e turn of the century in 1900 brought an increased interest in this literary field, which has continued to grow through the past nine decades. Science fiction and fantasy, like other genres of fiction, are affected by social, political, and intellectual currents. Perkins (p. 953), for example, notes that a major influence in the post-World War II years on this field was fear of a nuclear holocaust, coupled with a growing distrust of the military-industrial complex, increasing ecological concerns, changing conceptualization of gender and gender roles, and nostalgia for simpler times. With the affordable and accessible, science fiction has again responded to push and pull forces. Cyberpunk, a new form for the genre, combines high-tech, futuristic settings and themes with the alienation of youth from traditional (and conservative) social values, norms and mores. Virtual reality is a reality, and many of the most promising and appealing works of science fiction explicate these sorts of themes.
This is certainly true of William Gibson’s Neuromancer, which was written and published in 1983, well in advance of many of the applications of virtual reality that are commonplace today. This novel is both similar to and different from traditional science fiction.
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