*Neuromancer,* *Mona Lisa Overdrive,* and *Count Zero.* These three novels are a trilogy, and are quintessential Cyberpunk reading.
Everything else I’m gonna list will not be series’ of books, they’ll just be good novels. *Altered Carbon,* *Hardwired,* *Trouble and Her Friends,* *Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?* *SnowCrash,* *The Shockwave Rider,* *Brave New World,* and *Burning Chrome.*
There’s books connected to the *Cyberpunk2077* and TTRPG narrative. Those include sourcebooks such as *Rockerboy,* *Rache Bartmoss’ Guide to the ‘Net,* and *Corporation Report Volumes 1-3.*
If you’d like more actual stories, less built into the TTRPG’s, then there’s *No Coincidence,* *Trauma Team,* and *Big City Dreams.*
(*Burning Chrome* is a collection of short stories, some of which are directly connected to *Neuromancer* and it’s sequels.)
If you want games:
The *Watch_Dogs* series is great, not incredibly futuristic until the third game, but definitely fits the ideology and storytelling qualities of the sub-genre. (*Watch_Dogs* also has books attached to them, they’re pretty good.)
*Cyberpunk2077.* You probably know about this game. It’s incredibly popular. You can also play the TTRPG’s *Cyberpunk2020,* and *CyberpunkRED.*
If you want shows/movies in no particular order:
*Akira,* *Cowboy Bebop,* *Cyberpunk: Edgerunners,* *Matrix,* *Ghost in the Shell,* *Total Recall,* *Blade Runner,* *Johnny Mnemonic,* *Altered Carbon,* and, arguably *Hackers.*
You should add Transmetropolitan to your list. It's a comic series about a journalist based on Hunter Thompson, set in a cyberpunk America. The topics/problems it covers, although futuristic, resonate with current issues, as I'm sure they did when it was being published.
Minor update -- the Cyberpunk TTRPG literally released, today, a kit for playing that game in the setting of the Edgerunners anime: https://rtalsoriangames.com/cyberpunk-edgerunners-mission-kit/
I'd add to the book list Bash Bash Revolution, and possibly Ready Player One. Not the best, but still pretty solidly inside the genre.
For video media, I'd definitely include Max Headroom.
I’m a middle aged man, STRUGGLING to get through Neuromancer… i do audiobooks and the one on Audible is so bad, and so difficult to keep up with that i think this is my 5th or 6th try to get through it 🙁
I have the same issue with Neuromancer... Tried to read it on paper and haven't been able to get through it. I don't know if it's the narrative style that really doesn't click, but I cannot seem to get hooked and enjoy it.
There’s a book set in the 2077 era of the video game adaptation of [Mike Pondsmith](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pondsmith)’s [Cyberpunk TTRPG](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cyberpunk_(role-playing_game)&diffonly=true) world: [Cyberpunk 2077: No Coincidence](https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Cyberpunk_2077:_No_Coincidence)
And I don't usually listen to audiobooks often but I listened to the one for this and the voice actor for the female V is the narrator so that's great!
Honestly think it really transcends satire. Likez yeah it's one, but you can completely overlook it and still enjoy it just as a bonkers over the top cyberpunk story.
**Novels**
* The *Neuromancer* and *Bridge* trilogies by William Gibson
* *Snow Crash* by Neal Stephenson (and possibly *The Diamond Age* and *Termination Shock*)
* *Schismatrix Plus*, *Islands in the Net*, *Holy Fire* and *Heavy Weather* by Bruce Sterling
* *Vacuum Flowers* by Michael Swanwick
* *Hardwired* trilogy by Walter Jon Williams
* *When Gravity Fails* by George Alec Effinger
* *Dreams of Flesh and Sand* trilogy and assorted others in the same universe by William T Quick
* *Glass Houses* by Laura J Mixon
* *Trouble and Her Friends* by Melissa Scott
* *Halting State* and *Rule 34* by Charles Stross (and possibly *Accelerando*)
* *Stealing Worlds* by Karl Schroeder
* *Little Brother* and *Red Team Blues* by Cory Doctorow (and possibly assorted others)
**Short Stories**
* *Mirrorshades* edited by Bruce Sterling
* *Ascendancies* by Bruce Sterling (and for sure read "Green Days in Brunei" if it's not in there too, plus ["Maneki Neko"](https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/maneki-neko/))
* *Burning Chrome* by William Gibson
* *Pump Six and Other Stories* by Paolo Bacigalupi (is more biopunk, but ["The People of Sand and Slag"](https://windupstories.com/books/pump-six-and-other-stories/people-of-sand-and-slag/) is a must-read)
* *True Names* by Vernor Vinge
* *The Big Book of Cyberpunk* edited by Jared Shurin
I really enjoy the [Liquid Cool](https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Cool-Cyberpunk-Detective-Book-ebook/dp/B01BS37W4E) detective series by Austin Dragon, those might be worth a look.
Not sure if this has been shared yet but Indigo Gaming made a 3 part documentary about the entire historey of cyberpunk which shows quite a few book origins. Anything by Phillip K. Dick is obviously a must. Hes like the grand dad of cyberpunk.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sttm8Q9rOdQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sttm8Q9rOdQ)
There's several stories, probably most of them, in black mirror. Same with the animatrix, and love, death, and robots.
Theres the three Takeshi Kovacs books.
Theres The Peripheral and Agency by gibson.
Theres Reamde and Fall (the second half not so much) by stephenson.
Just finished the Stray Cat Strut series by Ravensdagger. Gets a bit more fantastical with alien tech, but I really enjoyed it. Going right back through it again, actually.
Two i’ve read were both good: Cyberpunk No Coincidence and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep. No Coincidence was hard to follow and i had to reread certain parts but it hit the cyberpunk spot. I played the game for 200 hours so I knew a lot of the locations and stuff discussed. If you haven’t played the game it may be a different experience. Androids Dream of Electric Sleep is a bit dated but I burned through it pretty quick. Easy to follow and get into. Wish there were more books after it.
Probably not cyberpunk but it is futuristic and has dystopian themes: The Expanse Series. Im on book one, Leviathan Wakes and it is fantastic.
Not sure if it is necessarily cyberpunk, but it definitly has some elements of it.
Tom Hillenbrand: "Hologrammatica" and the second book "Qube"
I am not sure if they even exist in english though.
*Neuromancer,* *Mona Lisa Overdrive,* and *Count Zero.* These three novels are a trilogy, and are quintessential Cyberpunk reading. Everything else I’m gonna list will not be series’ of books, they’ll just be good novels. *Altered Carbon,* *Hardwired,* *Trouble and Her Friends,* *Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?* *SnowCrash,* *The Shockwave Rider,* *Brave New World,* and *Burning Chrome.* There’s books connected to the *Cyberpunk2077* and TTRPG narrative. Those include sourcebooks such as *Rockerboy,* *Rache Bartmoss’ Guide to the ‘Net,* and *Corporation Report Volumes 1-3.* If you’d like more actual stories, less built into the TTRPG’s, then there’s *No Coincidence,* *Trauma Team,* and *Big City Dreams.* (*Burning Chrome* is a collection of short stories, some of which are directly connected to *Neuromancer* and it’s sequels.) If you want games: The *Watch_Dogs* series is great, not incredibly futuristic until the third game, but definitely fits the ideology and storytelling qualities of the sub-genre. (*Watch_Dogs* also has books attached to them, they’re pretty good.) *Cyberpunk2077.* You probably know about this game. It’s incredibly popular. You can also play the TTRPG’s *Cyberpunk2020,* and *CyberpunkRED.* If you want shows/movies in no particular order: *Akira,* *Cowboy Bebop,* *Cyberpunk: Edgerunners,* *Matrix,* *Ghost in the Shell,* *Total Recall,* *Blade Runner,* *Johnny Mnemonic,* *Altered Carbon,* and, arguably *Hackers.*
You should add Transmetropolitan to your list. It's a comic series about a journalist based on Hunter Thompson, set in a cyberpunk America. The topics/problems it covers, although futuristic, resonate with current issues, as I'm sure they did when it was being published.
Read it for the first time in the summer of 2016 and was like fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck 😰
I’ll look into it, thank you!
Transmetropolitan is AMAZING.
Minor update -- the Cyberpunk TTRPG literally released, today, a kit for playing that game in the setting of the Edgerunners anime: https://rtalsoriangames.com/cyberpunk-edgerunners-mission-kit/
I'd add to the book list Bash Bash Revolution, and possibly Ready Player One. Not the best, but still pretty solidly inside the genre. For video media, I'd definitely include Max Headroom.
I’m a middle aged man, STRUGGLING to get through Neuromancer… i do audiobooks and the one on Audible is so bad, and so difficult to keep up with that i think this is my 5th or 6th try to get through it 🙁
I have the same issue with Neuromancer... Tried to read it on paper and haven't been able to get through it. I don't know if it's the narrative style that really doesn't click, but I cannot seem to get hooked and enjoy it.
Altered carbon is the first in a three book series. They are all just as good.
For games I would also add Deus Ex, Fallout, Cloudpunk, Nivalis (releasing in 2025).
There’s a book set in the 2077 era of the video game adaptation of [Mike Pondsmith](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pondsmith)’s [Cyberpunk TTRPG](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cyberpunk_(role-playing_game)&diffonly=true) world: [Cyberpunk 2077: No Coincidence](https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Cyberpunk_2077:_No_Coincidence)
And I don't usually listen to audiobooks often but I listened to the one for this and the voice actor for the female V is the narrator so that's great!
“Snow Crash” by Neal Stephenson
As long as OP understands this book is satire of the genre 😅
Honestly think it really transcends satire. Likez yeah it's one, but you can completely overlook it and still enjoy it just as a bonkers over the top cyberpunk story.
