The Big Book of Cyberpunk Volume 1 edited by Jared Shurin

I would like to thank Vintage for Classics for a copy of this anthology in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Vintage Classics

Published – Out Now

Price - £25 hardback £9.99 ebook

In The Big Book of Cyberpunk, award-winning anthologist Jared Shurin brings together over a hundred stories from more than twenty-five different countries. Here are tales that both establish and subvert the classic Cyberpunk tropes and aesthetic – from gritty, near-future noir to pulse-pounding action. Urban rebels undermine their monolithic corporate overlords, daring heists are conducted through back alleys and the darkest parts of the online world, and dangerous new technology, cybernetic enhancements, scheming AIs, corporate mercenaries, improbable weapons and roguish hackers all collide into rich, thrilling entertainment. Set across two volumes, these are stories that 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 globalised social trends. It is a world so bizarre that 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 Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 offer more than a hundred ways to understand where we are, and where we’re going – or simply the opportunity to venture down dazzling, neon-slicked streets.

Can I admit that my initial assumptions on cyberpunk growing up was that it had been and gone or at least evolved into more style than substance. I’d just missed the 1980s boom of it and largely felt that the subgenre of chroma and the internet was itself now genre history. Which proves I think I can be as daft as anyone. As Jared Shurin ably mentions in their collection of The Big Book of CyberPunk Volume 1 it has instead gone from software to now the operating system. Look hard enough and you’ll see the cybernetic fingerprints of cyberpunk is so much of science fiction appropriately evolving like some of the computer viruses it became known for. In a huge collection Shurin attempts to distil the core elements of cyberpunk by sharing with us a set of short stories across the years which will also remind us that its origins start earlier than we think and the stories themselves will keep coming now forever.

Shurin at the start of the first volume also gives us initially what could be the quintessential story for their vision of cyberpunk in The Gernsback Continuum by William Gibson. This which I read here for the first time is a fascinating story of clashing visions of the future as the commercialised and industrialised present of 1981 is seen by our narrator to being infiltrated by signs of a future world of unique cities and vehicles that seem to come from the pulp period of SF. Gibson notes now we just see a reality of stylised futuristic design that was used for diners, petrol stations echoing the 1930s and 50s view of the future but now bigger scenes infiltrate the world as if it has begun to encroach our reality. As these areas get torn down and built over there is a subtle exploration on how the future has never turned out what it should be. But rather than nostalgia which SF is known for as what it could have been Gibson also notes that the future planned from those design would be very white and intolerant of any deviation. It’s a deliciously haunting tale where actually these future images feel less celebratory and more alarming

Volume 1 explores two of the strands Shurin sees as core to cyberpunk. The first volume explores how it has treated the sense of Self. How does Cyberpunk explore identity as this was a genre where we could become more than human in virtual guises or even in the real world. We walk fairly chronologically through a suite of tales that explore this theme.

Among the many tales to enjoy were:

The Girl Who Was Plugged In by James Tiptree Jr – a tale of corporate greed, uploaded personalities and media manipulation. All classic cyberpunk ideas yes? But this was from 1973 and a reminder that no genre ever really starts in a vacuum. The street slang style telling us a tale of a disabled woman opting to work for a powerful company as a virtual advertising avatar is a tale of love, glamour and ends tragically as we see her transform into a ‘perfect’ marketing entity known as Delphi perfect in all ways bar not being actually real even when someone falls in love with her. Powerfully ominous and suggests we are all becoming corporate batteries to fiel heir projects until nothing is left to give.

Pretty Boy Crossover by Pat Cadigan – This story is neatly in dialogue with the above as in some ways as we visit a strange nightclub where our narrator is trying to find a friend of theirs who has not yet come out after many days in their. The glossy neo-punk house style rave scene on display is being contrasted with a darker temptation to the young people inside of achieving permanent immortality if you allow yourself to be fully uploaded. To be young, ever dancing and never stopping - is that the perfect dream or not? The sense of other agendas at play gives this a sinister edge throughout.

