Hi, sorry if this is the wrong thread. Didn't see a specific book suggestions thread, but this seems pretty close. I'm looking for cyberpunk science fiction "must-reads" to increase my knowledge of the subject. I tend to write dark, anti-hero fantasy works or light, romantic mysteries. Yeah, bit of a difference there. I'm moody, sue me. Kidding, anyway I've been told that some of my newest writing would make great cyberpunk science fiction. I honestly didn't even know that was a thing until recently, but I have to say it seems like it might be a perfect fit for me. I love movies like Blade Runner and Dune and easily come up with such concepts regularly. I could make the newest Dune Runner, heh. I'm looking for novels with artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, dystopian societies, anti-heroes, unique professions & specializations, cyberpunk slang, robotics, cybernetics, bio engineering, or really any type of augmented species. New planets, new worlds, new cultures, and all that of course. I'm more interested in interesting ideas and concepts than just throwing those things together in a mystery pie. I'm not looking for the terminator with A.I. going evil, that's been done too many times. I prefer something unique when reading, or at least unique when they wrote it, nothing that's been done a million and a half times. Thanks in advance, I'm ready to devour some more books.
Agreed. Gibson is pretty much the father of cyberpunk. It may read a little old-hat today since, by its nature, this genre is one wherein its props age out rather quickly, but I cannot imagine saying that one knows cyberpunk without reading Mona Lisa Overdrive. I'll add some of M. John Harrison's works as well. Light, Nova Swing, Empty Space. Not as strictly cyberpunk as Gibson, but defo within the realm.
I don't read a lot of cyberpunk SF. I've read one series that was pretty good, but not by a big name author. Check out the Street series by Ryan A. Span. The novels are Empathy, Clairvoyance, and Precognition.
William Gibson and Bruce Sterling pretty much invented cyberpunk. The word "cyberspace" was coined by William Gibson, in the novel Neuromancer. However, IMHO, both writers peaked rather early. Gibson has his "Sprawl" (loose) trilogy, comprised of Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Mona Lisa Overdrive. His second, Bridge trilogy, has some cyberpunk elements, but it much more grounded in the modern world. His more recent work is just a step or two forward (or back, depending on when you read it) from current reality. Not so much to my tastes. Slant, by Greg Bear, would be a good cyberpunk book if it didn't so closely resemble Neuromancer. If you like Gibson's writing style and are interested in biopunk, most of Paolo Bacigalupi's books read like William Gibson, back when Gibson was the bleeding edge. Bacigalupi's speech patterns, rhythms, and general view owe a clear debt to Gibson, but he's approaching a new set of problems. There is an argument to be made that he's copycatting, but I find his work to be a logical progression where Gibson left off, told in a very similar voice.;
I've read The Windup Girl, and quite liked it. I agree regarding Gibson's early work versus later work. There is also a female author from the 80s (not Pat Cadigan) who wrote a trilogy of cyberpunk works I remember being good. I'll see if I can figure out what they were. I've read a number of works by Bear, but not Slant.
