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The Big Book of Cyberpunk #1
The Big Book of Cyberpunk Vol. I
VOLUME ONE OF TWO
A genre-defining-and redefining-collection of fiction's boldest, most rebellious, and most prescient genre, featuring a smorgasbord of stories from all over the globe
"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." Almost forty years ago, William Gibson wrote the line that began Neuromancer and, more importantly, cyberpunk - a movement that would change the face of science fiction.
Award-winning anthologist Jared Shurin brings together over a hundred stories from more than twenty-five different countries that both establish and subvert the classic cyberpunk tropes and aesthetic-from gritty, near-future noir to pulse-pounding action. Urban rebels undermine monolithic corporate overlords. Daring heists are conducted through back alleys and the darkest parts of the online world. There's dangerous new technology, cybernetic enhancements, scheming AIs, corporate mercenaries, improbable weapons, and roguish hackers. These tales examine the near-now, extrapolating the most provocative trends into fascinating and plausible futures.
We live in an increasingly cyberpunk world-packed with complex technologies and globalized social trends. A world so bizarre than even the futurists couldn't explain it-though many authors in this book have come closer than most. As both an introduction to the genre and the perfect compendium for the lifelong fan, The Big Book of Cyberpunk offers a hundred ways to understand where we are, and where we're going-or simply venture down some dazzling, neon-slicked streets.
A genre-defining-and redefining-collection of fiction's boldest, most rebellious, and most prescient genre, featuring a smorgasbord of stories from all over the globe
"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." Almost forty years ago, William Gibson wrote the line that began Neuromancer and, more importantly, cyberpunk - a movement that would change the face of science fiction.
Award-winning anthologist Jared Shurin brings together over a hundred stories from more than twenty-five different countries that both establish and subvert the classic cyberpunk tropes and aesthetic-from gritty, near-future noir to pulse-pounding action. Urban rebels undermine monolithic corporate overlords. Daring heists are conducted through back alleys and the darkest parts of the online world. There's dangerous new technology, cybernetic enhancements, scheming AIs, corporate mercenaries, improbable weapons, and roguish hackers. These tales examine the near-now, extrapolating the most provocative trends into fascinating and plausible futures.
We live in an increasingly cyberpunk world-packed with complex technologies and globalized social trends. A world so bizarre than even the futurists couldn't explain it-though many authors in this book have come closer than most. As both an introduction to the genre and the perfect compendium for the lifelong fan, The Big Book of Cyberpunk offers a hundred ways to understand where we are, and where we're going-or simply venture down some dazzling, neon-slicked streets.
880 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 2, 2024
136 people are currently reading
566 people want to read
About the author
Jared Shurin
36 books106 followersJared Shurin has edited or co-edited over two dozen anthologies of original and reprint fiction, including The Djinn Falls in Love, The Lowest Heaven, The Outcast Hours, the Best of British Fantasy series, and The Big Book of Cyberpunk.
He has been a finalist for the World Fantasy (twice!), Shirley Jackson (twice!), and Hugo Awards (twice!), and won the British Fantasy Award (twice!).
He currently writes about strategy, books and pop culture at Raptor Velocity.
He has been a finalist for the World Fantasy (twice!), Shirley Jackson (twice!), and Hugo Awards (twice!), and won the British Fantasy Award (twice!).
He currently writes about strategy, books and pop culture at Raptor Velocity.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 9, 2025
A very impressive collection exploring cyberpunk’s evolving look at our world
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
August 14, 2024
Always hard to review a collection of short stories by different authors. Inevitably, there will be some writing styles that gel with the reader much more than others.
As a reader who has not read much cyberpunk and only really seen the blade runner movies and played the cyberpunk 2077 game, I had a good time with this.
The sheer volume of stories and the grouping by theme makes for an interesting read. Most stories are around 10 pages so easy to finish 1-2 every time you pick up the book.
So if you’re interested it’s probably a good choice. I’d have given it 5 stars but there were 2 stories which appeared to be censored by the editor. I understand that words are hurtful and the censored word was definitely not one I use or endorse, I’m just not a fan of censoring someone else’s work. Especially if it’s true to the character or a reflection of the time. There was a content warning at the start of the book, however, considering some of the stories were from the 50’s and 60’s we can expect some dated perspectives and ideas, I didn’t really find any of it offensive or off putting.
As a reader who has not read much cyberpunk and only really seen the blade runner movies and played the cyberpunk 2077 game, I had a good time with this.
