James Nicoll Reviews

As with the previous core lists, here are twenty Cyberpunk Speculative Fiction Works chosen entirely on the basis of merit and significance to the field¹. No implication is intended that these are the only twenty books you should consider².

• iD by Madeleine Ashby

• Hammered by Elizabeth Bear

• Moxyland by Lauren Beukes

• Synners by Pat Cadigan

• The Fortunate Fall by Raphael Carter

• When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger

• Exit to Reality by Edith Forbes 

• Web of Angels by John M. Ford

• The Many Selves of Katherine North by Emma Geen

• Neuromancer by William Gibson

• Winterlong by Elizabeth Hand

• God’s War by Kameron Hurley

• Arachne by Lisa Mason

• Glass Houses by Laura J. Mixon

• Spin State by Chris Moriarty

• Outlaw School by Rebecca Ore

• Chimera by Mary Rosenblum

• Trouble and Her Friends by Melissa Scott

• The Matrix by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski

• All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Persons unfamiliar with one or two of the works, congratulations! You’re one of today’s Ten Thousand!

1: There are two filtering rules: 

• Only one work per author per list

• Any given work by a particular author can appear on only one list. A given author may, however, have works on various lists but each instance of their work will be unique. 

2: NO IMPLICATION IS INTENDED THAT THESE ARE THE ONLY TWENTY BOOKS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER.