From Library Journal
Editor McCaffery here collects over 50 essays, short stories, novel excerpts, literary criticism, poetry, artworks, and a comic strip that illustrate the influences on and of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction and its distinctive sensibility. Most of the space goes to the two godfathers of cyberpunk, William Gibson (whose Neuromancer , Berkley, 1984, won the science fiction triple crown--Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick awards) and Bruce Sterling ( Schismatrix , LJ 6/15/85), but most other major cyberpunk writers are represented. McCaffery does not limit cyberpunk to science fiction but puts it in the context of postmodern literature and 1980s popular culture. The only flaw is that Sterling's preface to Mirrorshades ( LJ 12/86), often considered a cyberpunk manifesto and constantly referred to in the essays, is not presented until the end of the nonfiction section. An important work; highly recommended for all sf, literature, and pop culture collections. (Illustrations not seen.)-- Keith R.A. DeCandido, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"[A] brilliant new compiliation of fiction and nonfiction . . . that you've just "got" to read. . . . [The] thesis is simple as a whitehot razor blade: we don't "read" science fiction, we "live "it. . . . You can't help getting excited about this collection. You just can't."
--Lance Olsen," Mondo 2000"