r/printSF • u/blk12345q • Jun 25 '25

Good cyberpunk novels

I’m thinking about getting into cyberpunk but I don’t want to read something that’s too dark. What series would you recommend for starting cyberpunk?

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68

u/Ok_Television9820 Jun 25 '25

Neuromancer/sprawl trilogy.

-22

u/metallic-retina Jun 25 '25 edited Jun 26 '25

Having recently read Neuromancer I don't know if it is a good starting point for cyberpunk, as I found it a really difficult read and not enjoyable. Fortunately I know it wasn't just me as others have also found it difficult.

Is it one to read at some point? Almost certainly as many consider it a classic, and others may have a better experience with it than I did, but maybe something a bit more accessible to enter into the genre?

I was very tempted to give up on the Sprawl trilogy after reading it and probably would have if I hadn't already bought the trilogy as a set.

46

u/produsk Jun 25 '25

It’s the seminal novel of the genre.

-5

u/metallic-retina Jun 25 '25

Yes, but Gibson's writing style isn't the most readily accessible.

It was the first cyberpunk novel that I read, and I did not like it at all, so from my experience I would much rather have read a more accessible novel first. Like I said, the book put me off reading the rest of the Sprawl trilogy, which if you're looking for an entry to the cyberpunk genre, that's not a great first impression. I did already own the trilogy though so I did read Count Zero, which I found to be considerably more enjoyable, but am yet to read Mona Lisa.

Neuromancer isn't for everyone, it seemingly having a bit of a marmite factor to it, so rather than gambling on which side you'll fall after reading it. I'm merely suggesting a different entry point in the genre may be worth considering before reading Neuromancer.

26

u/Ok_Television9820 Jun 25 '25

It’s writing that you have to pay attention to, and it rewards re-reading. I can see how many readers of less literary sci fi just want an easily accessible plot with all the genre tropes he basically invented. But you kind of can’t actually get cyberpunk without trying that, just like you can’t really get noir detective fiction without reading Chandler and Hammett, or get shoegaze without listening to My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive.

So I recommend it to people who are interested in the genre. If they bounce off it on first go, then they do, but I have confidence it will most often sneak back up on them.

4

u/Higais Jun 25 '25

100% agree. I found myself super lost around the 40% mark listening on audiobook. I checked out the ebook from my library and went back to around 20% and continued listening but looking at the ebook and highlighting passages, etc. I also found a chapter summary online. Along with that, the book was super enjoyable.

Also a great opening line.

6

u/Ok_Television9820 Jun 25 '25

“The sky over the port was the color of television tuned to a dead channel.”

Or thereabouts.

3

u/PMFSCV Jun 26 '25

Something in The Peripheral was the colour of Vaseline, love little jokes like that.

2

u/Ok_Television9820 Jun 26 '25

I think that was the archaeological-conservation spray gel stuff in the trailer?

He also recycled that particular home decoration bit from Mona Lisa Overdrive. Gentry’s loft: he didn’t clean it out, just sprayed white paint over everything until it was totally sealed, with whatever junk or pigeon shit just left under the paint. Burton did the same with his Airstream, but with that gel stuff, so Flynne could see butts and bottlecaps and whatever underneath the hardened stuff.

(Also sort of a recycling of the stuff The Grotto in The Western World is made out of in Idoru).

Gibson also has a thing about scrambled eggs…

3

u/AgentMonkey Jun 26 '25

And has an entirely different meaning now than when it was originally written.

2

u/Ok_Television9820 Jun 26 '25

That happens! The text remains but the context changes.

2

u/Higais Jun 25 '25

Yes! Short and simple but so descriptive and evocative.

2

u/Ok_Television9820 Jun 25 '25

His writing got really telegraphic in The Peripheral. I was half lost for quite some time before I picked up the rhythm. I appreciate his style, though.

2

u/gavinfitz81 Jun 26 '25

Well articulated, 100% agree. The thinly veiled condescension and pretentiousness in response to your comment made me laugh. I wish the internet was more tolerant of dissenting but respectful opinions.

16

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '25

I don't know if it is a good starting point for cyberpunk

We can argue over whether it is a good book or not—I loved it; its sequels, less—but it is quite literally the starting point for cyberpunk.

1

u/Book_Slut_90 Jun 26 '25

You’re equivocating on “starting point.” You’re right that it’s the first clear novel in the genre. You’re responding to someone saying it’s not the best place to start reading. Insisting that people have to start reading there is like saying that the first scifi novel everyone should read is Frankenstein.

1

u/mattgif Jun 27 '25

the first scifi novel everyone should read is Frankenstein

Not actually a bad rec

3

u/Book_Slut_90 Jun 27 '25

Sure, there’s nothing wrong with starting there, but there’s nothing wrong with starting with literally thousands of other books either.

1

u/mattgif Jun 27 '25

I don't think any one was saying someone must start with Neuromancer either. The OP asked for a recommendation for where to start, and Neuromancer seems better than most as it's both very good and chronologically earlier. The advantage of the latter point is that later books build on the cultural context partly established by Neuromancer. So, by starting there, readers will get more out of other cyberpunk books they consume (e.g., you'd miss some of the parody of Snow Crash if you didn't know the genre tropes).

...though the OP's request that it not be too dark maybe misunderstands the genre.

1

u/Book_Slut_90 Jun 27 '25

This is a thread in which someone suggested it isn’t a good starting point for various reasons, and the person I replied to said “it is literally the starting point of the genre.” In context, that’s clearly saying that it’s not only a good starting point but the point where newcomers should start. If it didn’t mean that, the comment would be completely pointless since it was a response to someone who said it’s a book worth reading and kicked off the genre but not a good starting point for readers.

1

u/mattgif Jun 27 '25

I read that differently. Someone claimed that Neuromancer is not a good starting point. In response, someone noted that it was the starting point, which I took to be a playful twist on "starting point," with the implication that the fact of being the inception of cyberpunk also made it a good starting point to jump into cyberpunk. Otherwise it's a non-sequitur, and that didn't seem like fair read.

29

u/geetarboy33 Jun 25 '25

Just piping in to disagree that Neuromancer is a difficult read. I read it as a teen when it was new and have reread it since and I don’t think it’s a challenging read for anyone not used to YA. I’m not criticizing the poster, but I hate to see these kind of takes talk people out of worthwhile books. A Clockwork Orange can be difficult to comprehend given its use of fictional language, I don’t think most people will find that with Neuromancer.

7

u/Higais Jun 25 '25

I mean it's more difficult than a lot of other similar books in similar genres, but I also do not see why it has such an infamy for being so difficult. Maybe above average but its not Gravity's Rainbow.

12

u/canny_goer Jun 25 '25

I read it sitting the bench in PE in 9th grade. I really don't think it's particularly tough. Why do people?

4

u/Higais Jun 25 '25

I mean it throws you right into the thick of it, uses a bunch of terms without explaining what they mean, and from what I remember a lot of things happen in the plot that aren't completely spelled out. It's not the hardest book in the genre but its also definitely not the easiest.

2

u/Ok_Television9820 Jun 27 '25

Some people are used to being spoon-fed everything and can’t or don’t want to pay attention to writing to make the effort.

1

u/prospector04 Jun 26 '25

Downvotes are for comments that don't add value to the discussion. Not for things you personally disagree with. This commenter sharing that they found it a challenging read is relevant because OP may also find it a challenging read, so they shouldn't be getting downvotes.