 I need cyberpunk novels now., I've read Neuromancer and Snow Crash... |
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 Oct 11 2006, 09:47 PM
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#1
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Dragon  Group: Members Posts: 4,589 Joined: 28-November 05 Member No.: 8,019  |
and Burning Chrome, and the Diamond Age, and Count Zero, and Mona Lisa Overdrive. I've heard good things about Walter Jon Williams's Hardwired, but what else is out there?
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Oct 11 2006, 10:02 PM
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#2
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
Speaking of cyberpunk(ish) novels, I can never remember the names of the elfpunk books that some people referenced back on the old forums. :(
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Oct 11 2006, 10:06 PM
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#3
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Incertum est quo loco te mors expectet; Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 6,546 Joined: 24-October 03 From: DeeCee, U.S. Member No.: 5,760 |
Anything by Bruce Sterling. I think you'd like Snow Crash too (a lot of people complain about how the hero is named Hiro Protagonist, but I think you'd appreciate that).
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Oct 11 2006, 10:09 PM
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#4
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,008 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
A Scanner Darkly
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Lies, Incorporated And a lot of other stuff by Philip K. Dick. Edit: also, since you already have Burning Chrome, reread Dogfight. Then, if you don't mind more magic and less cyber, go find The Iron Dragon's Daughter, by Michael Swanwick (who cowrote Dogfight). I'd recommend his other works, though they vary between cyberpunkish and more straight-up science fiction. ~J |
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Oct 11 2006, 10:10 PM
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#5
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
I swear he originally listed Snow Crash in his post, because it was the first (and only, other than Hardwired or Gibson) book I would have recommended.
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Oct 11 2006, 10:27 PM
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#6
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,008 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
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Oct 11 2006, 10:31 PM
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#7
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Immoral Elf Group: Members Posts: 15,247 Joined: 29-March 02 From: Grimy Pete's Bar & Laundromat Member No.: 2,486 |
What makes you think I actually want to read up on what I want to read? :D
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Oct 11 2006, 11:02 PM
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#8
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 132 Joined: 24-August 05 From: Luxembourg, Luxembourg Member No.: 7,611 |
How about Greg Bear's Slant.
Tricia Sullivan's Someone To Watch Over Me was pretty good. Some of her other works have cyberpunk type elements in them as well. There's also Trouble and Her Friends by Melissa Scott. Lots of computer/matrix stuff in there. I didn't much like it, but several friends of mine did. |
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Oct 11 2006, 11:06 PM
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#9
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 204 Joined: 27-October 05 From: Waterloo, ON Member No.: 7,900 |
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets puts you into the model of old-fashioned crime and grit, with healthy amounts of racism, class warfare, and general criminal behavior.
NOIR, by KW Jeter, is another good book, more cyberpunk (spinal cords as stereo cables!) but less rooted in reality. The other two blade runner books aren't very tied to the movie, but tell some really really bizarre stories at the edge of science fiction. |
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Oct 11 2006, 11:47 PM
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#10
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Immortal Elf Group: Members Posts: 11,410 Joined: 1-October 03 From: Pittsburgh Member No.: 5,670 |
Slant, Greg Bear: goddamn fantastic, though it seemed more post-cyberpunk than cyberpunk (if you care to make such divisions). neat nanotech stuff, somewhat more realistic than Diamond Age, as well as being a really neat insight into how AIs might work.
Technogenesis, Syne Mitchell: fairly standard plot, but interesting tech and tech techniques. Heavy Weather, Bruce Sterling: good story, quite useful as an example of how people deal with advances in technology. Schismatrix Plus, Bruce Sterling: neat ideas about human augmentation, and about augmentation as a path (or paths, really) to human evolution. if you're interested in post-humanity, start here. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson: if you haven't read this, what in the name of God is wrong with you? |
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Oct 11 2006, 11:50 PM
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#11
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King of the Hobos Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,117 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 127 |
I'd recommend John Courtney Grimwood's Arabesk trilogy - Pashazade, Effendi and Felaheen respectively.
Edit: Uh, guys? Might want to check the thread title before you keep mentioning Snow Crash. Even if it is a cool book. ;) |
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Oct 12 2006, 12:08 AM
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#12
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Ain Soph Aur Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 3,477 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Montreal, Canada Member No.: 600 |
Altered Carbon is some of the best post-cyberpunk you're going to read. The 2 other books of the trilogy kinda slowly slant away from cyberpunk, but once you've read the first one you'll probably want to read the other 2 because they are teh awesome.
Perdido Street Station is fantasy steampunk rather than cyberpunk, but all the themes and elements are there. A fantastic read. |
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Oct 12 2006, 12:48 AM
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#13
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 6,748 Joined: 5-July 02 Member No.: 2,935 |
We've done this a bit before, but...
