Cyberpunk

In 1984 William Gibson's Neuromancer was published and turned the sci-fi world on its ear. This novel had a hip writing style full of jargon, detail and atmosphere, with antiheroes who are denizens of the seamier side of existence. All this was wrapped together with a grungy technological sheen that hadn't been seen before. Cyberpunk, as it came to be called, had arrived.

In terms of technology, we hit the mother lode in cyberpunk. Not only did Gibson coin the term "cyberspace" in Neuromancer, but he gives us a fully realized view of the Internet's potential. In1984. It's all here: human computer interfaces, artificial intelligence, neurochemistry, cranial jacks to jack into the matrix and virtual reality. In fact, many of the ideas in this book were incorporated into the movie The Matrix.

Though Gibson admits to being influenced more by rock music, Lou Reed in particular (McCaffery, 1991), another influence is the work of William S. Burroughs (1914-1997). Burroughs' writing is suffused with a gritty, cynical, fantastic realism not far removed from Gibson. Bukatman (1993) also discusses this at length in his book Terminal Identity: the Virtual Subject in Postmodern Science Fiction, the title itself a Burroughs reference. Burroughs writes about weird technology gone wrong leading to strange cyborgs (soft machines), cybernetic paranoia, violence, drugs and sex in apocalyptic worlds (Porush, 1984; Burroughs, 1966). These are places where Case, the main character from Neuromancer, might not feel out of place.

Other authors who have written in this style with varying degrees of success are Bruce Sterling, Rudy Rucker and Neal Stephenson. Stephenson's Snow Crash is perhaps a better example of the genre than some; written with humour and style and a great hero/protagonist named, yes, Hiro Protagonist (Stephenson, 1992).

Many imitators have come upon the scene with less panache than Gibson or Stephenson, causing critcs like Darko Suvin (1991) to comment "is cyberpunk the diagnostician of or the parasite on a disease?" Gibson himself has branched out since writing his cyberpunk trilogy (Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Burning Chrome), perhaps most notably in his collaboration with Bruce Sterling: The Difference Engine, which depicts an alternative Victorian Age in which there are huge, steam-driven computers (Gibson and Sterling, 1991).

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	Cyberpunk In 1984 William Gibson's Neuromancer was published and turned the sci-fi world on its ear. This novel had a hip writing style full of jargon, detail and atmosphere, with antiheroes who are denizens of the seamier side of existence. All this was wrapped together with a grungy technological sheen that hadn't been seen before. Cyberpunk, as it came to be called, had arrived. In terms of technology, we hit the mother lode in cyberpunk. Not only did Gibson coin the term "cyberspace" in Neuromancer, but he gives us a fully realized view of the Internet's potential. In1984. It's all here: human computer interfaces, artificial intelligence, neurochemistry, cranial jacks to jack into the matrix and virtual reality. In fact, many of the ideas in this book were incorporated into the movie The Matrix. Though Gibson admits to being influenced more by rock music, Lou Reed in particular (McCaffery, 1991), another influence is the work of William S. Burroughs (1914-1997). Burroughs' writing is suffused with a gritty, cynical, fantastic realism not far removed from Gibson. Bukatman (1993) also discusses this at length in his book Terminal Identity: the Virtual Subject in Postmodern Science Fiction, the title itself a Burroughs reference. Burroughs writes about weird technology gone wrong leading to strange cyborgs (soft machines), cybernetic paranoia, violence, drugs and sex in apocalyptic worlds (Porush, 1984; Burroughs, 1966). These are places where Case, the main character from Neuromancer, might not feel out of place. Other authors who have written in this style with varying degrees of success are Bruce Sterling, Rudy Rucker and Neal Stephenson. Stephenson's Snow Crash is perhaps a better example of the genre than some; written with humour and style and a great hero/protagonist named, yes, Hiro Protagonist (Stephenson, 1992). Many imitators have come upon the scene with less panache than Gibson or Stephenson, causing critcs like Darko Suvin (1991) to comment "is cyberpunk the diagnostician of or the parasite on a disease?" Gibson himself has branched out since writing his cyberpunk trilogy (Neuromancer, Count Zero, and Burning Chrome), perhaps most notably in his collaboration with Bruce Sterling: The Difference Engine, which depicts an alternative Victorian Age in which there are huge, steam-driven computers (Gibson and Sterling, 1991). to top of page