Burning Chrome was published by Arbor House in 1986, collecting all of Gibson’s short fiction to that date — ten stories written between 1977 and 1985. The collection is the laboratory where cyberpunk was invented: every idea, image, and technique that would power Gibson’s novels appears here first, in compressed and sometimes more potent form.
“Johnny Mnemonic” (1981) introduces the Sprawl, the yakuza, surgical body modification, and the idea of data smuggling in human memory — a courier carries information in a chip implanted in his brain. Adapted into a 1995 film starring Keanu Reeves. “Burning Chrome” (1982) coined the word “cyberspace” and established the basic architecture of Gibson’s virtual world. “New Rose Hotel” (1984) — two corporate headhunters attempting to extract a scientist from one zaibatsu to another — is Gibson’s bleakest and most Chandler-inflected story.
“The Gernsback Continuum” (1981) is Gibson’s manifesto against golden-age science fiction: a photographer begins seeing the future that never happened — the streamlined utopia of 1930s pulp — and must escape it. “Fragments of a Hologram Rose” (1977), Gibson’s first published story, already contains his mature themes: technology mediating memory, relationships conducted through information, the erosion of the boundary between real and virtual.
Three stories — “Hinterlands,” “Red Star, Winter Orbit,” and “Dogfight” — were collaborations with other writers (Bruce Sterling, John Shirley, Michael Swanwick). The collaborations show cyberpunk as a collective movement rather than Gibson’s individual invention.
Collecting Burning Chrome
First edition (Arbor House, New York, 1986): Hardcover with dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $100–$300
- Very good/very good: $40–$100
- UK first (Gollancz): $60–$150
Projected values (2026–2036): Strong appreciation. Contains “Johnny Mnemonic” and “Burning Chrome.”
The Stories That Invented Cyberspace
Gibson’s only solo short-story collection includes the stories that defined cyberpunk before Neuromancer: “Johnny Mnemonic” (adapted into a 1995 film), “Burning Chrome” (which introduced the term “cyberspace”), and “The Gernsback Continuum” (which declared war on optimistic science fiction). The collection also includes collaborations with Bruce Sterling, John Shirley, and Michael Swanwick.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Gibson coin the word “cyberspace”? Yes. The word first appeared in Gibson’s short story “Burning Chrome” (1982) and was fully developed in Neuromancer (1984). Gibson has said he chose the word for its lack of specific meaning — it sounded evocative without pointing to any existing technology.