Burning Chrome is a 1986 short story collection that gathers ten of William Gibson's early short fiction pieces, several of which laid the groundwork for the Sprawl universe before Neuromancer was published. The title story follows two freelance hackers who attempt to crack the defences of a powerful criminal operator known as Chrome. Other notable entries include Johnny Mnemonic, later adapted into a film, and New Rose Hotel. Not all stories share the Sprawl setting - pieces like The Gernsback Continuum and Hinterlands explore entirely different premises. Collectively, the book showcases Gibson's emerging style: terse prose, noir-inflected atmosphere, and a fascination with the collision between human vulnerability and advancing technology.
