Islands in the Net was published by Arbor House in 1988. Laura Webster works for Rizome Industries — a democratic, employee-owned multinational — as a diplomat. Her job takes her to “data havens”: sovereign nations that have opted out of the global information economy’s rules, offering sanctuary to pirates, dissidents, and anyone whose data activities are illegal elsewhere.
The novel follows Laura from corporate headquarters in Galveston through Singapore, Grenada, and finally Mali, as she becomes entangled in the conflicts between legitimate corporations, data pirates, and the military forces that multinational treaties deploy against anyone who challenges the global order. Laura is a civilian drawn into war — a white-collar worker discovering that the comfortable global system she serves is maintained by violence she never sees.
Sterling’s near-future (set approximately in 2023) proved remarkably prescient: he anticipated data havens (Iceland, Sealand, and various crypto-freedom projects), the tension between surveillance capitalism and digital privacy, the militarization of corporate interests, and the vulnerability of global networks to localized disruption. The novel won the Campbell Award.
Collecting Islands in the Net
First edition (Arbor House, New York, 1988): Hardcover with dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition, fine/fine: $40–$100
- Very good/very good: $15–$40