Wolves of the Plateau by John Shirley – this explores the idea of people combining their consciousness but in the unusual context of a grimy prion escape. Chips in people’s brains are being used for multiple illegal purposes in this tale from replicating drug’s effects to many types of theft but now our main prisoner faces a dilemma can he trust the others he meets to escape? A fascinating vision of what a combined mind would look like and function  is portrayed but this is ultimately a noir tale of violence and finally choosing a side to benefit yourself no matter the cost to other people.

An Old Fashioned Story by Philip Mann – A tale of teenagers playing with their very life like robots. There is a clever matter of factness about the way the two young humans talk about anatomy and robots making us see how the world is boringly familiar with them but there is also a casual cruelty to how they mess around with their ‘toys’ and clearly all just use them to satisfy their needs – sexual or otherwise. Watching the final results present an even crueller world in the background that crushes any sign of robotic freedom of thought being on display – humans are once again the masters of those they own.

Red Sonja and Lessingham In Dreamland by Gwyneth Jones – has a great idea of a woman using a Red Sonja virtual world to explore their sexuality but for me loses it in very murky attitudes to consent and rape that feels it misses the mark even by the standards of 1996

Lobsters by Charges Stross – on the one hand this tale from 2001 is a fascinating look at how much predicting a nearish future can often be hit and miss. Overall though the amount of ideas thrown at the reader overload the story so it becomes wearingly bogged down in minor details and stylish descriptions rather than story itself to enjoy.

Surfing the Khumbu by Richard Kadrey – A disquieting tale of a speed junkie who as she flies down from Everest has gone in pursuit of ever greater thrills. The people who offer that experience have changed her body as a consequence though do though exact a price. How far would you sacrifice yourself to follow your goals is explored thoughtfully here and a cruel cost is being extracted that our narrator seems to have decided to accept as the cost of her freedom.

Memories of Moments, Bright as Falling Stars by Cat Rambo – I really liked this tale of two street kids in love and who score big on new technology dumped by a corporation. It has a feel of classic young people falling in and out of love but there is a sinister shadow growing and growing that taints everything into a truly memorably haunting finale that our narrator will never be able to let go of in the days to come.

The Girl Hero’s Mirror Says He’s Not The One by Justina Robson – a tricky one this as I sense it links to one of Robson’s novels which I have not read.  It presents a strange meme obsessed world where all fall under spells of narrative control affecting people’s characters but for me runs a little too opaque standing alone from its main tale to make an impact.

The Completely Rechargeable Man by Karen Heuler – A very light-hearted trip of two young lovers who power electricity through themselves. They then get caught in a weird conspiracy to trap each other against their will to aid energy corporations. Fun but not particularly memorable.

Changing Faces by Lavie Tidhar – From 2012 and for me proof cyberpunk is still alive dwells in this excellent story that imagines a world where gene cloning has sidetracked into copying famous people of business or pleasure purposes such as action movie stars in constant death matches. Satirical, funny, dark and one of the best final lines of a story you’ll read. Commercial, technology and more collide to show cyberpunk still lives.

I Tell Thee All, I Can No More by Sunny Moraine -  Our main character tells us about the sexual relationship they have with a drone. It’s a fascinating story for the things that are not being said by the narrator as to why have they opted for this form of intimacy, what is it actually giving them (and what may the drones who are involved in this secret world seek too). It’s a tale of a casual relationships and why that may drive someone into one and perhaps be all they keep seeking – fascinating.

Four Tons Too Late by KC Alexander – an unusual noir with heart tale that steals a little from Robocop but here imagines a grizzled policeman turned into something huge and horrible yet finds he does have one street orphan still to look out for. Lovely character work and an emotional finale work really well

Patterns of A Murmuration, In Billions of data Points starts huge with a stadium disaster and we find a battle between two political forces of Left and Right in conflict. An AI intelligence seeks revenge for its human ‘mother’ and I love the way the personal becomes the focus of the tale which is about revenge, love and anger. Really successful examination of being human via inhuman intelligence.

