List of cyberpunk works
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a list of works commonly ascribed to the cyberpunk genre of science fiction. While some of these works—such as Neuromancer and Blade Runner— have become accepted as archetypal examples of cyberpunk, the classification of others can be debated. Science-fiction theory, criticism, and fandom are all known for their contentious nature, just as SF writers are often celebrated for inventiveness. Consequently, all categorizations are likely to be incomplete, contested or provisional.
Several observers, including the SF writer David Brin, have commented that cyberpunk was not as original as the genre's boosters once claimed. Such works as Fritz Lang's movie Metropolis (1927) contain elements that a 21st-century viewer might call "cyberpunk", even though they predate the cyberpunk canon by many years. These works could be labeled cyberpunk's "precursors", but a causal connection is not always clear.
Furthermore, it should be noted that works published after 1993 are increasingly likely to be labeled "postcyberpunk", a term first applied to Stephenson's Snow Crash.
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[edit] Notable precursors to the genre
- Aldous Huxley (Brave New World, 1932)
- George Orwell (1984, 1949)
- Bernard Wolfe (Limbo, 1952)
- Alfred Bester (The Stars My Destination (Tiger! Tiger!), 1956)
- William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch, 1959, The Soft Machine, 1961)
- Anthony Burgess (A Clockwork Orange, 1962)
- Harry Harrison (Make Room! Make Room!, 1966)
- Roger Zelazny (Dream Master, 1966, which is an expansion of He Who Shapes, 1965)
- Samuel R. Delany (Nova, 1968)
- Philip K. Dick (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, 1968)
- Mick Farren (The Texts of Festival, 1973)
- David Drake (Lacey and His Friends, 1974)
- John Shirley (City Come A-Walkin' 1980)
- James Tiptree, Jr. (The Girl Who Was Plugged In, 1974)
- John Brunner (The Shockwave Rider, 1975)
- John Varley (The Ophiuchi Hotline, 1977)
- John M. Ford (Web of Angels, 1980)
- K. W. Jeter (Dr. Adder, published in the 1980s but written earlier)
- Vernor Vinge (True Names, 1981)
[edit] Print media
[edit] List of novels
- The Artificial Kid (1980) by Bruce Sterling
- City Come A-Walkin' (1980) by John Shirley
- The Ware Tetralogy by Rudy Rucker
- Software (1982) by Rudy Rucker
- Wetware (1988) by Rudy Rucker
- Freeware (1997) by Rudy Rucker
- Realware (2000) by Rudy Rucker
- Neuromancer (1984) by William Gibson (Sprawl Trilogy)
- Count Zero (1986) by William Gibson
- Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988) by William Gibson
- Schismatrix (1985) by Bruce Sterling
- Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (1985) by Haruki Murakami
- Cybernetic Samurai (1985) by Victor Milàn
- Eclipse (1985) by John Shirley (A Song Called Youth Trilogy)
- Eclipse Penumbra (1988) by John Shirley
- Eclipse Corona (1990) by John Shirley
- Vickers (1986) by Mick Farren
- Psion (1985) by Joan D. Vinge (The Cat Novels)
- Catspaw (1988) by Joan D. Vinge
- Dreamfall (1996) by Joan D. Vinge
- Hardwired (1986) by Walter Jon Williams
- Voice of the Whirlwind (1987) by Walter Jon Williams
- Little Heroes (1987) by Norman Spinrad
- Mindplayers (1987) by Pat Cadigan
- Ambient (1987) by Jack Womack (The Ambient Series)
- Terraplane (1988) by Jack Womack
- Heathern (1990) by Jack Womack
- Elvissey (1993) by Jack Womack
- Random Acts of Senseless Violence (1993) by Jack Womack
- Let's Put the Future Behind Us (1996) by Jack Womack
- Going, Going, Gone (2000) by Jack Womack
- Deserted Cities of the Heart (1988) by Lewis Shiner
- Islands in the Net (1988) by Bruce Sterling
- The Long Orbit (1988) by Mick Farren
- Slam (1990) by Lewis Shiner
- The Night Mayor (1990) by Kim Newman
