Recommend me some CyberPunk

[The Shade]

I find myself in the very unusual position of having nothing to do these days. It's been a while since I had free time, and with it I find my thoughts straying to one of my old time-fillers: reading.

I've been in an oddly Cyberpunky state-of-mind recently, but I thought I'd ask the experts rather than sifting through the vaults of grim futuristic literature myself.

So... Escapist, if that is your real name: what are some winners of the genre?

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FYI: I have already read:

Everything written by William Gibson
Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash

 

[mexicola]

My cyberpunk experience has pretty much been limited to William Gibson so I can't give you any new recommendations. But I'll stick around, I wouldn't mind finding something new to read too!

 

[Inktank]

The Mad Capsule Markets

 

[The Shade]

Hm. Perhaps I was mistaken.

 

[octafish]

I'd recommend the other Stephenson books Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle in particular. They aren't cyberpunk or set it future, but who is these days?

edit: Yes. Yes, you were mistaken.

 

[Omikron009]

Blade Runner, perhaps?

 

[xXAsherahXx]

Psyclon Nine is a pretty awesome cyber-punk (or metal) band. INRI is fantastic

 

[revjay]

Blade Runner, perhaps?

It's called 'Do androids dream of electric sheep?' by Philip K Dick. Any of his stuff is good but that one to me was his best.

 

[Ekonk]

How about some bio-punk. I could recommend a very good book in that genre. Cyberpunk, not so much, sadly. (I guess Neuromancer defined the genre. Have you checked that one out yet?)

EDIT: Aaaand you already did. Well.

 

[Z(ombie)fan]

literature? oh...

no

... just, what? "no"? why bother posting you.... *incomprehensible swearing*

 

[Prince Rhys]

I love the Shadowrun universe, though it's not strictly cyberpunk. It's cyberpunk with a tad of Tolkienesque fantasy stapled on and oddly, it works. Don't judge it by the crap 360 game. Please.

Fair warning: The novels are ridiculously rare. The table-top books, less so, but those aren't really for reading.

 

[Banhaze]

Literature, gents.

I dunno man, I never got too much into the books. If you can handle manga, Ghost in the Shell is always a good op.

This. Ghost in the shell is a damn good read. Same with the anime and movies if you can stomach those too.

 

[xXAsherahXx]

The Mad Capsule Markets

Psyclon Nine is a pretty awesome cyber-punk (or metal) band. INRI is fantastic

Literature, gents.

I dunno man, I never got too much into the books. If you can handle manga, Ghost in the Shell is always a good op.

I have never heard of a cyber punk book. as far as i know they are two different things. where have i been lately

 

[EnzoHonda]

My cyberpunk experience is pretty much limited to Gibson and Snow Crash, but there are a few I can add. Philip K. Dick's work is more sci-fi, but a lot of his stuff has a taste of cyberpunk. The issue I have here is that the books are sci-fi, but the movies are cyberpunk.

Check out Accelerando by Charles Stross. Lots of AI, weird and powerful characters, "living in the machine" sort of stuff. Doesn't quite capture the "grittiness" that proper cyberpunk has.

In all honesty you've put me on a quest to find more cyberpunk. I want to be able to relive reading Snow Crash for the first time or Neuromancer for the second time (I read it when I was too young and didn't like it, picked it up years later and fell head-over-heels in love with it)

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

I have never heard of a cyber punk book. as far as i know they are two different things. where have i been lately

I think a better question would be where have you been since the mid-80s when cyberpunk literature started (and that's if we discount the works of Philip K Dick)?


Oh yeah, anyone who liked Snow Blind should also check out Diamond Age. Stephenson takes a bunch of concepts from the first and goes crazy with them ending up with a fucked up 2nd Boxer Rebellion.

Any of Paul J McAuley's Fairyland setting stories are good CP as well.

 

[Samurai Goomba]

Ghost in the Shell is the original cyberpunk. Also, Battle Angel Alita.

 

[RaphaelsRedemption]

William Gibson's book of short stories: "Burning Chrome". Quality stuff by the guy who wrote "Neuromancer".

One of my favourite books

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Check out Accelerando by Charles Stross. Lots of AI, weird and powerful characters, "living in the machine" sort of stuff. Doesn't quite capture the "grittiness" that proper cyberpunk has.

Stross is an odd duck because he just seems to jam genres together and go to town with them - dimension hopping supernazis, cold war cthulhu, and so on. Always worth a read, though.

Philip K. Dick's work is more sci-fi, but a lot of his stuff has a taste of cyberpunk. The issue I have here is that the books are sci-fi, but the movies are cyberpunk.

Well the man is often regarded as the 'godfather of cyberpunk' so anyone interested in the genre should pick up a few of his books... I wouldn't call his work either sci-fi or cyberpunk but Existentialist Headfuckery.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Oh yeah, for over-the-top fucking WEIRD shit, Rudy Rucker is your man.