Islands in the Net
From the back cover: Laura Webster's on the fast track to success. A bright young star in a multinational conglomerate, she's living well in a post-millennial age of peace, prosperity, and profit. In an age of advanced technology, information is the world's most precious commodity. Information *is* power. Data is locked in computers and carefully rationed through a global communications network. Full access is a privilege held by few. Now, Laura Webster is about to be plunged into a netherworld of black-market data pirates, new-age mercenaries, high-tech voodoo... and murder.
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about Islands in the Net
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Laura Webster works PR for a successful corporate cooperative in a near-future world wired together by data. Her job sends her into a string of small unrecognized states selling everything the official world bans.
Islands in the Net was written by Bruce Sterling and published in 1988. Sterling is one of the founding figures of cyberpunk alongside William Gibson, and Islands in the Net is widely considered an early example of post-cyberpunk.
Yes. Islands in the Net won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1989. It was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula awards the same year.
Islands in the Net is 348 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Islands in the Net takes most readers 5 to 8 hours to finish.
Islands in the Net is a standalone novel by Bruce Sterling, not part of a series.
Islands in the Net is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.