Cyberpunk
Annotation:William Gibson is one of the founders of the cyberpunk genre and his 1984 novel Neuromancer (the first in a series of three) is compulsory reading for any cyberpunk beginner. The inventive high-tech slang and complex narratives make it both an entertaining and challenging read.
Annotation:Overclocked allows you to sample some of the best of Cory Doctorow's writing. With a background in blogging and copyright reform, his speculations on technology and society are highly plausible. While jargon-filled, his novels and short stories are accessible to anyone living in today’s iPad society. Energetically paced fiction filled with engaging characters and subtle humour.
Annotation:John Shirley has collaborated with William Gibson on several occasions. This particular novel has a strong noir-inspired atmosphere, gritty and suspenseful. Shirley’s writing style is straightforward but engaging, his characters come to life on the page, and his plots are full of interesting ideas. He obeys the traditional rules of cyberpunk while still offering his readers something new.
Annotation:While not strictly cyberpunk, this novel contains several elements of the genre (the protagonist is a marginalised and alienated robot who takes it upon himself to investigate the kidnapping of his neighbours). A. Lee Martinez’s writing is witty, fast-paced and action-packed.
Annotation:Philip K. Dick's name is synonymous with science fiction. His writing is often speculative and influenced by postmodernism. This particular novel was adapted into the cyberpunk film Blade Runner.
Annotation:Considered post-cyberpunk, Snow Crash is a witty, thought-provoking and action-packed novel that mixes Sumerian myth with technology.
Annotation:Featuring an anti-hero protagonist and set in a future where your mind can be downloaded into other people’s bodies, Richard K. Morgan combines elements of cyberpunk and hardboiled detective fiction in this Philp K. Dick award-winning read.
Annotation:A literary science fiction novel that won the 1994 Arthur C. Clarke Award. It is similar in style to Neuromancer and A Clockwork Orange. Set in an alternate version of Manchester, England, it explores the boundaries between what is real and what is virtual reality.
Annotation:Pat Cadigan is one of the few female authors whose work has helped shape the cyberpunk genre. All of her novels and short stories explore the relationship between technology and the human mind.
Annotation:Hammered is the first book of a trilogy. It won the 2006 Locus Award for Best First Novel. While there are often strong female characters in cyberpunk fiction, they do not usually take centre stage, which makes Elizabeth Bear's series unusual and worth reading.
Annotation:River of Gods is cyberpunk with a twist. Set in the developing world instead of the west, Ian McDonald steps away from the original focus of the genre and offers a new cultural perspective. This novel is succeeded by Cyberabad Days.
Annotation:The first book in his Rift series, Peter Watts makes use of his experience as a marine biologist by mixing marine science and technology together to speculate on our future energy supplies and how we access them.
Annotation:The Otherland Series is dramatic, suspenseful and richly detailed. Set in a not-so-distant future where virtual reality has become everyday life, these novels deal with themes of power and control.
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Description
Cyberpunk is a science fiction subgenre influenced by noir and detective fiction. Stories are usually set in a dystopic near-future where rapid changes in technology have lead to some disturbing changes in social order. The main protagonists are often outcasts or loners, and the plot is generally driven by a conflict involving hackers, artificial intelligences, and megacorporations. A Christchurch City Libraries list
Genre Guide