The Margarets (2007) by Sheri TepperWow.
This was quite a bit different from Neuromancer, and that's putting it mildly. Such diversity among the books that we label "scifi" made me take to twitter to ask people to try and define the genre (in 6 words or less- I know, that's unfair, but there were some great responses).
Having never heard of Sheri Tepper before, I dove into The Margarets without many preconceptions. It's a fascinating story that encompasses multiple planets, planes of existence, and time periods. A little girl named Margaret Bain, bored to tears and lonely while living on a human settlement on Phobos, summons up some imaginary friends and VOILA they all eventually split off from her and become separate beings, each of whom grows up to become a full-fledged individual. Seven separate beings, to be exact. They each develop their special abilities, all in the service of helping the human race survive.
In the timeline of this book, the Earth has been severely damaged, and the population is so out of control, that certain hostile aliens want to either eliminate the human population or severely restrict its growth, so as to help the Earth's environment regenerate (because a damaged Earth is bad for trade). The Margarets, with a little help from their friends, set out on a quest to recover and bestow on humans their "racial memory," which will positively change how they view themselves and their world.
The Margarets is a highly imaginative and unique perspective on a possible future and a fascinating study of the many elements that make up each one of us.
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