Cyberpunk is a genre brought into pop culture by the famous Matrix movies. It's a genre characterized by futuristic technology, the integration/combination of humans & technology, and dystopian societies. Despite coming into popular view in the late 90s the genre has been around as early as the late 1960s. This is a list of books that any cyberpunk fan must read!
1. "Neuromancer" - William Gibson (1984)
To start off this list we cite perhaps the most influential book on this list. William Gibson is often heralded as the Father of Cyberpunk. "Neuromancer" follows Henry Dorsett Case, a once talented computer hacker, who struggles with life ever since he suffered some neurological damage that prevents him from ever 'jacking in' to a computer again.
Throughout the pages, we meet several incredibly unique characters such as Molly Millions and a mysterious man who calls himself Armitage. This is perhaps my all-time favorite book and I hope every day that a movie-adaptation project won't get canceled!
2. "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" - Philip K. Dick (1968)
As a follow-up for William Gibson's work, we have the book that inspired the "Blade Runner" movies. While not labeled as the Father of Cyberpunk, Philip K. Dick's work is often regarded as the very first cyberpunk novel. Considering that the "official" birth of cyberpunk is often considered to be "Burning Chrome" which was released in 1982, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" is often referred to as proto-cyberpunk.
If Gibson is the father of Cyberpunk, Dick is undoubtedly the grandfather. This book was originally set in San Francisco in 1992, however, in later reprints of the book it had been edited to be set in 2021. Regardless of what year, the book takes place after World War Terminus, which left the world so polluted that the United Nations is sending people to other planets to preserve the human race.
The mission follows Rick Deckard as he hunts several androids who were designed to perfectly emulate humans. This novel explores the possibility of humanity existing in artificial life-forms, encouraging deep philosophical thoughts in the readers.
3. "Akira" - Katsuhiro Otomo (1982-1990)
Unlike the two previous entries in this article, "Akira" is a Japanese Manga, written and released in six parts over the course of it's run. It is set in 2021 in the city of Neo-Tokyo where anarchist groups and gangs run rampantly. As the story develops it explores the deep societal issues present in Neo-Tokyo. While much of the book's storyline could easily be placed into another setting without cyberpunk inspirations, the well drawn out cyberpunk world of Neo-Tokyo perfectly compliments the intense subject matter of these graphic novels.
4. "Snow Crash" - Neal Stephenson (1992)
What happens when a dangerous computer virus is also the newest drug craze? Well, that's exactly what happens in "Snow Crash." I can't actually tell you what happens within the pages, as I actually haven't read the book (yet). I discovered "Snow Crash" as I was looking up lists of essentially cyberpunk reads to take into consideration for this article.
Aside from the other titles I have mentioned, there didn't seem to be many similarities in the list. "Snow Crash" consistently made these lists, and was often one of the first few titles listed. While I can't tell you much about the book, I can certainly tell you I picked it up today and am going to start reading it when I get off work tomorrow!
5. "Ghost in the Shell" - Masamune Shirow (1989)
Another Japanese Manga, "Ghost in the Shell" is responsible for spawning a massive media franchise from its original cyberpunk graphic novel. With three books, three television series, four video games, four animated films, and a live action film starring Scarlett Johansson, "Ghost in the Shell" is probably the largest cyberpunk franchise to date.
The first book is set in the city of Niihama, Japan in the mid 21st century and follows the police force Section 9 as the hunt for a cyberterrorist who has been hacking into people's cyber brains and killing them. Due to how quickly everything happens in the manga I can't reveal more about the story without spoiling it. Definitely one of the must-reads of the cyberpunk genre.
