sprawl universe, centering on corporate espionage. One of the most interesting stories is The Gernsback Continuum, in which a photographer hallucinates the futurism of the past superimposed on the present.
My favorite, however, was The Belonging Kind, by far the strangest story in the collection and one that’s less cyberpunk, but a weird fiction horror story.
Overall, all the stories in Burning Chrome are worth reading. I think it’s one of the best science-fiction short story collections out there and one of the best early William Gibson books. We can already see William Gibson’s interest in anything cyberpunk or cyberspace.
Burning Chrome is essential reading for anyone who’s interested in cyberpunk and it serves as a perfect introduction for his work.
Neuromancer
“The sky was the color of television turned to a dead channel.”
And with this fantastic opening line begins the most popular of all William Gibson books out there.
Neuromancer, written in 1984, is the first novel in The Sprawl Trilogy. It’s not only William Gibson’s debut novel, but THE cyberpunk novel. The William Gibson book that started it all and its influence cannot be understated.
It’s written as a film noir novel, but set in a gritty future full of technological wonders, and invented technological slang. While invented slang can always be tricky, Neuromancer’s has aged extremely well, and even now, forty years after its publication, it still holds up and feels fresh today.
The novel’s plot introduces us to Case. He used to be a skilled hacker and data thief, colloquially called a console cowboy. He used to be one of the best until he stole from his employers. As punishment, his central nervous system was damaged, making him unable to enter cyberspace. He now spends his days in Chiba City as a low-level hustler, drinking, getting high and getting into the occasional bar fight.
This all changes when he’s approached by Molly Millions, a ‘street samurai,’ on behalf of a man named Armitage. Case eventually agrees to work with them on the condition that his central nervous system’s restored. As the job continues, however, more and more strange details are revealed and Case wonders who his real employer is.
Over the course of the novel Case and Molly travel from Japan to the Sprawl and eventually outer space.
Neuromancer’s one of the strangest and most gripping William Gibson books. We get to know sociopathic hologram creators, rouge AIs, space-Rastafarians, and an insane young woman who’s the heiress of a billionaire business clan.
As brilliant a William Gibson book as Neuromancer is, it’s not free of faults. The biggest is William Gibson’s style and his technological vocabulary. Both things take some time getting used to, and an online glossary might make for a more pleasant reading experience.
And yet, Neuromancer’s one of the most brilliant debuts of all time and one of the most important science-fiction novels of the 20th century. It’s a must read for any fan of William Gibson books, science-fiction and cyberpunk.
Count Zero
Count Zero’s the second novel in The Sprawl Trilogy and the sequel to Neuromancer. It’s, however, only loosely related and features an entirely different cast of characters.
The novel’s plot is set seven years after the events of Neuromancer and follows three distinct plotlines which are only brought together by the novel’s end. This style should become a staple in later William Gibson books.
The first plot revolves around Marly, an art specialist. Her life has taken a turn for the worse after a certain scandal. She gets a second chance when she’s hired by a wealthy man to find a certain art piece. Before long, however, she realizes things are too good to be true, and she finds herself in danger.
The second plotline revolves around Turner, a mercenary. On his new job, he and his colleagues are hired by a man named Mitchel. When things turn sour, Turner is forced to keep Mitchel’s daughter Angie alive.
The third and final plotline revolves around Bobby Newmark, a wannabe console cowboy who goes by the handle Count Zero. He almost dies during his first job, but is saved by a woman only known as The Virgin. Soon enough, however, he finds himself entangled in a much bigger plot.
Count Zero’s a well-enough follow-up to Necromancer, but comes with a share of problems. It’s dense in parts and slow in others. The biggest problem, however, are the different plotlines. They feel almost like stand-alone stories until they come together for a rushed climax. This made their connections and the big reveal much less impactful than it could’ve been.
While not as great as Neuromancer, and the weakest in The Sprawl Trilogy, Count Zero is still worth reading for fans of William Gibson books.
Mona Lisa Overdrive
The third and final novel in The Sprawl Trilogy.
The novel’s set eight years after the events of Count Zero. It features both new characters, but also returning characters from the series’ earlier entries.
Once more, we follow multiple, separate plotlines.
One centers around Angie Mitchel, who returns from Count Zero and has thus become a Sense/Net superstar. There’s one thing that’s special about her: she’s able to tap into cyberspace without the usage of a computer. Before long, Angie’s being contacted by a strange, ghostly figure residing in cyberspace.
Another follows a young woman named Mona, a former prostitute who’s got a high resemblance to Angie. She’s hired for a gig which involves, unbeknownst to her, forced surgery to make her look like Angie.
In another one we get to know Kumiko, the daughter of a Japanese yakuza boss who’s sent to London when her father gets involved in a gang war. She falls under the care of a powerful man and meets Sally Shears, who turns out to be Molly. Before long, she takes the girl under her wing.
The last plotline follows Slick Henry, a man who lives at a place named Factory in a large, deserted industrial area. He’s hired by an acquaintance to look after the comatose ‘Count’ Bobby Newmark who hooked himself up into a super-capacity cyber-hard drive known as an Aleph.
Eventually, all those plotlines converge in a fantastic final.
Mona Lisa Overdrive stands out for its fantastic writing that can almost be called poetic in places. Yet, the book also requires much more attention than Count Zero.
The biggest difference to its prequel, however, is the handling of the different plotlines. They are much more inter-connected and these connections become more and more apparent over the novel’s cause. This makes each one of them seem important and doesn’t give the climax the rushed feeling of Count Zero’s.
Overall, Mona Lisa Overdrive feels much more realized than Count Zero and its inclusion of characters from both prior novels makes it a worthy final to The Sprawl Trilogy.
Mona Lisa Overdrive is by many regarded as the best of the earlier William Gibson books.
The Difference Engine
The Difference Engine is an alternate history novel co-authored with Bruce Sterling.
It’s quite a different, but also interesting novel that makes cyberpunk into something both new and old.
The novel’s set in an advanced 1855 London in which computers, here called engines, have been developed. The story revolves around a set of perforated cards which can only be read by a specialized engine.
Yet, not all is well in this London. The Luddites, a group of technology-hating fanatics, have set their sight on the cards. Before long, however, they come into the possession of Ada Lovelace, the Queen of Engines, and the daughter of Prime Minister Lord Byron. Yet, only one man, Edward Mallory, a scientist, knows what the cards are really for.
Before long, all their paths converge and lead to a violent showdown.
The Difference Engine is one of the oddest William Gibson books, and its pacing can be slow. While its plot is complex and interesting, it’s partway ruined by a rather weak conclusion.
Where it stands out, however, is the fusion of a Victorian era setting, computers and cyberpunk makes it incredibly imaginative. If not for the plot or its conclusion, the book’s worth reading for the world-building and ideas alone.
While The Difference Engine is different and one of the weaker William Gibson books on this list, it’s still worth reading for fans.
Virtual Light
Virtual Light is the first novel in William Gibson’s second series, The Bridge Trilogy. It introduces us to another fantastically imaginative future dystopia. It’s another cyberpunk novel, but one not set in as distant a future as The Sprawl Trilogy.
Virtual Light is set in 2006 and presents us with a grim, near-future California. After a devastating earthquake, the San Francisco Bay Bridge is inoperative and abandoned, making the area a giant shantytown.
The novel’s plot is relatively simple. Our protagonist Chevette Washington is a bicycle messenger who lives in said shantytown. Eventually comes upon a pair of ‘virtual light’ glasses which feed images directly to the optic nerve. Unbeknownst to him, however, the glasses contain an extremely valuable secret and their owner will do anything to get them back.
Another character’s Berry Rydell, a former rent-a-cop who lost his job because of a hacker’s prank. Having hit rock-bottom, he teams up with Lucius Warbaby to track down the glasses.
Before long, however, Berry learns of an evil corporate scheme which involves not only his new partner but also his former employers.
While the plot might not sound as intriguing as those of other William Gibson books, Virtual Light stands out for its world-building. We can recognize both the popular culture and the social trends that form this new world. Even a decade and a half after the novel’s initial release, it remains frighteningly relatable.
Virtual Light is a fantastically William Gibson book that comes with a witty plot and outstanding world-building and is a must read for fans.
Idoru
Idoru’s the second novel in The Bridge Trilogy. It’s another highly imaginative work of near-future fiction, even more so than its prequel.
We get to know Rez, the star of the extremely successful band Lo/Rez. He’s just announced he’s going to get married to a new Japanese pop star, Rei Toei. There’s one problem, however, she’s an Idoru, a wholly synthetic being who only exists in virtual reality.
Colin Laney, on the other hand, has hit rock bottom. He used to work as a private investigator for Slitscan, a TV network. It was his job to search the internet for data to find clues, patterns and paradigms. After being involved in a suicide, however, he’s forced to give up his job and join in with another group, Out of Bounds. Their primary goal is to show the world what a morally deprived place Slitscan really is. It’s now Laney’s task to get to the bottom of Rez’s interest in marrying Rei.
There’s also Chia Pet McKenzie, an active fan of Lo/Rez. When she visits Japan to investigate some rumors related to the band. There she gets involved with the Russian criminal underground and is used to smuggle illegal nanoware.
While these characters and plotlines sound interesting enough, the greatest part of Idoru is William Gibson’s ability to create a strangely different, yet understandable, future.
