Islands in the Net

Islands in the Net

Cover of first edition (hardcover)
Author	Bruce Sterling
Language	English
Genre	Science fiction
Publisher	Arbor House
Publication date	1988
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
Pages	348
ISBN	0-87795-952-8
OCLC	17442235
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 19
LC Class	PS3569.T3876 I8 1988

Islands in the Net is a 1988 science fiction novel by American writer Bruce Sterling. It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 1989,^[1] and was nominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards that same year.^[1] It offers a view of an early 21st century world, apparently peaceful, with delocalised, networking corporations. The protagonist, swept up in events beyond her control, finds herself in places that are off the net, from a datahaven in Grenada, to a Singapore under terrorist attack, to the poorest and most disaster-struck part of Africa.

In the story, the fictional book The Lawrence Doctrine and Postindustrial Insurgency, named after Lawrence of Arabia, is banned because it deals directly with methods and tactics of an insurgent rebellion.