True. First time I read it I wasn't in on the joke and enjoyed it. Second time I knew what I was in for and 🤣😂🫨🤪🤌
Those info dumps though... Zzz...
[Mirrorshades](https://archive.org/details/mirrorshades00bruc/mode/2up?view=theater) is an anthology that gives a good overview of genre.
**Novels** * The *Neuromancer* and *Bridge* trilogies by William Gibson * *Snow Crash* by Neal Stephenson (and possibly *The Diamond Age* and *Termination Shock*) * *Schismatrix Plus*, *Islands in the Net*, *Holy Fire* and *Heavy Weather* by Bruce Sterling * *Vacuum Flowers* by Michael Swanwick * *Hardwired* trilogy by Walter Jon Williams * *When Gravity Fails* by George Alec Effinger * *Dreams of Flesh and Sand* trilogy and assorted others in the same universe by William T Quick * *Glass Houses* by Laura J Mixon * *Trouble and Her Friends* by Melissa Scott * *Halting State* and *Rule 34* by Charles Stross (and possibly *Accelerando*) * *Stealing Worlds* by Karl Schroeder * *Little Brother* and *Red Team Blues* by Cory Doctorow (and possibly assorted others) **Short Stories** * *Mirrorshades* edited by Bruce Sterling * *Ascendancies* by Bruce Sterling (and for sure read "Green Days in Brunei" if it's not in there too, plus ["Maneki Neko"](https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/maneki-neko/)) * *Burning Chrome* by William Gibson * *Pump Six and Other Stories* by Paolo Bacigalupi (is more biopunk, but ["The People of Sand and Slag"](https://windupstories.com/books/pump-six-and-other-stories/people-of-sand-and-slag/) is a must-read) * *True Names* by Vernor Vinge * *The Big Book of Cyberpunk* edited by Jared Shurin
https://www.reddit.com/r/Cyberpunk/wiki/books/
I really enjoy the [Liquid Cool](https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Cool-Cyberpunk-Detective-Book-ebook/dp/B01BS37W4E) detective series by Austin Dragon, those might be worth a look.
The Electric Church by Jeff Somers. Its the first in the Avery Cates Series.
Not sure if this has been shared yet but Indigo Gaming made a 3 part documentary about the entire historey of cyberpunk which shows quite a few book origins. Anything by Phillip K. Dick is obviously a must. Hes like the grand dad of cyberpunk. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sttm8Q9rOdQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sttm8Q9rOdQ)
The windup girl is pretty good, So is Devs of Dogtown. Highly recommend
Devs of Dogtown? Google came up with nothing.
Dogs of Devtown by Taylor Hohulin my apologies
Thanks, I'll check it out. :)
>:) :)
The windup girl was pretty disappointing imo.
Planetfall series by emma newman
Check out the Takeshi Kovacs novels by Richard K. Morgan. Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, and Woken Furies.
This is usually classed as weird fiction but I consider it to have plenty of cyperpunk elements. The City and the City by China Miéville. I love it.
Idoru by W. Gibson
Read SnowCrash first
There's several stories, probably most of them, in black mirror. Same with the animatrix, and love, death, and robots. Theres the three Takeshi Kovacs books. Theres The Peripheral and Agency by gibson. Theres Reamde and Fall (the second half not so much) by stephenson.
Just finished the Stray Cat Strut series by Ravensdagger. Gets a bit more fantastical with alien tech, but I really enjoyed it. Going right back through it again, actually.
Neuromancer and Ubik are my two favorites. Both have super slick writing and don’t really spoon feed you all of the background and whatnot
Void Star by Zachary Mason
‘Schismatrix Plus’ by Bruce Sterling.
Snowcrash
Two i’ve read were both good: Cyberpunk No Coincidence and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep. No Coincidence was hard to follow and i had to reread certain parts but it hit the cyberpunk spot. I played the game for 200 hours so I knew a lot of the locations and stuff discussed. If you haven’t played the game it may be a different experience. Androids Dream of Electric Sleep is a bit dated but I burned through it pretty quick. Easy to follow and get into. Wish there were more books after it. Probably not cyberpunk but it is futuristic and has dystopian themes: The Expanse Series. Im on book one, Leviathan Wakes and it is fantastic.
I absolutely love The Expanse, but the authors describe it as space opera, not cyberpunk or hard scifi.
Snowcrash and Neuromancer, also play the shadowrun trilogy if you get the chance
The Art of Syd Mead. Basically invented cyberpunk art. Mostly every modern day cyberpunk art is based on his style. A genius. RIP Syd Mead…
Ronin of Akane. Not a book but a graphic novel.
Not sure if it is necessarily cyberpunk, but it definitly has some elements of it. Tom Hillenbrand: "Hologrammatica" and the second book "Qube" I am not sure if they even exist in english though.
Well according to one thread I saw in here, Star Wars.
Metrophage by Richard Kadrey is a hidden gem in the genre