Cyberpunk

by Andrew M. Butler

Pocket Essentials is a dynamic series of books that are concise, lively, and easy to read. Packed with facts as well as expert opinions, each book has all the key information you need to know about such popular topics as film, television, cult fiction, history, and more. Often considered to have been the creation of William Gibson in his seminal novel Neuromancer , the subgenre of cyberpunk can be traced back into the history of science fiction from the 1950s to the late 1970s, and emerged in reaction to the world of the 1980s. Cyberpunk is a mix of hard science fiction, noir plotting, punk attitude, and the cutting edge of culture. This book looks in detail at the movers and shakers in the cyberpunk movement, from the early days of William Gibson and Bruce Sterling through feminist and British versions of cyberpunk to the post-cyberpunk or cyberpunk-flavored fictions of Neal Stephenson, Greg Egan, Jeff Noon, and Jack Womack. It also examines important cyberpunk films including Blade Runner and The Matrix .

Genres: Cyberpunk, Nonfiction, Reference, Literature

78 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2000

Reviews

[Benjamin Kahn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up on a whim at the library. I realized as I read through the description of the various novels that it covered that a)I'm not as interested in cyberpunk as I had originally thought ; and b)that a literature review like this doesn't make for interesting reading. A good resource for those looking to get started though. And the dry academic tone in the early going belies the humour that Butler brings to some of his later reviews.

[Afroditi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An essential cyberpunk and post-cyberpunk review!
Through a historical glance at the cyberpunk movement in literature, author Andrew M. Butler analizes a great variety of writers from William Gibson and Bruce Sterling to Neal Stephenson and Jeff Noon etc.
The book also examines cyberpunk films. From Blade Runner (1982) to Matrix (1999) - including films like Videodrome, Terminator, Akira, Johnny Mnemonic, Ghost in the shell, Existenz and many more.

This small book is a big treasure for all cyberpunk fans.