A genre-defining anthology featuring over 100 stories from around the world that establish and subvert classic cyberpunk tropes, exploring gritty noir, daring heists, dangerous technology, and more in near-future settings. With a diverse range of narratives and themes, this collection offers a comprehensive look at the evolution of cyberpunk fiction, reflecting the complexities of our increasingly cyberpunk world.

Reader Review Summary

Here is my review of "The Big Book of Cyberpunk":

Jared Shurin has assembled an absolute monumental achievement with "The Big Book of Cyberpunk." Weighing in at over 1,100 pages, this tome contains 108 cyberpunk stories spanning over 70 years, representing authors from over 25 countries. It is quite simply the most comprehensive and expansive cyberpunk anthology ever published.

The depth and breadth of stories collected here is staggering. Shurin casts a wide net in defining cyberpunk, including renowned pioneers of the genre like William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, and James Tiptree Jr. as well as rising contemporary voices from around the globe. The book is carefully curated into five thematic sections - Self, Society, Culture, Challenge, and Post-Cyberpunk - each with its own insightful preface providing vital context.

The "Self" section sets the dark, gritty cyberpunk tone from the very first page with Gibson's seminal "The Gernsback Continuum." We're then immersed in tales exploring body modification, AI consciousness, virtual reality, and the ever-blurring lines between human and machine. Standouts include Tiptree's chilling "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" and qntm's inventive "Lena."

Under the "Society" banner, we see the libertine societal underbelly of cyberpunk rear its head - urban dystopias, corporate domination, hackers battling authoritarianism. Maurice Broaddus' "I Can Transform You" is a dazzling neo-noir while Samuel R. Delany's "Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones" blew my mind with its psychedelic density.

The "Culture" section contains some of the most internationally diverse works, providing brilliant kaleidoscopic perspectives into cyberpunk's global view. Stories like Nalo Hopkinson's "The Ruby Incompleteness" and Vandana Singh's "Degrees ofUnku(ill)able" filter the genre through lenses of Afrofuturism and Indian folklore in revelatory ways.

By the time we reach "Challenge" and "Post-Cyberpunk," the sheer inexhaustible inventiveness on display is staggering. Shurin excels at upending reader expectations of what cyberpunk can be in the 21st century. These final sections usher in potent allegories and reflections on our increasingly cyber-soaked era of instantaneous connectivity, dehumanization, and oppressive algorithmic control.

While no anthology of this size can be an unqualified masterpiece with every story being a winner, the simple breadth of captivating new worlds and ideas channeled through the cyberpunk ethos makes this book utterly essential for any fan of speculative fiction. Shurin's curating does an incredible job capturing the suspicion, rebellion, and adrenaline-fueled intensity core to cyberpunk's transgressive nature while expanding its thematic possibilities in thrilling new directions.

"The Big Book of Cyberpunk" is a titanic achievement, an artifact that both defines cyberpunk's rich legacy while forging exciting frontiers for its perpetually-evolving future. It demands to be explored by all lovers of visionary, mind-expanding fiction. This is more than just an anthology - it's the ultimate cyberpunk universe contained in a single volume.