Sci-Fi and in particular Cyberpunk has helped shape the world we’re living in now. The development of the internet, social networking and the future of cyberspace have been brought to life by visionaries who write about technology, science, culture and politics. With this in mind Paul Mallett and Andrew Brown have drawn up an initial cyberpunk reading list from their selection of most influential authors.
Cyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on “high tech and low life“.[1] The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story “Cyberpunk,” published in 1983,[2] It features advanced science, such as information technology and cybernetics, coupled with a degree of breakdown or radical change in the social order. – Wikipedia
William Gibson
The original godfather of cyberpunk, he coined the term ‘cyberspace’. Read:
- Neuromancer
- Count Zero
- Mona Lisa Overdrive
The Bridge Trilogy
- Virtual Light
- Idoru
- All Tomorrow’s Parties
Douglas Copeland
Probably most famous for his debut novel Generation X he’s on the list primarily for a great book that tore open the campus life of working at Microsoft. Read:
- Microserfs
John Brunner
Way back in 1973 John Brunner described a world connected by a cyber network, had expert hackers undermining the law and coined the term “Worm” for a self replicating virus. If you’re eagle eyed you’ll spot where Macromedia got the name Shockwave from. Read:
- The Shockwave Rider
Neal Stephenson
He defined the metaverse in seminal work Snow Crash and his books just get better and better with Anatham being a cyberpunk masterpiece. Read:
- Snow Crash
- The Diamond Age
- Cryptonomicon
- The Baroque Trilogy (Quicksilver, Confusion, Diamond Age)
- Anatham
Plus anything else of his you can get your filthy mitts on.
Michael Marshall Smith
Recently writing crime under the name Michael Marshall, his earlier books are cyberpunk gold, full of insane ideas. Often dark, often funny. Read:
-
Only Forward
-
Spares
-
One of Us
Jeff Noon
Mancunian hero. The master at inducing LSD type effects in the brain by making you read words. Read:
- Vurt
- Needle in the Groove
- Falling out of cars
E.M.Forster
Whoops, have I hyperlinked to the wrong list? Didn’t E.M.Forster write classics such as A Room with a View and Maurice (good books!). Well, yes he did, but while we’re having a bit of a history lesson let’s take you back to 1909 when Forster described a post apocalyptic world where humans only connected to each other through a communications network. Inspired by what was going on with telegraph this is a great short story. Read:
There’s a big list of people who didn’t quite make it because their specific cyberpunk qualities weren’t right, but it’s worth giving a shout out to Iain M Banks, William Burroughs and Alan Moore. There’s also people who are in the cyberpunk hall of fame who aren’t yet on this list, most noticeably Bruce Sterling who’s often quoted as helping define the genre, but he’s still on my ‘to read’ list, so if you’ve read his Mirrorshades anthology let’s hear about what you’ve got to say and we’ll get it on the list.
Happy reading.
You might want to read these similar blog posts from swamp:
Loving the list. Here’s one more for the consideration list:
Black Man by Richard Morgan.
“Since his ferocious debut novel Altered Carbon roared into town, Richard Morgan has been at the forefront of this breed of full-on, edgy science fiction, and his latest tech-noir thriller is also looking dangerously like his best yet. Smart, gripping, and downright indispensable- the search for the best sci-fi thriller of 2007 might just have come to an end…” (SFX )
Though not technically Cyberpunk – Ian M Banks also does a neet turn in low-life sc-fi desperados and mind-blowing metaverses.
My Favourite has got to be ‘The Algebraist’ – the concept of speed of time being intrinsically linked to lifespan as explored through the billion year old creatures is truly jaw dropping.
I’ve just started his new book – Matter – shaping up pretty nicely too