Grex Cyberpunk Conference

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Grex Cyberpunk Item 85: Bruce Sterling - Up there with Gibson & Stephenson?
Entered by hc on Fri Aug 28 10:31:17 UTC 1998:

So what do you people (I'm assuming that someone must read these things) think
of Bruce Sterling? Of the three "cyberpunk" authors, he's always been the one
O forget about . (The three being Gibson, Sterling, and Stephenson.)
I just recently picked up "Heavy Weather," and I'm not really finding it all
that impressive. People seem to use the word "hack" in contexts that after
a while, get plain silly. One of the characters hacks kites, for example and
another hacks jumps. (ie: Base jumping, or whatever the term is for jumping
off tall man-made structures.)
After a while, it started to grate on me. Any opinions on Sterling?

8 responses total.

#1 of 8 by raven on Wed Sep 2 00:35:36 1998:

I have to disagree.  I think Steling is among the most consistent of the
c-punk authors.  I thought Sterling's recent book "Holy Fire" about the
possible problems with life extension was much more imaginative (and grounded
in science to boot) than Gibson's weak Idoru which I found to be a lame romp
through Japanese pop culture.  To get a btter feeling for Steling try
Schismmatrix or Crystal Express (short stories).  Neuromancer ofcourse
was classic but I think Gibson went downhill from there.  Another really
good underated c-punk author is pat Cadigan , her book Synners about 
VR music video insanity holds it's own with any c-punk stuff out there.

#2 of 8 by hc on Fri Sep 4 10:28:03 1998:

Hmm.. I've never read Sterling's short stories, though I have read "Holy Fire"
and did enjoy it. However, much like "Diamond Age," I wasn't entirely sure
what made it CP. I find the distinction between CP and Sci-Fi is fading.
Perhaps it's simply because it was the first stuff I read, but I'll always
think of Gibson's earluy work (Burning Chrome, Neuromancer, and Count Zero)
when I think of CP. I think "Virtual Light" marked the beginning of the end
for him.
I almost hate to ask this question, but what would you think of as a standard
way to decide if something is CP or not? I've always thought it was a
combination of "grit," technology, and a dark mood.
Though really, if I apply those requirements, there hasn't been any CP books
published in a while, or at least not that I've read.
(Apologies if this makes no sense - I blame no sleep, lots of caffeine, and
lots of sugar.)
hc.

#3 of 8 by raven on Fri Sep 4 20:28:14 1998:

Why try to box writing in neat catagories in fact that seems quite uncyberpunk
to me.  Genres will only change more rapidly as we move into the information
age.  I think the cpish sci-fi is getting better characterization and a
broader view of the world.  For more on cutting edge sci-fi check out the
zine Science Fiction Eye  Lot's of good stuff on CP Harlan Ellison, literary
"slipstream", Ursual le Guinn sci-fi.

#4 of 8 by hc on Mon Sep 7 12:26:09 1998:

Actually, I just picked up a book by Tad Williams the other day, and it's
suprisingly CD/SciFi. I've only ever known him for Fantasy before, but
"Otherworld" is actually some pretty good Sci-Fi stuff. He's obviously read
Stephenson though - one of the young characters has something that reminds
me an awful lot of the young woman's primer. Not an entirely original idea,
I admit, but the way she was interacting with it really reminded me of Diamond
Age.
As far as categories and CP goes, I'm likely just showing my age. CP and the
early to late eighties things like Blade Runner and Gibson are always going
to be what I associate CP with. (In terms of Media, that it.) At any rate,
I'm off to check out Science Fiction Eye. (Assuming they have a web page I
can find.)

#5 of 8 by raven on Wed Sep 9 05:07:47 1998:

Don't know if they have a web page but the zine is worth looking for.  Yeah
I know what you mean about a kind of golden age of cyberpunk, read Neuromancer
in the late 80s and it blew me away.  But hey times change we are in cyberspace
in a sense now, and we need to look for new narratives to show us what lays
beyond our current society.

#6 of 8 by morpheus on Wed Nov 11 06:43:08 1998:

All excellent books.

Changing the topic a wee bit, has anyone ever seen any decent cyberpunk 
movies (besides Bladerunner)?

The last movie I saw *marketed* as cp was Jonny Mnemonic, and that was 
the most horrid flick I have seen in a long time (quite possible 
because of the case, of course, as Keanu Reaves isn't exactly well 
known for acting talent).

#7 of 8 by hc on Thu Nov 12 11:50:05 1998:

Wasn't Keanu Reaves incredibly awful?! I know his acting is generally pretty
bad, but I wasn't sure how he could have been any worse when he was reciting
his lines... Unfortunately, he looked good for the part. Oh well. I can't
think of any other movies offhand, I just wanted to slag off Keanu Reaves.

#8 of 8 by scott on Thu Nov 12 15:21:44 1998:

It *was* a pretty weak character.  But then all Gibson characters are losers,
aren't they?

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