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The Literature of Cyberpunk
The most noble goal, and accomplishment, of literature is social criticism. This is what art is all about. It is the artists, whether visual, printed, or musical, who are the conscience of society, and the bug in the ear of society's members. While I truly enjoy literature from other ages, and can well imagine and empathise with the social ills of those days, I find that cyberpunk is the punch-me-in-the-gut literature that slams home hard ideas and trenchant criticisms of the modern techno-culture. It is indeed my passion in literature. We can always go back to import criticisms from a former age to provide for us today, but there is always some relevance which is missing. Even the recent litertature of the post-modernists lacks some immediate relevance to our current culture. Harlan Ellison had some good predictions of technology, but we find that his technology is at best a little naive. Cyberpunk is written, generally, by thechnoheads who know intimately the technology that enmeshes modern man. Fortunately, these technohead-authors are painfully aware of the dangers of that very enmeshment, and the near usurption of living, breathing humans by silicon and circut boards. When we read cyberpunk, we can find ourselves wrapped up in the high-speed world of digital pulses which enamors us, but we can also, with the guidance of the authors, start violently when we realize how far we sink into microchips and pixels, and how much we loose upon the way. If only we could do that while we're surfing the net. This literature should be a mandatory read for everyone. Scott Kapel
What follows is a brief synopsis of some of the most important works of cyberpunk. Since I do not own the rights to these works, I cannot reprint them for you to read here. Moreover, reading the works online would really defeat the point (somebody suggested a multimedia presentation on the literature, to which I responded with a hearty and abusive laugh). However, all of the bibloigraphical information has been provided for each, so you can turn off your PC, rush down to your local bookstore and read them. Enjoy it, and heed it. It behooves us all to be aware of our social condition.
The Novels
The Short Stories
Other Writings on the Subject (Including critical essays by contributors)
The Cyber Rebellion: All About It (Author: Scott Kapel)
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