By the time we get to Mona Lisa Overdrive, the final book in William Gibson’s Sprawl trilogy, it is becoming increasingly difficult to read these novels without noticing just how much of modern science fiction grew out of them. First published in 1988, this is one of the primary roots of all those sci-fi tropes we’ve become accustomed to over the last four decades. Artificial intelligence, cyberspace, corporate power, hackers, body modification and people living on the technological fringes of society all feel familiar now because Gibson helped make them familiar.

The funny thing is that Mona Lisa Overdrive doesn’t feel particularly interested in reminding you of its importance. It simply gets on with being a strange, complicated and occasionally bewildering cyberpunk thriller. And, having now worked my way through the trilogy, I have to admit that I rather enjoy being thrown into Gibson’s world and being expected to work things out for myself.

As with the earlier books, Gibson isn’t about to make things too easy for us. The story follows several characters whose lives initially appear to have little connection with each other. Kumiko is the daughter of a powerful Japanese Yakuza boss, sent to London for her own protection. Mona is a prostitute whose appearance is about to be radically altered for a very specific purpose. Angie Mitchell is a famous simstim star with a unique connection to cyberspace, while Molly Millions, familiar from Neuromancer, returns to the story.

There is also the mysterious entity known as the Finn, along with a collection of corporate interests, criminals and artificial intelligences who all have their own ideas about what should happen next.

If that sounds complicated, it is.

But this time I found myself enjoying the confusion rather than fighting it.

There is something strangely satisfying about being dropped into Gibson’s world with only half the information you need and gradually discovering how everything fits together. I spent quite a few sections wondering where particular characters were going to lead me, only for seemingly unrelated details to suddenly become important later. It gives the story a feeling of movement that I really enjoyed.

Mona herself particularly caught my attention. There is something wonderfully cynical about the way her story starts, with other people viewing her primarily as something that can be altered and used. Her relationship with Angie and the wider events surrounding her gradually give the story a more human dimension, and I found myself considerably more invested in what happened to her than I initially expected.

Kumiko’s storyline also adds something different. Her position as the daughter of a powerful Yakuza figure places her in a world of privilege that is also a kind of imprisonment. I liked the contrast between the apparently glamorous setting and the underlying sense that other people are constantly making decisions about her life.

Then there is Molly.

Having enjoyed her in Neuromancer, I was very pleased to see her return. She remains one of the most immediately recognisable characters in Gibson’s world, and her presence provides a welcome connection between the first and final books. At the same time, Gibson doesn’t simply bring her back for nostalgia. She has her own story to follow, and I enjoyed seeing how she fits into this much larger and stranger narrative.

The different threads gradually start to overlap, and this was probably my favourite part of the book. Gibson doesn’t give you one enormous revelation and then explain everything. Instead, connections emerge almost sideways. You suddenly realise that something you had dismissed earlier actually matters, or that two seemingly unrelated characters are moving towards the same destination.

It made me want to keep listening.

The deeper the story gets, the more Gibson starts playing with ideas about identity, consciousness and artificial intelligence. What happens when consciousness can be manipulated, transferred or copied? What happens when technology starts changing not just how we live, but what we understand ourselves to be?

I found some of these ideas genuinely fascinating, particularly because Gibson doesn’t try to provide comfortable answers. He is much more interested in asking the question and then leaving us to worry about it.

Of course, there were moments when I was completely lost.

Gibson’s prose remains dense and his willingness to throw unfamiliar terminology at the reader hasn’t diminished. There were definitely points where I found myself thinking, “Right, I’m going to trust the book and hope this makes sense later.”

Usually, it did.

And even when it didn’t, I was still enjoying the ride.

The audiobook certainly helps. Crystal Clarke, Joshua Collins, Jill Winternitz and Haruka Abe do an excellent job with the narration, bringing the characters to life and making the whole thing feel real. With multiple perspectives and such a large cast, having distinctive performances makes a real difference, and I found myself settling into the different voices as the story moved between its various threads.

There is also a pleasing sense of atmosphere to the performances. The Sprawl feels inhabited rather than simply described, which makes it easier to accept the stranger elements of Gibson’s world. When the story starts moving into increasingly surreal territory, the narration helps keep the characters grounded.

And I think that’s why I’ve enjoyed going through these books. Some of the technology has inevitably dated, while other ideas have become so commonplace that we barely notice them any more. Yet Gibson’s imagination still comes through. I may occasionally have wondered what on earth was going on, but I never felt that I wanted to stop listening.

Mona Lisa Overdrive is strange, ambitious, occasionally confusing and, for me, thoroughly worthwhile. More than anything, I enjoyed the feeling of gradually putting the pieces together and discovering where Gibson was taking me.

The Sprawl trilogy may have finished, but its influence is everywhere. These books sit close to the roots of modern science fiction, and Mona Lisa Overdrive is a suitably weird place to finish the journey.

I’m glad I took it.

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