Gibson's Neuromancer is coming

Gibson confirmed it on Twitter. No word on timing, artist, or whether it will be a LE, SE, or both. From Gibson: "It’s happening, actually. Don’t know exactly when."

Wow! After recommending it every opportunity I had during surveys, this pleases me. Just praying they don't screw up the artist selection now.

Nice! Neuromancer would be an instant buy.

Looking forward to giving it another go. I was a bit disappointed first time round. It starts out with the atmospheric, grimy cyberpunk setting, but the ending turns a bit weird for my liking.

>2 adriano77: If you don't like the art on this one there's also a Centipede Press version on the horizon.

>5 LeBacon:

Thanks for the heads-up. Was it delayed or something? Per a search, it was meant to release in summer '22?

Still disappointed I missed out on the Suntup version. I only found out about it the day after it sold out, haha.

>4 ubiquitousuk: I was confused the first time I read it! But definitely needs another read.

By the way, Easton recently reprinted their Neuromancer edition

>6 adriano77: According to Jerad's latest newsletter "Neuromancer should be out by mid 2024."

>2 adriano77: We can only hope Quentin Blake is available and interested.

>8 Dr.Fiddy:

Ah, alright. How does Centipede typically go about their releases? Pre-order period? Do they sell out quickly? Should I be signing up for a newsletter?

>9 PartTimeBookAddict:

Quentin Blake taking on the cyberpunk genre might be worth a look though.

>10 adriano77: You need to get on the newsletter - he sends a link in that when they go up for sale and the store is only accessible with that link. The newsletter always drops on Sundays at the same time and he will give a heads up the week before with the price so you will know ahead of time. The popular titles go very quickly so you need to jump on the link as soon as it drops.

>6 adriano77: The other key bit about Centipede Press is Jared has stated he’s doing the whole Sprawl Trilogy. I have a Suntup Neuromancer, but may try for this so I can get the whole set eventually.

>11 LeBacon:

Thanks. Just requested to receive it. Kind of hate the free-for-all system. Feels too much like a lottery. Any clue how many they usually do in a run?

>12 mholt:

Interesting. Didn't care as much for Count Zero or Mona Lisa Overdrive though. Would be heavily dependent on the art.

>1 icewindraider: This is awesome!

Dave McKean is currently illustrating Neuromancer. Whether that's for FS' or Centipede's edition is unknown. I'll be buying whichever doesn't use his work though.

I like McKean as a rule, though his style can vary quite a bit. It will be interesting to see which publisher he's working for.

Based on the information from the current Folio catalogue the artist for "Neuromancer" will be Anna Mill. This edition is going to be signed by author and artist.

>17 drizzled: Hope that's true! Anna Mill is an inspired choice.

>17 drizzled: Great - strong capable work, teeming with figures, detail and an emphasis on buildings and structures:

https://www.debutart.com/artist/anna-mill

I've never read it; has it worn well?

>18 HonorWulf:
Agreed!

>19 red_guy: Getting some Moebius/Giraud vibes from some of the crowded work here. Which is strong approval in my book.
>22 drizzled: "each copy will be signed by the author and the artist"
Sounds like an LE then.

>18 HonorWulf: An excerpt from the aforementioned article:

But strange new worlds, of course, are not merely the province of fantasy. William Gibson's "Neuromancer" is the definitive cyberpunk novel, first published in 1984, and 'its influence on both literature and film cannot be overstated,' says Rose. 'We worked with William Gibson to choose the right artist – Anna Mill, whose work shows the cyberpunk world in all its glory.

'We are so very lucky and grateful to have had Bill Gibson's personal input to this,' says Rose. 'The introduction is a unique insight into the relationship between the author and Malcolm Edwards, his UK editor. We've printed, in call and response form, Malcolm talking about the evolution and creation of the novel, and then Bill's reaction to that. Furthermore, each copy will be signed by the author and the artist.' And Gibson himself says: 'I wouldn't have expected to see my work in a Folio edition, but I'm absolutely delighted. I can't wait to see Anna Mill's brilliant design work in person!'

>19 red_guy: Yes, certainly! The technological aspect isn't the main emphasis here, but rather the social phenomena. A lot has been left for the reader's imagination. Hence, some slight industrial nuances (such as the RAM's size) might appear dated, but overall "Neuromancer" remains highly relevant. Remarkable read.

>22 drizzled: Thanks. I will download it and give it a whirl. >21 A.Godhelm: Yes - all looks very promising.