The sheer volume of stories and the grouping by theme makes for an interesting read. Most stories are around 10 pages so easy to finish 1-2 every time you pick up the book.
So if you’re interested it’s probably a good choice. I’d have given it 5 stars but there were 2 stories which appeared to be censored by the editor. I understand that words are hurtful and the censored word was definitely not one I use or endorse, I’m just not a fan of censoring someone else’s work. Especially if it’s true to the character or a reflection of the time. There was a content warning at the start of the book, however, considering some of the stories were from the 50’s and 60’s we can expect some dated perspectives and ideas, I didn’t really find any of it offensive or off putting.
December 1, 2024
Turns out I had a very restricted view of the cyberpunk genre. I really enjoyed the range in this collection.
January 20, 2025
As with any collection of short stories you'll have a mixed reaction to each of the tales contained within, and there are a LOT in this one. I rated each one individually and the average worked out at approximately 3.8 stars, but as a whole I enjoyed The Big Book of Cyberpunk Vol. 1 more than the sum of its parts, and editor Jared Shurin has done a fantastic job in bringing these stories together. They all feel unique, yet at the same time as if they could all be part of the same fictional universe.
What's consistently amazing is just how prescient many of these stories were, especially those coming from the 80s to the early 00s, with many recognisable elements of modern society and technological advancements contained within them. Whether this speaks more to the authors' vision, our collective failure to fix any of the problems of those times, or to tech leaders being influenced by (if not outright copying and repackaging) their ideas I shall leave up for discussion. On the other hand, it's also unintentionally funny that within many of these same stories there are glaring archaisms which betray the time they were written in – for instance, a character marvelling at the idea of a whole 1GB of data which seems quaint here in 2025.
My 5-star highlights included: The Girl Who Was Plugged In, Pretty Boy Crossover, Surfing the Khumbu, Ghost Codes of Sparkletown, Choosing Faces, I Tell Thee All I Can No More, Four Tons Too Late, RealLife 3.0, The Real You, A Life of Its Own, Helicopter Story, Dogfight, A Short Course in Art Appreciation, D.GO, Gray Noise, 0wnz0red, Degrees of Beauty, Glitterati, Études, and Feral Children of the American Northwest . And a common theme with all of these is that they just explore one particular concept and provide a more traditional narrative structure.
Even the stories I rated 1 to 2-stars aren't necessarily bad, I just didn't understand them or gel with the writing style – typically those that stray away from a traditional story structure and veer more into poetic mood pieces and stream-of-consciousness styles. Preferences aside, my only real nitpick is that due to the way the stories are arranged into thematic categories (Predominantly "Self" and "Culture" in Volume 1), it can feel a bit samey after a while, and this is perhaps a book best read in smaller chunks between other books. I also found that the short "Post-Cyberpunk" section at the end contained stories felt completely out of place compared to the others, despite Shurin providing his reasons for including them in his intro to the section.
What's consistently amazing is just how prescient many of these stories were, especially those coming from the 80s to the early 00s, with many recognisable elements of modern society and technological advancements contained within them. Whether this speaks more to the authors' vision, our collective failure to fix any of the problems of those times, or to tech leaders being influenced by (if not outright copying and repackaging) their ideas I shall leave up for discussion. On the other hand, it's also unintentionally funny that within many of these same stories there are glaring archaisms which betray the time they were written in – for instance, a character marvelling at the idea of a whole 1GB of data which seems quaint here in 2025.
My 5-star highlights included: The Girl Who Was Plugged In, Pretty Boy Crossover, Surfing the Khumbu, Ghost Codes of Sparkletown, Choosing Faces, I Tell Thee All I Can No More, Four Tons Too Late, RealLife 3.0, The Real You, A Life of Its Own, Helicopter Story, Dogfight, A Short Course in Art Appreciation, D.GO, Gray Noise, 0wnz0red, Degrees of Beauty, Glitterati, Études, and Feral Children of the American Northwest . And a common theme with all of these is that they just explore one particular concept and provide a more traditional narrative structure.
Even the stories I rated 1 to 2-stars aren't necessarily bad, I just didn't understand them or gel with the writing style – typically those that stray away from a traditional story structure and veer more into poetic mood pieces and stream-of-consciousness styles. Preferences aside, my only real nitpick is that due to the way the stories are arranged into thematic categories (Predominantly "Self" and "Culture" in Volume 1), it can feel a bit samey after a while, and this is perhaps a book best read in smaller chunks between other books. I also found that the short "Post-Cyberpunk" section at the end contained stories felt completely out of place compared to the others, despite Shurin providing his reasons for including them in his intro to the section.