Anthologies: The Ultimate Cyberpunk Mirrorshades William Gibson: Burning Chrome Neuromancer Count Zero Mona Lisa Overdrive Virtual Light Idoru All Tomorrow's Parties John Shirley: City Come A Walkin The Exploded Heart Eclipse Eclipse Penumbra Eclipse Corona Pat Cadigan: Mind Players Synners Patterns Dervish is Digital (Not her best, I admit) Bruce Sterling: Globalhead A Good, Old-Fashioned Future Crystal Express Islands in the Net Heavy Weather Distraction Visionary in Residence (Verging into ribofunk) Neal Stephenson: Snowcrash The Diamond Age Also recommended: Interzone (A British sci-fi mag featuring several prominent Cyberpunk authors, colelctions available) Hip Flask/Elephantmen (Comic series by Active Image, very technonoir. Think Blade Runner) Transmetropolitan (Comic series by Warren Ellis, firmly postcyberpunk) Desolation Jones (Comic series by Warren Ellis, firmly slipstream) Lazarus Churchyard (Comic series by Warren Ellis and D'israeli, very cyberpunk. Also look for their collaborations in the pages of Unlimited 2099) The Winter Men (Comic series by Brett Lewis and John Paul Leon, firmly slipstream) Ghostrider 2099 (First couple issues are good, look for the cyberpunk references.) The Hacker Crackdown (non-fiction by Bruce Sterling, avalable for free) Ghost in the Shell (Graphic novel/series/manga by Masamune Shirow) Shatter (Graphic novel by Michael Saenz and Peter Gillis) Silent Dragon (Graphic novel by Andy Diggle, Leinil Francis Yu, and Gerry Alanguilan) The Difference Engine (a collaboration 'tween Bruce Sterling and William Gibson) Achilles Choice (By Larry Niven and Steve Barnes) Cryptonomicon (By Neal Stephenson, thought by some the beginning transition to Slipstream) The Baroque Cycle (By Neal Stephenson, 8 books broken into 3 volumes, Slipstream/steampunk) Pattern Recognition (A new William Gibson novel, firmly Slipstream) |
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Oct 12 2006, 12:54 AM
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#14
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 126 Joined: 20-December 05 Member No.: 8,088 |
Marc D. Giller's
- Hammerjack - Prodigal ..and maybe even a Shadowrun novel or 50 ;) |
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Oct 12 2006, 01:07 AM
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#15
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 745 Joined: 12-August 06 Member No.: 9,097 |
How come people like Snow Crash so much? I don't recall it being all that good a story, although I only read it once, in a superficial manner, and a long time ago at that. I'm thinking about reading it again just to see what the hype is all about.
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Oct 12 2006, 01:15 AM
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#16
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 6,748 Joined: 5-July 02 Member No.: 2,935 |
Like with many books, opinion differs. I like it for the characters, the writing style, the plot, and the setting. Others like and dislike it for one or more of the above reasons, among others. <shrug>
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Oct 12 2006, 02:13 AM
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#17
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 113 Joined: 16-October 03 Member No.: 5,725 |
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Oct 12 2006, 02:14 AM
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#18
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 113 Joined: 16-October 03 Member No.: 5,725 |
Yes, I also strongly disliked Snow Crash. |
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Oct 12 2006, 02:30 AM
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#19
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 6,748 Joined: 5-July 02 Member No.: 2,935 |
Friday, while a decent novel, is most definately not cyberpunk.
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Oct 12 2006, 02:31 AM
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#20
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,008 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
Taste, possibly. It was entertaining, but even knowing it was intentional didn't alleviate the pain from the massive doses of stupid the book liked to throw everywhere. It's a very clever parody of cyberpunk, but way, way too heavy-handed about it. ~J |
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Oct 12 2006, 02:35 AM
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#21
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Dragon Group: Members Posts: 4,589 Joined: 28-November 05 Member No.: 8,019 |
Yeah, I disliked the satire angle; I would have liked more snippets like Bruce Lee's shirt made of human hair.
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Oct 12 2006, 02:37 AM
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#22
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Manus Celer Dei Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 17,008 Joined: 30-December 02 From: Boston Member No.: 3,802 |
See, that's the problem, though. The snippets like Bruce Lee's shirt made of human hair were the satire. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I can't remember anything significant from the book that wasn't satirical. It's just a matter of how obvious it is.
He took everything in the genre and turned it to eleven. The problem was, he did this even with stuff that was already turned to eleven in serious Cyberpunk, so it just ended up sitting out in the stratosphere somewhere. ~J |
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Oct 12 2006, 02:39 AM
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#23
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 113 Joined: 16-October 03 Member No.: 5,725 |
Ah, but Friday was cyberpunk. It contained most of the classic elements. Balkanization of governments. Chaotic laws. Supertechnology giving rise to genetic engineering for human enhancement and the creation of artificial lifeforms, and their impact on society and the world. Cybernetics were mentioned but not showcased on stage. Prejudice against the enhanced and their problems. Corporations ruling (or at least strongly influencing) the world. Small wars fought between nations and groups in covert and semi-covert situations. Covert missions for various reasons. (Shadowruns. Friday was, effectively, a Shadowrunner working for a man who was, effectively, a Fixer/Mr. Johnson.) The only thing it did not specifically contain was Virtual Reality/Matrix/Simsense (or equivalent naming), although it most certainly had a global world-wide network of computers with considerable information retreival capability, including fully continuous on demand access to all media from throughout the world in any format (with what seemed to be considerable history available). |
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Oct 12 2006, 02:43 AM
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#24
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 745 Joined: 12-August 06 Member No.: 9,097 |
My main beef with Snow Crash is that I found none of the characters to be very interesting or developed, but I wouldn't go as far as to say I strongly disliked it. There were definitely many redeeming qualities about it, enough so that I would read Stephenson again if given the opportunity. |
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Oct 12 2006, 02:50 AM
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#25
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 113 Joined: 16-October 03 Member No.: 5,725 |
You think it was a parody? Hmm, I hadn't thought of that. |
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