Not blown away by the work on Anna Mill's site. Still better than McKean's style, IMO. Hopefully she can capture the cyberpunk aesthetic without the soft fuzziness that I'm seeing in a number these examples.

Also, it's pretty lame that FS is making this a limited edition. Not keen on paying an over-the-top premium for signed post-it notes or waiting a year or three for a standard edition. Supposing the design is good in the end, etc.

The subpage for this edition is now active on Folio's website: https://www.foliosociety.com/uk/neuromancer

Launching in August.

First artwork from there:

I like the art; the cost will break my heart. Guess I'll hope for an eventual standard edition.

This illustration looks really good. It will be interesting to see what the two artists are going to do with it.

Style looks promising. Not sure which character that's supposed to be though.

It's the talking head from Villa Straylight, I assume:

At the Villa's silicon core is a small room, the only rectilinear chamber in the complex. Here, on a plain pedestal of glass, rests an ornate bust, platinum and cloisonne, studded with lapis and pearl. The bright marbles of its eyes were cut from the synthetic ruby viewport of the ship that brought the first Tessier up the well, and returned for the first Ashpool.

This might be an old fashioned view but does a well written novel really require illustrations?

A skilful author will - if necessary for the book to work - have carefully described the personality and appearance of a principal character in such a way that an interested reader can form their own picture of him or her or it. The illustrations shown above leave very little to the imagination, do you not agree?

>30 English-bookseller:

Re: Illustrated books.

A well written novel does not REQUIRE them, but is often enhanced by them. I find your statement and comments far more applicable to poetry and poetry collections, where I usually find illustrations an unnecessary distraction. There are, of course, exceptions such as Walt Whitman's 'Leaves of Grass'.

>30 English-bookseller: totally agree, and many of my favorite books lack illustrations.

That said, illustration of some sort is a big part of the Folio Society's brand and value add.

Of course there are some exceptions (Letterpress Shakespeare, etc.), but these are out of the ordinary for the purposes of this board it seems.

Tangentially, if one were to seek out the most thematically appropriate edition of Neuromancer, it would probably be a pirated epub file, and any illustrations would be rendered by transformer-based machine learning systems.

Illustrations have been around as long as books have. More "recently", woodcuts developed in the 15th century led to the popularity of illustrations in books that are still found today. There are of course fine press books that do not have illustrations, although many such books do have some ornaments/embellishments to set them apart from other editions.

>34 astropi: In western Europe, those early woodcuts were instrumental for the propaganda that accompanied the protestant pamphlets as most people couldn’t read. Which leads me to somehow agree on >30 English-bookseller: that illustrations can often (willingly or not) mislead. For example, I consider 1984 illustrated with soviet propaganda to be superficial, or borderline ignorant, depiction of the book‘s message.

>30 English-bookseller: The illustrations shown above leave very little to the imagination, do you not agree?

An interesting question. I think the answer depends on what you see as the role of illustrations in a book.

My feeling is that, outside of children's literature, the role of illustrations is not to do the work of your own imagination. Rather, they provide a parallel artistic experience for you to enjoy alongside your own visualisation. I think anyone who reads illustrated books like FS editions quickly becomes adept at balancing these two - sometimes opposing - visual interpretations.

A couple of examples from recent books I have read:

The FS edition of Dune. This includes highly detailed character illustrations - probably exactly the type to which you are referring. I found that in many ways they diverged from my own images of the characters (and the sandworms!). It just didn't matter - both interpretations can co-exist.

The Everyman's Library edition of Life and Fate. It's obvious that illustrations are not needed to appreciate such a wonderful and finely written book. However, I know I would enjoy seeing how an artist, who really engaged with the text, would portray the principal characters, and they would add interest when reading a novel of such epic length.

The idea of excluding illustrations based on the writing being good enough to stand alone has never really resonated with me. I think this idea was the reason that the FS' edition of Perfume was not illustrated.

I don't think there are many writers who would say 'my descriptions could really benefit from being propped up by a few pictures here and there'. As >31 dlphcoracl: said, for me it's not really a question of whether or not they are 'required'.

I personally find illustrations help readers like me who don't have a fertile imagination when it comes to visualising large houses like manors/castles or even characters in a science fiction book who are not a typical human. Additional maps (if I stretch the definition of illustration) helps me keep track of character movements in long novels and adds to the overall pleasure as well.