- Mars-The Red Planet (1990) by Mick Farren
- Arachne (1990) by Lisa Mason
- Cyberweb (1995) by Lisa Mason
- Halo (1991) by Tom Maddox
- Synners (1991) by Pat Cadigan
- Fools (1992) by Pat Cadigan
- Snow Crash (1993) by Neal Stephenson
- Virtual Light (1993) by William Gibson (Bridge Trilogy)
- Idoru (1996) by William Gibson
- All Tomorrow's Parties (1999) by William Gibson
- The Difference Engine (1991) by William Ford Gibson and Bruce Sterling
- Necrom (1991) by Mick Farren
- He, She and It (1991) by Marge Piercy
- Crashcourse (1993) by Wilhelmina Baird
- Clipjoint (1994) by Wilhelmina Baird
- Psykosis (1995) by Wilhelmina Baird
- Glimpses (1993) by Lewis Shiner
- Vurt (1993) by Jeff Noon (Vurt Trilogy)
- Pollen (1995) by Jeff Noon
- Nymphomation (1995) by Jeff Noon
- The Hacker and the Ants (1994) by Rudy Rucker
- Heavy Weather (1994) by Bruce Sterling
- Trouble and Her Friends (1994) by Melissa Scott
- Wildlife (1994) by James Patrick Kelly
- Virtual Death (1995) by Shale Aaron
- Fairyland (1995) by Paul J McAuley
- Carlucci's Edge (1995) by Richard Paul Russo
- The Diamond Age (1996) by Neal Stephenson
- Holy Fire (1996) by Bruce Sterling
- Sewer, Gas & Electric (1997) by Matt Ruff
- Lucifer's Dragon (1998) by Jon Courtenay Grimwood
- Noir (1998) by K. W. Jeter
- Tea from an Empty Cup (1998) by Pat Cadigan
- Distraction (1998) by Bruce Sterling
- reMix (1999) by Jon Courtenay Grimwood
- redRobe (2000) by Jon Courtenay Grimwood
- Zeitgeist (2000) by Bruce Sterling
- The Zenith Angle (2004) by Bruce Sterling
- Altered Carbon (2002) by Richard Morgan
- Whole Wide World (2002) by Paul McAuley
- Blood Electric (2002) by Kenji Siratori
- Broken Angels (2003) by Richard Morgan
- Jennifer Government (2003) by Max Barry
- Market Forces (2005) by Richard Morgan
- Hammerjack (2005) by Marc D. Giller
- Prodigal (2006) by Marc D. Giller
- Acidhuman Project (2006) by Kenji Siratori
[edit] List of short story anthologies
- Mirrorshades -The Cyberpunk Anthology (1986) edited by Bruce Sterling
- Patterns (1989) by Pat Cadigan
- Crystal Express (1989) by Bruce Sterling
- Burning Chrome (1991) by William Ford Gibson
- Globalhead (1992) by Bruce Sterling
- Hackers (1996) by Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois
- A Good Old-Fashioned Future (1999) by Bruce Sterling
- Gnarl! (2000) by Rudy Rucker
- The Ultimate Cyberpunk (2003) edited by Pat Cadigan
[edit] List of poetry
- Gathered on This Beach - Poems & Perspectives for a Converging World (2000) by Adrian McOran-Campbell
[edit] List of graphic novels / comics
- Deathlok the Demolisher by Rich Buckler and Doug Moench
- Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo
- Appleseed by Masamune Shirow
- Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro
- BLAME! by Tsutomu Nihei
- Fate of the Blade by Chris Sarracini
- Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow
- The Long Tomorrow by Dan O'Bannon and Moebius
- Ronin by Frank Miller
- Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis
- Kabuki by David Mack
[edit] List of conceptual design
- OBLAGON ISBN 4-06-201525-0 by Syd Mead
- Sentury ISBN 0-929463-09-9 by Syd Mead
- Intron Depot 1-4 by Masamune Shirow
- futurhythm by Range Murata
- Robot by Range Murata
[edit] List of non-fiction / critical studies
- Profiles of the Future (various editions) by Arthur C. Clarke
- Storming the Reality Studio (1991) by Larry McCaffery
- The Hacker Crackdown : Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier (1992) by Bruce Sterling
- Cyberpunk : Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier (1995) by Katie Hafner & John Markoff
- In The Beginning...Was The Command Line (1999) by Neal Stephenson
- Cyberpunk and Cyberculture (2000) by Dani Cavallaro
- Prefiguring Cyberculture: An Intellectual History (2002), ed. Darren Tofts, Annemarie Jonson, and Alessio Cavellaro.
- Virtual Geographies: Cyberpunk at the Intersection of the Postmodern and Science Fiction (2003) by Sabine Heuser.
[edit] Audiovisual media
[edit] Notable film precursors
- Metropolis (1926) — retroactively considered cyberpunk, as per the discussion above
- Alphaville (1965)
- Fahrenheit 451 (1967)
- THX 1138 (1971)
- Solaris (1972)
- Rollerball (1975)
- Eraserhead (1977)
- 1984 (1984) - a precursor and influence to the cyberpunk genre as a whole
- Brazil (1985) - contemporaneous with the original wave of cyberpunk fiction by Gibson, Sterling and others
[edit] List of cyberpunk films
Note: most of the films listed are cyberpunk-related either through narrative or by thematic context.
- A Clockwork Orange (1971)
- Soylent Green (1973)
- Mad Max (1979)
- Mad Max 2 (1981)
- Mad Max 3 Beyond the Thunderdrome (1985)
- Escape from New York (1981)
- Escape from L.A. (1996)
- Scanners (1981)
- Blade Runner (1982)
- Liquid Sky (1982)
- Videodrome (1983)
- Brainstorm (1983)
- American Cyborg: Steel Warrior (1985)
- Overdrawn At the Memory Bank (1985) — a film which gained wider viewership thanks to its appearance on the eighth season of Mystery Science Theater 3000
- RoboCop (1987)
- The Running Man (1987)
- Akira (1988 anime)
- Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1988)
- Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992)
- Cyborg (1989)
- Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow (1993)
- Cyborg 3: The Recycler (1995)
- Total Recall (1990)
- Circuitry Man (1990)
- Hardware M.A.R.K.13 (1990)
- Mindwarp (1990) - a movie which is said to have had elements borrowed by The Matrix
- 964 Pinocchio (1991)
- Until the End of the World (1991)
- Freejack (1992)
- The Lawnmower Man (1992)
- Wax - or The Discovery of Television Among Bees (1993)
- Battle Angel Alita (1993 anime)
- Fortress (1993)
- Fortress 2 (1999)
- Ghost in the machine (1993)
- Acción Mutante (1993)
- Demolition Man (1993)
- Nemesis (1993)
- Nemesis 2: Nebula (1995)
- Brainscan (1994)
- Macross Plus (1994 anime)
- Hackers (1995)
- Strange Days (1995)
- Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
- Ghost in the Shell (1995 anime)
- Menno's Mind (1996)
- Armitage III: Poly Matrix (1997 anime)
- Nirvana (1998)
- Dark City (1998)
- New Rose Hotel (1998)
- eXistenZ (1999)
- The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
- The Matrix (1999)
- The Animatrix (2003)
- The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
- The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
- Avalon (2001)
- Electric Dragon 80.000V (2001)
- Minority Report (film) (2002)
- Equilibrium (2002)
- Impostor (2002)
- Cypher (2002)
- BLAME! Ver 0.11 (2002 anime)
- Natural City (2003)
- Oldboy (2006)
- Paycheck (2003)
- Immortel (Ad Vitam) (2004)
- Paranoia 1.0 (2004) (aka One Point O)
- Casshern (2004)
- The Island (2005)
- A Scanner Darkly (2006)
[edit] List of films borrowing some cyberpunk elements
- Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Alien³ (1992), and Alien: Resurrection (1997) — more hororr/sci-fi related, however the environment, people and narratives portray a cyberpunk attitude. Also there are direct references which have inspired the Rivet Industrial culture, especially from the third sequel.
- Heavy Metal (1981)
- Tron (1982) — perhaps more of a technology-themed fantasy. Tron does involve a hacker physically entering the world of cyberspace, a realm full of video games (fittingly, since video games were Gibson's inspiration behind his cyberspace concept). However, the movie's world is not dark or dystopian nor its corporation evil; arguably, one could retroactively designate Tron postcyberpunk.
- Back to the Future Part II (1989)
- Sneakers (1992) — perhaps better categorized as a technothriller or mathematical science fiction
- Universal Soldier (1992)
- Gattaca (1997) — an SF film noir, this movie's emphasis on genetic engineering over computer technology might make "biopunk" a better term. It also includes a motif of space travel.
- The Fifth Element
- Cube (1997)
- Cube 2: Hypercube (2002)
- Cube Zero (2004)
- Spriggan (manga) (1998)
- Soldier (1998)
- Pitch Black (2000)
- Ichi the Killer (2001)
- Code 46 (2003) — also biopunk
- Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2004)
- Swordfish (2001)
- Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). The designs of Gigan, the Xilians and their technology show cyberpunk influences.
It is interesting to note that the more recent Star Trek movies, particularly Star Trek: First Contact (1996) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), draw upon cyberpunk themes: malevolent cyborgs in the first case and malevolent clones in the second. Oddly, the Borg — arguably the most widely recognized cybernetic organisms in popular culture — originated as space opera villains in a distant-future story, not as characters from a dystopian near-future Earth. This may serve as a testament to the difficulty of categorizing science fiction.
[edit] List of TV series
Note that TV series, by their very nature, can incorporate stories from a variety of different genres. For example, the original Star Trek included episodes of military science fiction ("Balance of Terror"), comedy ("The Trouble with Tribbles") and character-driven SF drama ("Is There in Truth No Beauty?"). It is therefore debatable whether an entire series can be classified as "cyberpunk" (or as any other SF sub-genre) based on a subset of its episodes. Furthermore, according to Lawrence Person's postcyberpunk thesis, writers since the mid-1990s have been incorporating cyberpunk tropes into their SF simply because those tropes are familiar — the same way a writer who grew up reading Asimov's Foundation series would write space opera stories full of hyperspatial Jumps. This behavior leads, presumably, to works which include cyberpunk themes in less dystopian contexts, with a wider variety of characters (not just razorgirls and burnt-out, drug-addicted hackers), and embracing other SF settings. Joss Whedon's Firefly series might be a good example: while its overall form is a "space western", individual episodes deal with human beings used as black-market organ carriers and with malevolent megacorps.
- Æon Flux
- Code Lyoko
- Cyber City Oedo 808
- Cyborg 009
- Dark Angel (TV Series)
- Ergo Proxy
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
- Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG
- Harsh Realm
- Max Headroom
- Megaman NT Warrior
- Serial Experiments Lain
- TekWar
- Texhnolyze
- Time Trax
- Total Recall 2070
- Wild Palms
[edit] List of bands
- See also the article on cyberpunk music.
- Ada (Michaela Dippel): Named after the Ada programming language (itself named after Ada Lovelace).
- Anthony Rother: Kraftwerk-inspired electro synths and frequent use of vocoded lyrics about the relationship between humans and computer technology.
- Alter Ego
- Aphex Twin (Richard David James): Electronic music artist residing in the UK, Aphex Twin fuses ambience, drum & bass, and acid styles of electronica. Songs like "Green Calx" and "Vordhosbn" convey a cyberpunk style.
- Apoptygma Berzerk
- Arkam Asylum: UK electro-punk with goth/industrial elements, signed to Wasp Factory Recordings.
- Atari Teenage Riot: "Digital hardcore" music fusing punk, electronic and noise elements with strong political overtones.
- The Cassandra Complex: Industrial/EBM/goth/synthpop crossover band formed in the mid-80s who released an album called Cyberpunx in 1990.
- Celldweller: Industrial rock with elements of metalcore, dance and techno.
- Chemlab: Electro/Rock/Coldwave/Industrial with cyberpunk lyrical content.
- Clock DVA
- Contra: Industrial power noise electronica, with heavy references to hacker culture and political uprisings.
- Course of Empire: Industrial/Alternative rock group from Texas with lyrics touching on technological, mystical and dystopian themes.
- Dope Stars Inc.: Industrial/Punk group from Italy. Self-proclaimed "New Breed of Digital Fuckers". This group also has an album called "Neuromance".
- Ed Rush & Optical: Synthetic sounds, heavy with drum and bass.
- Ellen Allien: Synthetic sounds, lyrics oriented on a futuristic unified Berlin. Track names include Send and Data Romance.
- Fear Factory: Industrial-tinged heavy metal (originally death metal) utilising samples from cyberpunk films; lyrical content often hints at dark future for mankind, with several references to the Terminator movies.
- Front 242: Belgian industrial band heavily influenced by science fiction and synthetic sounds.
- Front Line Assembly: Famous and influential industrial band with strong cyberpunk lyrical content and themes. Many of their songs include samples from various cyberpunk themed movies.
- Future Sound of London: Produced and created albums ISDN and Dead Cities, both composed with varying degrees of cyberpunk themes and influences.
- Gary Numan: New Wave artist who borrows themes from cyberpunk, making music which is predominantly cyber-related.
- God Lives Underwater: Heavily computer synthesized rock, featured on the soundtrack to Johnny Mnemonic.
- Gridlock: Plays "noize" music.
- Hangars liquides: Flashcore - cybercore
- Haujobb: EBM/Industrial with cyberpunk themes and lyrical content. This German band's name is derived from the term "skinjob", Blade Runner''s slang for android.
- Kraftwerk: One of the first bands to embrace synthesizers. Their live act includes four robotic alter egos of the band members.
- KMFDM: Play guitar industrial and were featured on the soundtrack to Johnny Mnemonic.
- Machinae Supremacy: A Swedish Metal/Bitpop band with cyberpunk lyrical content.
- Marilyn Manson: Marilyn Manson offers an electronic/industrial, cyberpunk-esque sound.
- Ministry: An American Industrial Punk Rock Band. Their album "the Land of Rape and Honey" (1988) featured the single "Stigmata" which was used in the cyberpunk movie "Hardware". Ministry's early music videos are flooded with images of gritty machinery, drugs, burning cars and a generally nihilistic attitude and "the Mind Is A Terribe Thing To Taste" with song "So What".Song "Faith Collapsing" features samples from movie "1984 - Geogre Orwell"
- Neuronomicon: Industrial-influenced Death Metal with Apocalyptic overtones. Referred to as "Blazing Electric Death".
- Nine Inch Nails: Popular Industrial-Rock with lyrical inspiration from cyberpunk, world dissolution and misanthropy.
- Noisia: Neurofunk, synthetic jungle music.
- Orbital: Heavy use of synthesizers and depersonalized lyrics. Tracks used in cyberpunk media such as Pi, Johnny Mnemonic, and Wipeout.
- Orgy: Los Angeles band with sounds of alternative/synth rock and self-described "electro-pop" or "death-pop". Their sophomore album "Vapor Transmission" (2000) is most heavily considered as a form of cyberpunk.
- Powerman 5000: American Heavy Metal/Punk/Industrial band's 1999 album Tonight The Stars Revolt! is heavily influenced by science fiction and cyberpunk. The song "The Son of X-51" is about a robot in search of a soul.
- The Prodigy: British Punk-themed Big-Beat Techno band. Whole imagery and fashion style as well inclined toward technology and trashy lifestyle.
- Psydoll: Japanese Industrial Rock band who incorporate many Manga and Cyberpunk elements into their imagery, musical and lyrical content.
- Psykosonik: Paul Sebastien and Daniel Lenz band with cyberpunk themes. Many references to William Gibson's novels. For example: the song title "Dreaming Real" was taken from a line in Neuromancer.
- Rammstein: World-famous German Metal/Industrial band. While their lyrical context focuses more on deviant sexuality and emotional turmoil, the band has a strong connection to cyberpunk. The mood of their music, their fashion, and some of their videos convey the feeling of a bleak, futuristic, repressive, militaristic society. Rammstein songs have been featured in The Matrix and Resident Evil: Apocalypse.
- Red Harvest: A Norwegian industrial/prog-metal band incorporating cyberpunk imagery and lyrical content.
- Sigue Sigue Sputnik
- Skinny Puppy: A Canadian band that pioneered cyberpunk (experimental electronica).
- Sonic Youth: The 1988 album Daydream Nation was heavily inspired by writer William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy.
- Terminal Power Company : British Cyberpunk/industrial exponants. supreme Cyberpunk movie samplers.
- Trentmoller
- T. Raumschmiere
- UV: Plays new-styled EBM music with songs discussing technology. They were featured in the DVD box set of The Matrix.
- Velvet Acid Christ: Plays in the style of aggro-industrial.
- Vennaskond: Estonian cyberpunk, particularly their albums Warszawianka and Võluri Tagasitulek.
- Vitalic: Emphasizes that all of the instruments used are fake and are produced from a synthesizer.
- VNV Nation: Plays futurepop.
- Xykogen: UK EBM/industrial, signed to Wasp Factory Recordings.
- Zeromancer: Their first two albums, Clone Your Lover and Eurotrash, evoke a distinctly cyberpunk atmosphere, as do the videos produced during this period. The music itself can be described as a fusion of industrial metal and synthpop.
[edit] List of computer and video games
- B.A.T. (Bureau of Astral Troubleshooters)
- Beneath a Steel Sky
- Blade Force
- Blade Runner
- BloodNet
- Burn:Cycle
- Cybersphere
- Chaos Overlord
- Chaser
- Dark Angel (video game)
- Deus Ex
- Devastation
- DreamWeb
- Dystopia
- Enter the Matrix
- Flashback: The Quest for Identity
- Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller
- The Longest Journey (Stark only)
- MegaMan Battle Network
- MegaMan Battle Network 2
- MegaMan Battle Network 3
- MegaMan Battle Network 4 Red Sun and Blue Moon
- MegaMan Battle Network 5 Team Colonel and Team Protoman
- MegaMan Battle Network 6 Cybeast Falzar and Cybeast Gregar
- Mega Man Network Transmission
- Megami Tensei
- MegaRace
- Minority Report: Everybody Runs
- The Moment of Silence
- Neuromancer
- Omikron: The Nomad Soul
- Oni
- Paradise Cracked
- Power of Law
- Red Faction
- Restricted Area [1]
- Rez
- Rise of the Dragon
- Shadowrun (SNES)
- Syndicate
- System Shock
- Snatcher
- Soul Hackers
- Total Recall
- Tron 2.0
- Two Crude Dudes/Crude Buster [2]
- Uplink
[edit] List of massive online computer games
[edit] External links
- The following links were last verified 10 October 2005.
- Cyberpunk Review- Detailed reviews and screencaps for all cyberpunk films and animes
- Cyberpunk Information Database - Original resource material from The Cyberpunk Project
- Duke of Hell's Cyberpunk - Listing of cyberpunk-related media
- Innervation - resource site for designers interested in technological themes
- Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music - opinionated and irreverent historical overview of electronic music, with sound samples for many sub-genres
[edit] Game websites
- Dystopia - a Half-Life 2 modification with cyberpunk themes
- Iconoclast - cyberpunk MUD
- Introversion Software official website
- Iron Crown Enterprises
- Salroth - online cyberpunk game site
- Official Shadowrun RPG Homepage
- Shadowrun MUSH Homepage
- West End Games official website
- cyber tech forum
- Zone Bandits MUD
- TDome MUD
