I actually just finished re-reading Count Zero last week. For me Neuromancer is so genre defining that it’s hard to compare anything else to it. Nonetheless, Count Zero is definitely worth a read and a worth successor. Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson is probably the second most genre-defining book in the Cyberpunk anthology. It’s a very different from Neuromancer, but still quintessentially Cyberpunk.
If you anime at all, I think Cowboy Bebop is a pretty great entry in the genre. To be honest, I can’t get into Anime and haven’t watched that version, but I really enjoyed the first season of Netflix’s cancelled live action adaptation. The internet leads me to believe that the Anime is even better.
Oh! I’ve read about Snow Crash but it looks too much like Ready Player One (the movie AFAIK and i know its the other way around probably) and the whole idea of the metaverse its not much up my alley but i will definitely give it a read too then!!
I’ve seen Cowboy Bebop and loved it its definitely has got more of the punk than the cyber although that might just be my impression of old era visual cyberpunk.
I find that usually the way I picture cyberpunk media like books, that don’t come with images as more modern tech. I’m sure that what William Gibson had in mind while writing Neuromancer was far more retro futuristic that what i imagined while reading it, which was more akin to BR2049.
Oh! I’ve read about Snow Crash but it looks too much like Ready Player One (the movie AFAIK and i know its the other way around probably) and the whole idea of the metaverse its not much up my alley but i will definitely give it a read too then!!
I touched on this in my own top-level reply. You’re not exactly wrong, but comparing Snow Crash to RP1 is frankly an insult to Snow Crash. If nothing else, I think Snow Crash is worth reading as one of the defining works of the genre, even if I don’t think it holds up as well as Neuromancer. RP1 on the other hand, I regret reading (I haven’t watched the movie). I would gladly take those hours of my life back if I could.
I find that usually the way I picture cyberpunk media like books, that don’t come with images as more modern tech. I’m sure that what William Gibson had in mind while writing Neuromancer was far more retro futuristic that what i imagined while reading it, which was more akin to BR2049.
Yeah, it’s funny. In a lot of ways Cyberpunk as a genre is dead because it basically just describes the current world with more neon and VR. Back when Gibson was writing Neuromancer, it wasn’t retro futurism he had in mind, it was just the future! A lot of the charm of Cyberpunk comes from the ways in which the 80s vision of the future differs from reality while still striking close to home.
I actually just finished re-reading Count Zero last week. For me Neuromancer is so genre defining that it’s hard to compare anything else to it. Nonetheless, Count Zero is definitely worth a read and a worth successor. Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson is probably the second most genre-defining book in the Cyberpunk anthology. It’s a very different from Neuromancer, but still quintessentially Cyberpunk.
If you anime at all, I think Cowboy Bebop is a pretty great entry in the genre. To be honest, I can’t get into Anime and haven’t watched that version, but I really enjoyed the first season of Netflix’s cancelled live action adaptation. The internet leads me to believe that the Anime is even better.
Oh! I’ve read about Snow Crash but it looks too much like Ready Player One (the movie AFAIK and i know its the other way around probably) and the whole idea of the metaverse its not much up my alley but i will definitely give it a read too then!!
I’ve seen Cowboy Bebop and loved it its definitely has got more of the punk than the cyber although that might just be my impression of old era visual cyberpunk.
I find that usually the way I picture cyberpunk media like books, that don’t come with images as more modern tech. I’m sure that what William Gibson had in mind while writing Neuromancer was far more retro futuristic that what i imagined while reading it, which was more akin to BR2049.
I touched on this in my own top-level reply. You’re not exactly wrong, but comparing Snow Crash to RP1 is frankly an insult to Snow Crash. If nothing else, I think Snow Crash is worth reading as one of the defining works of the genre, even if I don’t think it holds up as well as Neuromancer. RP1 on the other hand, I regret reading (I haven’t watched the movie). I would gladly take those hours of my life back if I could.
Yeah, it’s funny. In a lot of ways Cyberpunk as a genre is dead because it basically just describes the current world with more neon and VR. Back when Gibson was writing Neuromancer, it wasn’t retro futurism he had in mind, it was just the future! A lot of the charm of Cyberpunk comes from the ways in which the 80s vision of the future differs from reality while still striking close to home.
I agree with this take 👍 I didn’t enjoy Snow Crash, but it was undeniably influential and in many ways prescient. I loved Neuromancer.
Snow Crash is worth a read. Very entertaining, and it gives you a glimpse into what a hellscape a Libertarianism ruled world would be.