(no subject)
Just a short update here, but I wanted to say that I've been reading some cyberpunk fiction, namely two books by William Gibson, Neuromancer and Count Zero. Both were written in the mid-80's. Think Bladerunner, and the whole Matrix trilogy. Heck, Gibson actually wrote Johnny Mnemonic, which I have yet to see but which apparently at least touches on this kind of stuff. I had originally gone to the Wikipedia entry for Ghost in the Shell, and it led me to the cyberpunk entry. I spent the next bit of time reading through all of that entry, then through Gibson's entry, the entries of several other authors, etc. I must've written down 15 or so books to look for, many of which are sadly out of print (according to a few web sites run by the authors themselves). Still, I know Borders has Mona Lisa Overdrive, the final book in Gibson's Sprawl trilogy. I also have a book by Bruce Sterling called Schismatrix Plus, which compiles his Mechanists world/works (also cyberpunk). And Gibson and Sterling's joint project, The Difference Engine, which is in a sub-genre called Steampunk. Steampunk is, as I understand it, kind of like an alternate history where stuff has been invented well ahead of its time, using the technology available at that time in history. Think Will Smith in Wild West, I think, or the anime version of Metropolis. I have not read the latter two books, but I am looking forward to them very much, as the first two books by Gibson have really knocked my socks off. The 'net is the matrix, console cowboys dive into the net, and people jack stuff into themselves a la Ghost in the Shell. 'cept this guy is writing this stuff a decade before the other stuff I am much more familiar with.
Apparently Gibson's Neuromancer was the first novel to win all three major Sci Fi awards, the Nebula, the Hugo, and the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award (the latter guy, of course, is the one who wrote Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, the basis for Bladerunner)(Wikipedia tells me that Total Recall and Minority Report also draw from some of Dick's work). Speaking of movies, besides Johhny Mnemonic, apparently Gibson had a short story come to life in the 1998 movie New Rose Hotel, which starred Christopher Walken, William Dafoe, and Asia Argento (haven't seen it myself).
But now I'm rambling a bit, so I must go. Just wanted to share this, as I truly have enjoyed Neuromancer and Count Zero. ^_^
Apparently Gibson's Neuromancer was the first novel to win all three major Sci Fi awards, the Nebula, the Hugo, and the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award (the latter guy, of course, is the one who wrote Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, the basis for Bladerunner)(Wikipedia tells me that Total Recall and Minority Report also draw from some of Dick's work). Speaking of movies, besides Johhny Mnemonic, apparently Gibson had a short story come to life in the 1998 movie New Rose Hotel, which starred Christopher Walken, William Dafoe, and Asia Argento (haven't seen it myself).
But now I'm rambling a bit, so I must go. Just wanted to share this, as I truly have enjoyed Neuromancer and Count Zero. ^_^