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Cybernetrix
Technology has advanced to the level where electronic alternative worlds can actually be created and entered by humans. The first such world created was originally supposed to be based on the electronic world from the movie Tron, but due to legal complications with the Disney Corporation the developers decided to base it instead on a B-grade ripoff film called Cybernetrix. Although the movie was a failure, the electronic world of Cybernetrix has become so popular that it has changed our culture forever. There is only one problem: the Cybernetrix world and the real world seem to be slowly bleeding together into one reality. Carlton Mellick III's Cybernetrix is a bizarro satire set in a future world where '80s fads never went out of style, where society has completely lost interest in art and creativity, where reality is so damned boring that fantasy is the only thing left worth living for.
193 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2008
3 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
About the author
Carlton Mellick III
118 books2,146 followersCarlton Mellick III (July 2, 1977, Phoenix, Arizona) is an American author currently residing in Portland, Oregon. He calls his style of writing "avant-punk," and is currently one of the leading authors in the recent 'Bizarro' movement in underground literature[citation needed] with Steve Aylett, Chris Genoa and D. Harlan Wilson.
Mellick's work has been described as a combination of trashy schlock sci-fi/horror and postmodern literary art. His novels explore surreal versions of earth in contemporary society and imagined futures, commonly focusing on social absurdities and satire.
Carlton Mellick III started writing at the age of ten and completed twelve novels by the age of eighteen. Only one of these early novels, "Electric Jesus Corpse", ever made it to print.
He is best known for his first novel Satan Burger and its sequel Punk Land. Satan Burger was translated into Russian and published by Ultra Culture in 2005. It was part of a four book series called Brave New World, which also featured Virtual Light by William Gibson, City Come A Walkin by John Shirley, and Tea from an Empty Cup by Pat Cadigan.
In the late 90's, he formed a collective for offbeat authors which included D. Harlan Wilson, Kevin L. Donihe, Vincent Sakowski, among others, and the publishing company Eraserhead Press. This scene evolved into the Bizarro fiction movement in 2005.
In addition to writing, Mellick is an artist and musician.
Mellick's work has been described as a combination of trashy schlock sci-fi/horror and postmodern literary art. His novels explore surreal versions of earth in contemporary society and imagined futures, commonly focusing on social absurdities and satire.
Carlton Mellick III started writing at the age of ten and completed twelve novels by the age of eighteen. Only one of these early novels, "Electric Jesus Corpse", ever made it to print.
He is best known for his first novel Satan Burger and its sequel Punk Land. Satan Burger was translated into Russian and published by Ultra Culture in 2005. It was part of a four book series called Brave New World, which also featured Virtual Light by William Gibson, City Come A Walkin by John Shirley, and Tea from an Empty Cup by Pat Cadigan.
In the late 90's, he formed a collective for offbeat authors which included D. Harlan Wilson, Kevin L. Donihe, Vincent Sakowski, among others, and the publishing company Eraserhead Press. This scene evolved into the Bizarro fiction movement in 2005.
In addition to writing, Mellick is an artist and musician.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 25, 2024
I actually really liked this book. I’d say this far it’s perhaps the best I’ve read from his bibliography. It’s built around the Tron franchise but isn’t nearly as gratuitously corny or outright stupid as some of his other books.
March 29, 2017
This book is a lot of fun! The relationship (and sex) between Wesley and Xiva (the bot) is surprisingly sweet, and the utopian word CM3 created is both frightening and wonderful. It sounds like a great society to live in, though I'm not convinced I'd like to live there.
Anyways, Cybernetrix is great! Especially recommended to those who like Tron, virtual reality, or robotic erotica.
Anyways, Cybernetrix is great! Especially recommended to those who like Tron, virtual reality, or robotic erotica.
July 23, 2012
Firstly, I read this book just for the lulz, as they say. I love Tron and I love books, so when someone happened to mention to me that someone had written a book that was essentially nothing more than Tron erotica I knew I had to read it.
The book is strange because when you hear phrases like "Tron-themed erotica", "Bizarro fiction" and "...also wrote 'The Baby Jesus Butt Plus', 'The Haunted Vagina' and 'The Cannibals of Candyland'" you fully expect to find yourself up to your ass in a spectacularly god-awful book, but "Cybernetrix" is shockingly easy to read.
Obviously it's not a serious novel and I suspect that it appeals mainly to the type of person who just wants to be noticed for how weird and unique they are, but despite that I have to say that it genuinely earned its four stars. It actually is a fairly decent novel and the part that confounded me the most was that there is really much less over-the-top sex in the book than I was expecting. There is sex in the book, but it is not as gratuitous as I was expecting and it actually manages to fit in with the plot of the novel.
Overall, a surprisingly solid novel for being little more than a Bizarro version of Tron fan-fic.
It gets four stars instead of five because I found that as the book approached its climax it began to lose its way. The first 75% is fairly strong, but then it suddenly drops off and the ending feels sort of tacked on and half-assed, but it's still more than I expected from the book when I started out.
The book is strange because when you hear phrases like "Tron-themed erotica", "Bizarro fiction" and "...also wrote 'The Baby Jesus Butt Plus', 'The Haunted Vagina' and 'The Cannibals of Candyland'" you fully expect to find yourself up to your ass in a spectacularly god-awful book, but "Cybernetrix" is shockingly easy to read.
Obviously it's not a serious novel and I suspect that it appeals mainly to the type of person who just wants to be noticed for how weird and unique they are, but despite that I have to say that it genuinely earned its four stars. It actually is a fairly decent novel and the part that confounded me the most was that there is really much less over-the-top sex in the book than I was expecting. There is sex in the book, but it is not as gratuitous as I was expecting and it actually manages to fit in with the plot of the novel.
Overall, a surprisingly solid novel for being little more than a Bizarro version of Tron fan-fic.
It gets four stars instead of five because I found that as the book approached its climax it began to lose its way. The first 75% is fairly strong, but then it suddenly drops off and the ending feels sort of tacked on and half-assed, but it's still more than I expected from the book when I started out.
October 13, 2025
Possibly the best entry in the Tron franchise at this point. Not really looking forward to Disney acquiring Carlton Mellick III's universe of stories, but at least he'll get a nice payday and can spend his days with George Lucas at a mall food court.
September 1, 2023
Actually *better* than TRON
December 9, 2009
When you pick up Cybernetrix, there’s not much information about what’s in store for you. For me, all I’d heard was the phrase “Tron sex,” and that was enough for me to buy it. You kinda have to be a Tron fan (or at least know about it) to get all the visuals in this story. But pretty much everyone already likes Tron. If you don’t like Tron, give it another try, or at least see the super-CGI sequel.
But don’t be fooled. This isn’t some “Scary Movie” parody that takes the Tron story and slaps a few gags and perversions on it. In fact, Mellick tells this story with complete seriousness. It’s set in a world whose culture is permanently stuck in the 80’s. This was somewhat interesting, but almost unnecessary, as Mellick doesn’t stray too far into the real world to show us why people are so obsessed with the 80’s. The main theme of the real world seems to be the debasing drudgery of the modern cubicle drone (similar to another great movie, Office Space). And since the real world kind of sucks, everyone yearns for the escapism of Cybernetrix, a vast virtual reality world similar to Tron. The Cybernetrix is almost exactly like the Tron world, but Mellick renamed it seemingly to avoid a lawsuit from Disney. It works out, since it doesn’t hurt the story and NOBODY wants to see Disney angry.
The protagonist is Wesley. He’s a normal guy who’s never experienced Cybernetrix, so he provides us with a fresh perspective. We see what Cybernetrix means to the human populace, and Mellick shows us the details of this world that really do make it seem better than real life. There are some people who spend their entire lives in Cybernetrix, playing games and doing normal stuff that seems so much cooler with all the neon colors. Wesley begins as a skeptic, but soon falls in love with an artificial intelligence, or “bot.” If that weren’t enough, the bot begins to love Wesley back. This is forbidden and impossible in Cybernetrix, and the story becomes a twisting romance that shows us how far things must go for them to be together.
Wesley is in over his head, and spends a lot of his time afraid for his life. His bot lover, Xiva, is committed with the sort of absolute logic that an artificial intelligence would have. She feels her emotions so completely that it makes humans seem shallow and one-dimensional, and nothing will stop her from making sure she and Wesley are together. To her, they might as well be one person. When the Cybernetrix begins to melt into the real world, the bots begin to destroy everything and take the humans as slaves. And in the midst of the invasion, Xiva makes sure that Wesley will survive to be with her. It’s a cold and logical dedication, but more intense than anything Wesley’s ever experienced before.
We all know people who are obsessed with virtual worlds, whether its video games, World or Warcraft, or even LARP. But in Cybernetrix, people have lost interest in the real world, which leads to the bots taking it from them. They show an appreciation for the real world that the humans seem to have forgotten. So there’s more to Cybernetrix than “Tron sex.” So far I consider it one of Mellick’s coolest and most heartfelt of books.
But don’t be fooled. This isn’t some “Scary Movie” parody that takes the Tron story and slaps a few gags and perversions on it. In fact, Mellick tells this story with complete seriousness. It’s set in a world whose culture is permanently stuck in the 80’s. This was somewhat interesting, but almost unnecessary, as Mellick doesn’t stray too far into the real world to show us why people are so obsessed with the 80’s. The main theme of the real world seems to be the debasing drudgery of the modern cubicle drone (similar to another great movie, Office Space). And since the real world kind of sucks, everyone yearns for the escapism of Cybernetrix, a vast virtual reality world similar to Tron. The Cybernetrix is almost exactly like the Tron world, but Mellick renamed it seemingly to avoid a lawsuit from Disney. It works out, since it doesn’t hurt the story and NOBODY wants to see Disney angry.
The protagonist is Wesley. He’s a normal guy who’s never experienced Cybernetrix, so he provides us with a fresh perspective. We see what Cybernetrix means to the human populace, and Mellick shows us the details of this world that really do make it seem better than real life. There are some people who spend their entire lives in Cybernetrix, playing games and doing normal stuff that seems so much cooler with all the neon colors. Wesley begins as a skeptic, but soon falls in love with an artificial intelligence, or “bot.” If that weren’t enough, the bot begins to love Wesley back. This is forbidden and impossible in Cybernetrix, and the story becomes a twisting romance that shows us how far things must go for them to be together.
Wesley is in over his head, and spends a lot of his time afraid for his life. His bot lover, Xiva, is committed with the sort of absolute logic that an artificial intelligence would have. She feels her emotions so completely that it makes humans seem shallow and one-dimensional, and nothing will stop her from making sure she and Wesley are together. To her, they might as well be one person. When the Cybernetrix begins to melt into the real world, the bots begin to destroy everything and take the humans as slaves. And in the midst of the invasion, Xiva makes sure that Wesley will survive to be with her. It’s a cold and logical dedication, but more intense than anything Wesley’s ever experienced before.
We all know people who are obsessed with virtual worlds, whether its video games, World or Warcraft, or even LARP. But in Cybernetrix, people have lost interest in the real world, which leads to the bots taking it from them. They show an appreciation for the real world that the humans seem to have forgotten. So there’s more to Cybernetrix than “Tron sex.” So far I consider it one of Mellick’s coolest and most heartfelt of books.
April 13, 2009
A well paced, tightly plotted tale of love and revolution set largely in a virtual world inspired by the Disney film Tron, Cybernetrix is a strange, sexy, and stylish cyberpunk manifesto, turned on its head by its Bizarro aesthetic.
September 6, 2014
This was a decent Tron-like tale. In fact, it was a relatively normal story (considering it involved cyberspace). So normal, that I suspect it wasn't written by Carlton Mellick III. I bet it was written by his stunt double, Carlton Mellick 3.5.
September 26, 2009
His most coherent story yet! Read this before you see the Tron sequel...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews