IDORU, by William Gibson

Considering that the book was written in 1996, William Gibson has created a surprisingly believable SciFi cyberworld set in "the not too distant future" 21st century Tokyo. The storyline is rather strange but somehow makes sense in the world Gibson has created. It traces the unconnected efforts of two characters, 13 year-old music fan Chia Pet McKenzie, and 40-something IT dataminer  Langley as they investigate reports that rock icon Rez intends to "marry" an "idoru" or complex computer program which uses AI beyond any previous incarnation. The two investigators' paths intersect during the latter part of the book in unexpected ways. Gibson creates a vivid and imaginative world in which the complex cyber reality is only slightly stranger than "real life" brick and mortar Tokyo.

Click here for a review of the book from Project Cyberpunk: http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/idoru.html