Cyberpunk books that revolutionized the genre | Hacker News Reader

Cyberpunk books that revolutionized the genre

shepherd.com

34 pointsbwb14 comments

It's weird that he mentions Snow Crash without even mentioning that it is a parody of cyberpunk that is making fun of the self-serious nature of the genre. I mean Stephenson's hero protagonist is literally named "Hiro Protagonist", the crime lord Uncle Enzo controls pizza delivery rather than something like hard drugs, and features countries that exist as franchises like fast food restaurants. I like the book, don't get me wrong, but the way the OP (and others) talk about the book you wouldn't expect it to be a comedy as it is.

I loved the humor as well; it's part of why it is so readable. But what really stood out for me was this insane future he painted a picture of.

I liked it when I read it. But you are the first person that also sees the book as satire. I started hating the book because so many people think it's so amazing when it's supposed to be like space balls.

Ok I'm really glad you mentioned that. It didn't fully occur to me, and now I appreciate the book a lot more.

Except of course for the oversexualization of a 15 year old, and the authors poor attempts at "sexy writing."

Ready Player One is not a good book. It starts with an interesting premise then devolves in to a competition for how many 80s references it can fit in each sentence.

I liked it, but if you think it had too many references from the 80s, you should check the other book he wrote out of the library. I tried to read it and thought it was a joke at first, as it is 100x more than RP1.

For anyone into cyberpunk, I recommend checking out Alfred Bested, who seriously influenced the genre.

His two masterpieces, The Stars My Destination and The Demolished Man, could both be called "proto-cyberpunk", but the one that I think comes closest is Extro (1975, also published as The Computer Connection). It's a crazy, fun, ballsy, flawed novel that was panned when it came out, but way ahead of its time.

Nice, I was very happy to see that 5 authors have recommended The Stars My Destination -> https://shepherd.com/search/author/14620

But nothing for Demolished Man yet. Very cool and I'll check it out :)

Also if you are curious...

Here are the most recommended cyberpunk books on Shepherd: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/cyberpunk?order=most_recommen...

And the most recommended cyberpunk books from the last 3 years: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/cyberpunk?order=most_recommen...

I just read Titanium Noir and it is fantastic if you like a noir mystery mashed with a cyberpunk universe: https://shepherd.com/book/titanium-noir

I've just ordered Titanium Noir, reviews online look really good too. Thanks for the recommendation.

Awesome, let me know what you think :)

I found it last year through the best books of 2023 picks for authors; it is one of my favorites so far this year.

This list is so generic, so uninspired, that I'd of thought an AI generated it had it not been for the advertisement for the author's own book at the top and bottom of the page... Actually, I'm still not convinced it wasn't generated by an AI.

It is not AI, and the author shared the books he felt revolutionized the genre. You might disagree with him, but let's not be rude and call him AI. Every author we do these with signs an honor statement that they will not use AI for anything on the website (and will be blacklisted if they do). We also screen for this.

If you are looking for some outside-the-box Cyberpunk recommendations...

The best cyberpunk novels that launched and defined the subgenre https://shepherd.com/best-books/cyberpunk-that-launched-and-...

I bet you have not read these :)

The best cyberpunk books you won’t be able to put down https://shepherd.com/best-books/cyberpunk-books-you-wont-be-...

A bit more of a modern take around the same idea.

Author Stu Jones shares some of the best cyberpunk books he feels revolutionized the genre :)

My all-time fav is Snow Crash, blew my young mind when I read it.

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