Dan, have you read Neuromancer?
 

You seem to have some sort of affinity for the Matrix.

I just finished Neuromancer, by Gibson (it's on the books link above). I don't know a lot of about science fiction, but supposedly, it started the cyberpunk genre. The whole idea of plugging into the computer matrix. Seedy corrupt world of drug users and criminals, issues of artificial intelligence (recalls Blade Runner, though I suppose the movie came before this book).