Idoru’s setting is brilliantly realized and might be the most fleshed out of all William Gibson books to date. We see high-tech hotel rooms, futuristic airplanes, and even the infamous Walled City of Kowloon which is recreated in cyberspace.
Idoru’s a slow novel, but this is also its greatest strength. It gives William Gibson time to speculate, to showcase the merging of culture with social and technological trends and how they affect people.
Idoru’s a dark and disturbing masterpiece, a typical William Gibson book, and a fantastic read.
All Tomorrow’s Parties
All Tomorrow’s Parties is the last novel of The Bridge Trilogy and similarly to Mona Lisa Overdrive, he brings back characters from both earlier installments. Colin Laney’s back, so is rent-a-cop Berry Rydell and bicycle messenger Chevette Washington.
Once more, the novel features multiple plotlines which are slowly converging over the course of the novel.
Colin Laney’s ability to sift through data on the internet allows him to discern upcoming historical nodal points. These nodal points are incredibly rare, and they only appear when the world as we know it changes. They are seldom noticed, but Laney has the feeling he’ll notice the next one. He’s afraid it will bring too big a change, and that it’s going to happen exactly on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge.
To focus entirely on his new obsession, he leaves his normal life behind. He hides at a Tokyo subway station and tries his best to keep what he believes to be a worldwide disaster at bay.
He soon meets Berry Rydell, who’s sent to investigate a murder committed by a man able to hide from Laney’s predictive powers.
Yet other characters, including Chevette Washington, will soon be involved in the novel’s complex plot as well. Even the Idoru makes an appearance, as it finally wants to free itself from its owners.
All Tomorrow’s Parties is one of the most celebrate William Gibson books and features some of his finest prose. His language has become more honed, less purple, but fantastically vibrant.
While the novel’s themes and topics aren’t revolutionary, it’s a fantastically wild ride full of the eccentric characters we’re used to from William Gibson.
All Tomorrow’s Parties also marked a turning point for Gibson. It represents William Gibson’s move away from 80s cyberpunk to a commenter on the near future and mainstream success.
All Tomorrow’s Parties is by many regarded as one of the best, if not the best of all the William Gibson books out there.
Pattern Recognition
Pattern Recognition is the first novel in The Blue Ant Trilogy and one of William Gibson’s all-time best-sellers.
It’s quite different from earlier William Gibson books. The most striking difference is its contemporary setting. It’s less a science-fiction novel and more a thriller about our desire to find order and patterns. Even the technology featured in this novel and the rest of The Blue Ant Trilogy is entirely grounded in reality.
The novel’s plot centers on a girl named Cayce Pollard, an intuitive market-research consultant or ‘coolhunter.’ She earns a living evaluating potential products and advertising campaigns. When she rejects the new logo of Hubertus Bigend, a marketing tycoon and the man at the top of the Blue Ant Corporation, she earns his respect. Yet she makes an enemy of his graphic designer.
Later on, Cayce’s hired by Hubertus again. She’s tasked to investigate a strange snippet of found footage that’s become an internet cult hit.
At first, she treats it as a standard job. When her apartment’s broken into and her computer’s hacked, however, she realizes this job is much more sophisticated and dangers that she thought. Soon, Casey’s forced to explore the deepest crevices of the internet.
Her investigation leads her to Tokyo and even Russia. Yet all this seems to be related to her father, an ex-CIA agent who went missing and is presumed dead after the 9/11 attacks.
While Pattern Recognition can be slow, especially in its later half, William Gibson’s style and the many mysteries the plot holds make it a fantastic read. There’s also Hubertus Bigend, who’s one of the most intriguing characters Gibson ever created.
Pattern Recognition is one of the newer William Gibson books, but one I recommend to any fan of his work.
Spook Country
Spook Country is the sequel to Pattern Recognition and the second novel in The Blue Ant Trilogy.
It’s again set in the same modern-day world as Pattern Recognition and can be seen as a deconstruction of our paranoid, fragmented, post-modern world.
Once more, the novel features a multitude of characters.
Tito’s a man in his late twenties and born in Cuba. He’s a translator, fluent in Russian, lives in a single room in a NoLita warehouse and earns a living transferring delicate information.
Hollis Henry, on the other hand, is a journalist who works for the Node magazine. Yet, Node doesn’t exist yet, but has already more buzz than most other successful magazines. She’s supposed to do a story on a new art form that only exists in virtual reality. She soon realizes that what she’s investigating is much more dangerous.
Milgrim’s a junky addicted to anti-anxiety drugs and pharmaceuticals. He thinks if he doesn’t get his drugs from a man named Brown, he won’t last the day. Yet, Brown’s a man of many secrets. When his curiosity gets the better of him, Milgrim soon knows too much about Brown and finds his life in real danger.
Soon these characters become involved in a story revolving around a mysterious cargo container with CIA-connections. It constantly appears and disappears on the worldwide Global Positioning network, but never makes it to port.
It’s right at the Global Positioning network where we learn of our last character, Bobby Chombo. He’s a talented specialist, but a strange, quiet, unbalanced man.
Spook Country’s a novel that stands out for its fantastically interesting characters and its action scenes. Even more so, it comes with William Gibson’s imaginative style and trademark metaphorical language. Another one of the best modern William Gibson books.
Zero History
Zero History is the last book in and culmination of The Blue Ant Trilogy.
It’s a fantastically quirky tale that deals with modern fashion and brand positioning.
Once more we meet Hubertus Bigend, who played a big role in the prior entries in the series. His newest venture leads him into the field of military fashion, a branch he believes immune to market fluctuations. Yet, when a new pair of trousers of suspiciously similar design to his own, he sets out to find their mysterious designer. To do this, he hires a group of characters, some of which we already know from the prior entries in the series.
One is Hollis Henry, who returns from Spook Country. She vowed to never get involved with Hubertus again. Yet, she’s broke, and she knows Hubertus is willing to pay a lot of money for her work.
Milgrim also returns from Spook Country. He’s a man that can vanish at a moment’s notice, but also fluent in Russian. Having his addiction paid for and cured by Hubertus, he knows he can’t back out when hired by Hubertus.
Garreth, the last member of the group, is a man who thinks and knows he owes Hubertus nothing. Yet, he’s also Hollis’ boyfriend and soon finds himself involved in the book’s events as well.
Before long, the identity of Hubertus’ competitor’s revealed, and we learn just how ruthless a man he is.
Zero History brings The Blue Ant Trilogy to a fantastic conclusion. What makes this William Gibson book stand out, however, is not only the inclusion of former characters but also Gibson’s style. It’s become more refined, but also simpler than in his earlier books. This is especially noticeable in the portrayal of brands. They are often more fully realized and expanded on than actual characters, make the book a strange, but interesting read.
Zero History’s a fantastically weird book, one quite different from the earlier William Gibson books on this list, but still an absolute treat for fans.
The Peripheral
The Peripheral is the first novel in William Gibson’s newest series, The Jackpot Trilogy, and also his first to feature a post-apocalyptic scenario.
This novel can be best described as a slow-burn science-fiction thriller.
It features two different timelines. One’s set a decade from ours before the coming of an apocalypse, the so called ‘jackpot.’ The other’s set in a post-apocalyptic London, decades after the jackpot.
The first timeline follows Flynne Fisher, a woman living in rural America. Her brother’s an ex-marine suffering from neurological damage, and who pilots drones in games to earn cash. One day, Flynne is covering a shift for her bother and witnesses a gruesome murder. This event brings her into contact with inspector Ainsley Lowbeer, who’s investigating the events related to the murder.
Wilf Netherton, on the other hand, lives in the future, post-apocalyptic London. He’s a disgraced publicist, but soon gets involved in the disappearance of his newest client’s daughter.
Both investigations kick the story into motion.
The most interesting aspect of the novel, however, is the inclusion of time-travel. There are specific drones called ‘peripherals’ which allow people to travel between different timelines. Soon enough, Flynne reaches out from Wilf’s past to change her own future.
The Peripheral can be called William Gibson’s return to his science-fiction roots. It’s a novel full of weird, sexy, tech, fleshed out characters and foreshadows a post-scarcity, post-apocalyptic society.
Even if the time-travel mechanics are odd, it’s a great novel that stands out amongst other science-fiction works of today.
Agency
Agency’s William Gibson’s newest novel and the second in The Jackpot Trilogy.
We get to know a woman named Verity Jane. She works as a beta tester, a so-called ‘app whisperer.’ Strapped for cash, she accepts a job from a suspicious tech company to work on their newest customer service system.
She soon discovers that this software is actually an AI named Eunice. Yet Eunice is more than a simple AI and is much more developed and intelligent. Even more interesting, he’s got plans of his own.
When the two of them work together, Verity does her best to hide Eunice’s rapid development from her employer. This soon makes not only her but also Eunice their target.
Even worse, however, agents from the post-apocalyptic future, too, have an interest in Eunice. It’s here we meet Wilf Netherton again. He becomes tasked against his knowledge in aiding Verity on her journey, even if it means bringing large-scale changes to his future world.
Agency’s a novel full of intriguing concepts and characters. Yet, the shifting narratives and the involvement of time travel can make it hard to follow.
William Gibson’s at the top of his game in terms of cyberpunk imagination and description, but the complicated nature of the book might leave you with more questions than answers.
This, of course, doesn’t mean that Agency is a bad William Gibson book. I still highly recommend it for fans of his work and of modern cyberpunk.