Cyberpunk?

[-Carlos-]

What exactly is Cyberpunk? How is it different from Science Fiction?

 

[Stewart]

It's not different from science fiction. It's a subgenre thereof. From my experience (er, a bit of Gibson's Neuromancer and some other media) it's the sort of stuff set in the real world, perhaps a small step to the future, that features hackers with all manner of fantasy gadgetry facing off against big nameless corporations.

 

[HermioneWeasley]

i think webmage is a good example of the category. so if your'e interested to see what it's like, read that book. i highly recommend it.

 

[-Carlos-]

WebMage by Kelly McCullough?

 

[Carlos]

From Wikipedia Follow the link for more, but this sums it up.

Cyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life". Its name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk. It features advanced science such as information technology and cybernetics, coupled with a degree of breakdown or a radical change in the social order. According to Lawrence Person:

Classic cyberpunk characters were marginalized, alienated loners who lived on the edge of society in generally dystopic futures where daily life was impacted by rapid technological change, an ubiquitous datasphere of computerized information, and invasive modification of the human body.[1]

Cyberpunk plots often center on a conflict among hackers, artificial intelligences, and mega corporations, tending to be set within a near-future Earth, rather than the far future settings or galactic vistas found in novels like Isaac Asimov's Foundation or Frank Herbert's Dune. The settings of this future tend to be post-industrial dystopias, but are normally marked by extraordinary cultural ferment, and the use of technology in ways never anticipated by its creators ("the street finds its own uses for things"). Much of the genre's "atmosphere" echoes film noir, and written works in the genre often use techniques from detective fiction. Primary exponents of the cyberpunk field include William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Pat Cadigan, Rudy Rucker and John Shirley.

 

[HermioneWeasley]

yes, by kelly mccullough. have you read that?

 

[-Carlos-]

No I haven't.