Reallife 3.0 by Jean-Marc Ligny – VR appears in this tale as an augmented reality software gets a new upgrade release and the results for our narrator are totally unexpected. It is fascinating to remind ourselves of the world we could have if we really wanted it, and it ends on a tantalising question of what happens next to our character.

The Infinite Eye by James Smyth – a really dark tale of a desperate person answering a job ad and here its being uploaded to security detail. A look at the surveillance state at its worst but also a truly horrible darker secret about the job our narrator finds out almost too late. Neatly bookended with the previous story to show us the darker side of VR tools.

Lena by QNTM – this story of an uploaded brain scan reminds me of the story of Henrietta Lacks and the use of her cells as it is told in a science article style explaining the development of the technology, its use and there is also a subtext of people not caring that the subject is actually alive. A fascinating moral dilemma to pose us as the section ends.

Culture

The second section of Volume 1 explores Cyberpunk’s ability to reflect and explore the culture the zeitgeist and how that changes with technology or is changed by it.

We begin all the way in 1950 with Coming Attraction by Fritz Leiber that imagines a nuclear war ridden New York now called Inferno and a British man is asked by a masked woman for help. It explores how cultures adapt with changes and here women are all masked to give them some form of mystique and the strange ideas thrown at us range from masked singers (ok that idea is back in fashion) to wrestling matches are all very strange and unnerving. It doesn’t take much to change our way of life.

With The Original Cast by Nancy Kress is a fascinating story where it imagines everyone has finally been able to leap into their past incarnation memories and then mixes this with a Broadway play about Joan of Ark. It throws in ideas of reality, acting, drama and creating emotional power in an audience to deliver something really mesmerising and yet is still science fiction at its heart. A gorgeous story

Dogfight by William Gibson and Michael Swannick – This was a very impressive powerful tale of an aimless man who gets swept up in a VR style dogfight game. The desire to win at all costs pushes him to the brink of losing his friendships and the respect of everyone he craves. A culture is often about more than simply winning but the main character here doesn’t realise that until it is too late.

[Learning About} Machine sex – The political culture of business and sex gets explored in this tale of a young woman who is a skilled software genius and those who abuse her skills. Her idea of revenge is also an outcome of the abuse she suffered. Is her solution fair or not? An interesting story exploring the morality of the revenge created which is left for us to judge as the reader is that is right or wrong.

A Short Course in Art Appreciation by Paul Di Filippo - This was an excellent very short tale of two people who decide to test a new drug that makes you experience the world as if you’re in a famous artist’s paintings. But this also explores drug culture as the desire for the next hit gets strong and stronger and more destructive as time passes. An intriguing idea that is really well turned into a touch of horror

Grey Noise by Pepe Rojo translated by Andrea Bell - This 1996 tale is excellent and really predicts the citizen journalist and the rise of entertainment news media. It tells the tale of a young man who get a camera that records through his eyes. The steady pain it creates physically and mentally continually takes its toll but money and ratings are apparently all he pursues until it is no longer enough. Sombre and really feels on the nose as to where we were heading back then.

The White Mask by Zedeck Siew – This is a fascinating tale of the death of a trans street artist apparently killed by their own art. It explores commercialism, politics and taking revenge to remember a good friend. Very interesting and well worth reading.

Degrees of Beauty by Cassandra Khaw – This is is one of the best very short horror tales I’ve read. A mother is fascinated with getting her daughter cosmetically altered to adhere to the idea of beauty removing traces of her ethnicity, making her up instead with film star’s lips and more and just when you think it cannot get worse the final few lines are chilling.

I will come back next week when I finish reviewing Volume 2 to discuss the Post CyberPunk sections of these collections but I think safe to say for those who love science fiction this is a fainting journey into Cyberpunk’s origin’s themes, past, present and future. Lots to seek out, discover and enjoy.

Coming Soon Volume 2!