Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Books! Cyberpunk Sci/Fi. Part 1

Probably bout time I actually put something here other then political, so here goes! A loving tribute to some favorite books!

I do love to read (who doesn't love a good book, come on!). Always have. Good Sci/Fi and Fantasy as far as fiction goes. I have been a huge fan of Cyberpunk Sci/Fi since it's inception in the early 80's (it's early glory days when most the best were written). See below a list of some of the best of the genre (and a few not technically Cyberpunk, but books that influenced it, or seemed to have been influenced by it). A quick list of some of the "best of".

These first 3 non-fiction books were known to have strongly influenced a few of the early “classic” cyberpunks. So I must list them. Very interesting general theme of accelerating change in culture driven by ever faster innovations in science and technology.

Future Shock

The Third Wave

Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth, and Violence at the Edge of the 21st Century

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True Names...and Other Dangers
Also stated by some of the classic authors as having a huge influence (and a very worthy read regardless). Find myself re-reading this every few years also.

Across Realtime
Not exactly Cyberpunk but shares many of the basic concepts and ideas that set Cyberpunk aside as a special sub-genre to Science fiction. Excellent book made up of 2 smaller books, and a short story that all go together. "The Peace War", "The Ungoverned", and "Marooned in Realtime".

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I absolutely love this short story collection. I still re-read the stories from time to time. Bruce Sterling's introductory essay is a excellent introduction to Cyberpunk.

I'd recommend almost anything written by Bruce Sterling!

Involution Ocean
Early Sterling, his first novel, my copy has copyright 1977, and there's a introduction by none other then Harlan Ellison!

The Artificial Kid (Context (San Francisco).)

Islands in the net




Probably my single all time favorite book! I always wished he would have written more in this setting.

Holy Fire (Bantam Spectra Book)
Another absolutely brilliant book by Sterling, “post-Cyberpunk”, about a fascinating near-future where the "Medical Industrial Complex" is the biggest, most powerful part of the economy. And very sensible old people run the world.

Distraction
An yet another, also brilliant work by Sterling. This one about a near future spin-doctor. Believable and frightening near future.

A Good Old-Fashioned Future
More post-cyberpunk near future excellent short stories. I'd love him to write a book (or books) based on some of these characters. "Deep Eddy", and "Bicycle repairman" are favorite stories of mine in this collection. I'd love to read more about these characters.

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The below 3 are something special also. They take place in a near future unnamed North African city. There was going to be a 4th book unfortunately Effinger died in 2002 before he finished it. The first 2 chapters of what was to be the fourth book titled "Word of Night" can be read in the short story collection "Budayeen Nights" listed below (I haven't had the pleasure of reading them myself, but I look forward to doing so after re-reading the previous 3 books).

When Gravity Fails

A Fire in the Sun

The Exile Kiss

Budayeen Nights

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