Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cyberpunk

What Neal Stephenson work should I read next?

alms — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:54:15 -0800

I read and very much enjoyed The Diamond Age. What work(s) by Neal Stephenson should I read next? I recently purchased a remaindered copy of Cryptonomicon. Should I read that, or is there some other work (or set of works) by NS that I should get to next?

I doubt I'll read everything he's written, so I'd like to optimize what I do read.

Got my mirrahshades on.

griphus — Tue, 27 May 2008 08:05:27 -0800

Where can I find a pair of awesome sunglasses I saw on some guy walking down the street last month? I am looking for a pair of sunglasses I saw someone wearing the other day. Think Geordi LaForge's visor on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but going from just above the cheekbone to just above/on the eyebrows (three inches tall, maybe? not the skinny 80's-night ones); they're just a completely solid piece of reflective glass. The ear-holder parts seem to be plain glasses ones and I guess the nose supporter is built inside of the glasses.

My google-fu is seriously weak on this. Anyone know where they sell them, or even what they're called? I live in NYC, so I figure if I knew where to look, I could get them pretty easily. I spent yesterday in SoHo and checked out every sunglass-seller I could, but all they've got right now is stunners and the Kanye West/Daft Punk ones.

Hell, even a photo would be great.

What was this book? (Very vague.)

crickets — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:32:39 -0800

I'm trying to recall a book I read 11 or 12 years ago. Be warned: This may be the vaguest post ever. I bought it in 1996 or 1997 at a bookstore in Boulder (probably not relevant). It was the first "internet era" book I read, but it's not like it was a "look how the internet works!" book or anything.

It wasn't straight prose. It was a mix of emails and IRC transcripts and other conceits of the "e-" variety. It read as a record of real events, but after a while I realized it was fiction, which was a disappointment.

It was fiction, but it had little to no structure. It was (maybe) about a group of computer users of some ilk (probably the "Zero Cool" ilk, but think less leather and Angelina Jolie and more ponytails and trench coats -- but don't trust me too much on that), who share their communications and hackeries as they explore the net.

I hesitate to call it "cyberpunk" although I now think that's what they were going for (at the time I was not aware of cyberpunk; boy do I wish I had been).

I'm pretty sure it was written by some alternate version of Neil Stephenson if he had been a total wanker, in fact I would have been well-served if someone had come to me and said, "you really want to read Cryptonomicon, or, really, anything with sensical words in it."

I want to find it not because I think of it fondly, but because I want to go back and find out why I was so confused the whole time I was reading it.

Was it really as bad as I remember? Or was it actually a work of genius that I just didn't understand?

My money is on the former.

Is Cory Doctorow Worth a damn?

humannaire — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:45:46 -0800

Who to read besides Coupland, Stephenson, Gibson, and Sterling? I need an informational intake of this sort of highly-regarded (speculative? cyber?) fiction on a regular basis, or else I become irritable.

One other thing, I prefer contemporary writers who have produced notable work post-'01.

Looking for Cyberpunk Novels

govtrust — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 21:29:26 -0800

Looking for good cyberpunk books. (Authors I like but have already read: Gibson, Stephenson, Miéville, Gaiman, Dick.) Go, Hive mind, go.

Identify this novel.

Jimbob — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 01:52:59 -0800

This should be an easy one. I'm trying to remember the title, and author, of a sci fi / cyberpunk novel I read a few years back. The book started in Galveston, Texas, then moved on to guys in the Caribbean running ecosystems on ships. I think it also involved an escape from Hong Kong on a ship, and later, jail in Mali. Oh and while you're at it, reccomend some lesser known books with a similar vibe, if you can.

Cyberpunk couriers

jimmy — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 21:54:35 -0800

Why are couriers featured in most cyberpunk stories?

RISC architecture is gonna change everything.

Skyanth — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 02:22:14 -0800

Cyberpunk, hacker culture, BBSs and alt.2600 newsgroups... have they really all gone? Is it really all virus breeders and script kiddies now? What has happened to the cyberpunk movement - I keep reading it has died and post-cyberpunk doesn't seem to be doing much. What is the current counterculture on the net? Please don't tell me it's goths weeping on their keyboards? Extended question: can you point me at some ezines like New World Disorder, Neofiles, Mindjack? Active ones, that is. Please?

How much money will I get for publishing a novel

delmoi — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 16:06:29 -0800

Suppose I were able to write a publishable novel. How much money would I get, as a first-time author as soon as it was picked up? How much would I make over all? Assume This an action sci-fi/cyberpunk type book (think William Gibson). I'm just wondering how much money I could expect to make assuming that the book did get picked up. I realize that different genres have different prices. If you know the values for more then one genre I'd be interested in hearing those too.

Origin of the term meatspace?

mediareport — Wed, 02 Mar 2005 20:33:00 -0800

Where did the term "meatspace" originate? I know it entered the OED in 2000 (alongside "gaydar," "cybersquatting" and "Frankenfood"), and I see The Word Spy credits a 1995 article about John Perry Barlow as the "earliest citation," but I think I saw it in cyberpunk sci-fi before that. Anyone got an earlier appearance than 1995? (Question inspired by shmegegge.)