May 26, 2024
This is a must have for every self-respecting cyberpunk! The collected shorts are great and some of them have never been published before (in English). However, it's the introduction and the small essays/vignettes by Jared himself that make this book worth getting. Jared's new definition shows he understands the genre and the zeitgeist of cyberpunk 100%. By doing so, Jared positions himself as a very good sherpa/guide. I'll repeat myself. The book is worth getting for Jared's insights alone.
The selection is actually quite "complete" and has something for everybody. Jared clusters the shorts around 3 axis: "self", "culture" and "post-cyberpunk". 'The World As We Know It' by G.A. Effinger, 'Red Sonja' by Gwyneth Jones and Isabel Fall's 'Helicopter Story' stand out in the "Self" selection. Zedeck Siew's 'The White Mask', Kim Newman's 'SPQR' and Corey White's 'Exopunks Not Dead' shine when approached through a culture lens. The "post-cyberpunk" section isn't bad either. I particulary enjoyed 'Salvaging Gods' by Jacques Barcia.
This is a must have book and I'm sure you'll revisit it multiple times as it only reveals the cleverness of it's selection after a second and third reading!
The selection is actually quite "complete" and has something for everybody. Jared clusters the shorts around 3 axis: "self", "culture" and "post-cyberpunk". 'The World As We Know It' by G.A. Effinger, 'Red Sonja' by Gwyneth Jones and Isabel Fall's 'Helicopter Story' stand out in the "Self" selection. Zedeck Siew's 'The White Mask', Kim Newman's 'SPQR' and Corey White's 'Exopunks Not Dead' shine when approached through a culture lens. The "post-cyberpunk" section isn't bad either. I particulary enjoyed 'Salvaging Gods' by Jacques Barcia.
This is a must have book and I'm sure you'll revisit it multiple times as it only reveals the cleverness of it's selection after a second and third reading!
August 4, 2025
It took me some time to read this anthology, a short story from time to time for palette cleansing.
Even though I didn't like (or for that matter understand) every story I really enjoyed how the they were ordered and grouped. We followed both a thematical grouping that worked for overall theme and topic, but also chronological ordering that I found very compelling and interesting. It helped see how certain themes, moods and expectations develop through the years.
Also there are some "post-cyberpunk" stories that werr just a nice touch for dessert.
vol. 2 awaits.
Even though I didn't like (or for that matter understand) every story I really enjoyed how the they were ordered and grouped. We followed both a thematical grouping that worked for overall theme and topic, but also chronological ordering that I found very compelling and interesting. It helped see how certain themes, moods and expectations develop through the years.
Also there are some "post-cyberpunk" stories that werr just a nice touch for dessert.
vol. 2 awaits.
August 19, 2024
Abandoned. Just wasn't enjoying it, mainly because it all seemed like one story. ~Repetitive, people jacking themselves up with implants and interfaces etc. Not my thing
August 26, 2024
Quite an ordinary book not bad but not great.
It had a collection of short cyberpunk stories by recognised authors including William Gibson who wrote, "do androids dream of electric sheep", later to become "Blade Runner" but the most memorable story for me had to do with the monks in a monastery and disciplinary action taken on one of the monks in the monastery that's one out of many.
In short I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the genre it includes a definition of the genre which is handy but needless to say it dominated the 80s.
It had a collection of short cyberpunk stories by recognised authors including William Gibson who wrote, "do androids dream of electric sheep", later to become "Blade Runner" but the most memorable story for me had to do with the monks in a monastery and disciplinary action taken on one of the monks in the monastery that's one out of many.
In short I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the genre it includes a definition of the genre which is handy but needless to say it dominated the 80s.
August 19, 2025
I really wanted to enjoy this more than I did, as I am generally a big fan of cyberpunk. That said I think it can be difficult to translate to books and even harder to translate to short stories where there isnt much exposition to orient the reader.
There were definitely some great stories though, typically the ones that were less ephemeral and conceptual, but about 30% of the stories were so out there I had no real idea of what I was reading about.
There were definitely some great stories though, typically the ones that were less ephemeral and conceptual, but about 30% of the stories were so out there I had no real idea of what I was reading about.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews