Just found the site Cyber Punk Radio. I am going to subscribe via iTunes and load a couple of podcasts onto my iPhone and listen on the way home from work. I will let you know if it is worthwhile listening to..
Enoch
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Category Archives: General Cyberpunk
Batter up! – Next Cyber Punk Book started…
Well I took a little vacation from Cyberpunk to read Michael Stackpoles 3rd installment in the “Secret Atlas” series but I am back on track and have started Ian McDonald’s book River of Gods
Richard K. Morgan
An interview with said titled second wave cyberpunk author. Or was he first wave? At work on lunchtime right now so don’t have resources to check that out, or read this, but I will read this, cause it’s an interview with a sci-fi author! And he mentions nearly all my favorites at one point!
Rudy Rucker – What a FLURB
For those of you not familiar with him, Rudy Rucker, is one amazing writer… He is a professor at San Jose State University in the Math and Computer science department as well a writer. I would not consider his books cyberpunk though I have seen him lumped into that genre and I believe that is how I started reading him. In any case check out FLURB his ezine and you can get a sample of his work (and others). If you want to read a very trippy series check out his FREK
20 geek hall of fame apple users
OK so what does the ‘20 geek hall of fame apple users‘ have to do with Cyberpunk? Well take a look at #14, #15 and #16. I think you will find those 3 are some of the greatest Cyberpunk authors dare I say ever. Plus I am not listed here but should be.
Enoc
Another Punk… Steampunk
Out of the world of Cyberpunk came the concept of Steampunk… ” Steampunk is a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction which came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often set in Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. ” (from wikipedia).
Of course I credit William Gibson and Bruce Sterling’s book “The Difference Engine” (I think I need to re-read it) with mainstreaming the concept…
Anyway here is a great link to steampunk like items that people have created.
Enoc
A night with William Gibson in Spook Country
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As mentioned in my last post – Ling and I attended a signing and reading of William Gibson’s Spook Country last night. About 50 + people attended (full house) the event at Cody’s (last remaining) Bookstore on 4th St in Berkeley. Ling and I have attended these kind of events before ( for Neil Gaiman and William Gibson ) and it follows a usual pattern of the author reading a chapter, answering some questions from the crowd and then the book signing. This was indeed how the night went. Gibson read chapter 42 of the book ( perhaps an homage to Douglas Adams someone in line suggested ). |
What is Cyberpunk?
Well, far be it from me to offer a definitive definition, but I know it when I read it. It’s usually near-future distopian literature with some cybernetics and some punks (ie hackers). Virtual Reality, the net, feature large in most cyberpunk.
To put it in movie terms, Blade Runner, not Star Wars. Brasil, in which I’d contend DeNiro plays one of the first cool hackers ever featured. Even 5th Element has some cyberpunk elements. Star Trek does not.
The wikipedia article has a lot of great background and author shout-outs, but even though Bruce Sterling is mentioned, one of my perennial favorties is glossed over, Mirrorshades. Everytime I’ve got spare time in a bookstore, I search out a copy of this 1988 classic to remind myself who that first wave of cyberpunks was: Sterling, Gibson, Bear, Cadigan, Rucker, Shiner and others. Then I start tracking down their recent work.
My favorite cyberpunk novel? Oh please, how can I not say Neuromancer. But really I enjoyed Idora and All Tomorrow’s Party just as much. Sterling’s Heavy Weather, Bear’s Slant. I’ll have to sit longer than a few minutes at lunch to post that!
My next potential post: Can Space Opera be Cyberpunk? There’s a lot of distopian sf out there and, to me, cyberpunk is usually more immediate or just-around-the-corner than most space opera is. I agree with Enok’s first post, it’s usually “earthly.” But elements are definitely showing up in the larger scifi genre.
But for now I’ll have to work on beefing up this post!
What is Shadowrunning?
I shouldn’t have to explain myself here but Shadowrunning might just be obscure enough of a term to warrant a little defining. ” A Shadowrun, by definition, is an illegal covert operation performed by independent operators (Shadowrunners) at the behest of a third party. ” So what the hell does it have to do with the site. I was not trying to think incredibly deep when I came up with the name for this blog but what I like about the concept of blogs and shadowrunning is that they are in their very essence covert and essentially separate from anything corporate (ok maybe I am selling ad space but hey if I can make a little money thats a good thing right?). It is opportunity as an individual to perhaps stake your own ground and to have your voice heard but with the masking of your true identity. I don’t know where this blog will go but I am sure looking forward to the ride.
Enough Said…