Iconic sci-fi novel Neuromancer is coming to AppleTV+ – Read the book before the series starts

The father of the Cyberpunk movement may be coming to a screen near you courtesy of AppleTV+

If the series is anything like the book itself, it’s sure to be a roaring success. (The Independent/ iStock)

Here’s one for all the classic Sci-fi book fans out there, the novel coined with revolutionising and kicking off the Cyberpunk movement may be coming to a screen near you in the not-so-distant future.

AppleTV+ announced today that it has won the rights to William Gibson’s acclaimed 1984 novel Neuromancer and that a brand-new science-fiction drama is in the works. The award-winning streaming service, known for smash-hits like Ted Lasso and The Morning Show, also announced the TV series will be co-created by Graham Roland (Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Dark Winds) and JD Dillard (Devotion, The Outsider, Sleight), with Roland to take the role of showrunner and Dillard set to direct the pilot.

There is no word yet when the 10-part series will begin filming or when it will land on the streaming site but, if the series is anything like the book itself, it’s sure to be a roaring success.

Neuromancer was Gibson’s debut novel and gained him the Hugo, Nebula and Philip K. Dick Awards for its accomplishments and world-building. It is credited with defining a genre in Sci-fi and dystopian novels, with many calling it the first great Cyberpunk novel.

‘Neuromancer’ by William Gibson, published by Penguin: £7.20, Amazon.co.uk

(Amazon)

So, what is Neuromancer about? The story follows troubled anti-hero, Case, a former hacker of cyberspace, who is thrown somewhat unwillingly back into the hacking game in exchange for a cure for his addictions. In doing so he meets leather-clad assassin ‘Razorgirl’ Molly, who is hell-bent on toppling a corporate dynasty with untold secrets.

We have a lot to thank this iconic bit of literature for. For one, Gibson popularised the phrase cyberspace through this novel, an essential and commonly used concept in modern-times. This combined with the themes of corporate supremacy shows how relevant the story remains today, perhaps even more than its original context. You can also thank him for everyone’s favourite back-bending sci-fi classic The Matrix, as the films were in part based on concepts featured in this book.

Half futuristic thriller, half warning, the book remains one of the most relevant and compelling novels of the 20th Century. Fingers crossed the AppleTV+ show can live up to its legacy.

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