INTRODUCTION

Bruce Sterling is undeniably one of the founding fathers of cyberpunk. His early works, such as The Artificial Kid and Islands in the Net helped define the cyberpunk genre well before it maintained that label. In addition, his works in journalism and literary theory are well known and well accepted within the field. This guy can write a damn good piece of fiction and non-fiction alike!

Perhaps one could think of him as the historian of the genre. Get your hands on a copy of Mirrorshades (or better yet, look below) and read his intro. His insight sets down the fundamental machinary, the gears that makes cyberpunk tick, he sets to writing the themes and functions that operate behind the page. But keep this in mind: cyberpunk is a diverse genre! As Sterling states, the typical cyberpunk writer does not exist, the label should not be constraining. There is simply "The Movement", a collection of writers who push the boundaries of near-future sci-fi. It is hard to do justice to Sterling's works, he is so integrated within the system.

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