Here are 100 books that Into Neon fans have personally recommended if you like
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My first true religion was being a boy alone in the woods and feeling a deep connection to nature in all its aspects. I felt a connection with all life and knew myself to be an animal—and gloried in it. Since then, I've learned how vigorously humans fight our animal nature, estranging us from ourselves and the planet. Each of these books invites us to get over ourselves and connect with all life on Earth.
I knew the film Blade Runner before I read this, the novel upon which it's based, but I was not prepared for the richer complexities of the novel.
My favorite parts of the novel, a bizarre new religion and the extinction of all but human and animal life, barely make it into the film. Even the androids, built to be slaves, are much more nuanced and complex than in the film. I loved the conclusion of the book, which affirms the beauty of life, both natural and mechanical.
As the eagerly-anticipated new film Blade Runner 2049 finally comes to the screen, rediscover the world of Blade Runner . . .
World War Terminus had left the Earth devastated. Through its ruins, bounty hunter Rick Deckard stalked, in search of the renegade replicants who were his prey. When he wasn't 'retiring' them with his laser weapon, he dreamed of owning a live animal - the ultimate status symbol in a world all but bereft of animal life.
Then Rick got his chance: the assignment to kill six Nexus-6 targets, for a huge reward. But in Deckard's world things were…
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…
My dad and Uncle (who was not my uncle!) were both WWII veterans; I was fortunate to receive an artist’s grant to gather stories from WWII veterans in Minnesota and told several at concerts honoring the anniversary of D-Day. My counseling background unexpectedly came into play as their stories left me understanding their heroism, sacrifice, shell shock, and grief. These vets grew up never leaving a circle about a hundred miles across and were suddenly thrown into a foreign country and war. I was compelled to research and write about the 1930’s, life on the farm, young romance, and trying to heal PTSD after the war.
Every now and then, I discover a book that has imagined a world and/or a character that takes me by surprise, and I can’t stop reading about them. Again, it’s all about character! In this book, I met a human cyborg enslaved by a computer program and built as a security unit rented out to corporate groups exploring planets for profit.
This sentient cyborg frees itself from enslavement, hilariously staves off the boredom of security work by watching its favorite media series, and as it watches characters in these shows, begins to learn about human behavior. I enjoyed the awkward, touching way it developed friendships and emotional connections. The character, which calls itself Murderbot, presents as if it’s on the spectrum.
Its first-person narration is snarky, occasionally hilarious, and endearing as it slowly learns what it means to have friendships. And oh, it finds all this wildly inconvenient, hates eye…
All Systems Red by Martha Wells begins The Murderbot Diaries, a new science fiction action and adventure series that tackles questions of the ethics of sentient robotics. It appeals to fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or lain M. Banks' Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans. In a corporate dominated s pa cef a ring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by…
Hello. My name’s Austin Dragon, and I’m the author of over 30 books in science fiction, fantasy, and classic horror. My works include the sci-fi noir detective Liquid Cool series, the epic fantasy Fabled Quest Chronicles, the international futuristic epic After Eden series, the classic Sleepy Hollow Horrors, and the upcoming military sci-fi Planet Tamers series. Sci-fi and mystery thrillers drew me into writing and I’m passionate about creating great stories with amazing characters in many my different worlds of fantastic fiction.
Anna is another fellow author I’ve worked with in the past.
In her futuristic novel about warring mega-corporations, cyborg Nephilim and her elite cyborg squad are sent on the most dangerous missions to protect the interests of their company at any cost. But then one of her implants malfunctions, and she’s freed from the controlling grid. She learns that everything she has believed in all her life is a lie. To defend her newfound freedom, she must run from the elite killer squads she once belonged to.
In a future world ruled by warring Mega-Corporations, cyborg Nephilim believed she was fighting a righteous cause.
As a powerful, genetically and cybernetically enhanced ‘Angel,’ her brutal and violent life is not truly her own – until one day, a simple glitch separates her from the grid.
For the first time in her young life, she is free…and she has doubts. Doubts that bury deeper into her psyche when she meets Jake, a mysterious, 100% bio-human.
He opens her neon-blue eyes to the lies she had been exposed to all her life. Questioning everything she has ever known, Nephilim resolves…
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
I have enjoyed science fiction, speculative fiction, and fantasy all my life—especially when the plot includes a ‘David and Goliath’ theme, as these books do. My science teacher introduced me to science fiction in fifth grade, and I have read these genres constantly since then. Not surprisingly, most of my novels and short stories deal with these same themes and genres. They entertain me, they are creative, and they make me think.
This novel is not as well-known as others, but it should be. I’d describe it as a dystopian thriller set slightly in a future where technology has become part of every single aspect of life. Detective Carl Dremmler is tasked with the complexities of investigating a murder by an advanced AI assistant (which should not have been possible).
This fast-paced and thought-provoking story addresses the themes of human autonomy, morality, and the dangers of technological advancement. The writing is excellent, with its premonition of where we might be heading and some of the issues we might encounter. It is thrilling and enjoyable.
The silicon revolution left Dremmler behind but a good detective is never obsolete.London is quiet in 2039—thanks to the machines. People stay indoors, communicating through high-tech glasses and gorging on simulated reality while 3D printers and scuttling robots cater to their every whim. Mammoth corporations wage war for dominance in a world where human augmentation blurs the line between flesh and steel. And at the center of it all lurks The Imagination Machine: the hyper-advanced, omnipresent AI that drives our cars, flies our planes, cooks our food, and plans our lives. Servile, patient, tireless … TIM has everything humanity requires.…
Between Blade Runner and The Terminator, I was hooked on Cyberpunk. Throw in some Ghost in the Shell and Black Mirror, and the obsession was complete. With the rise of Synthwave as a musical genre and as a retro-futuristic aesthetic, I had both the soundtrack and the visual cues to which I could write Cyberpunk. I also feel strongly about our increasing reliance on technology and the blurring lines between biology and technology. This is something I explore in my writing.
Vaz Anzai collects all five episodes from his Strange Tales from The City Of Dust series in this absolutely breathtaking omnibus that also includes bonus short stories, author notes, and exclusive artwork. With great, and varied, characters, fascinating technology, and gritty Cyberpunk settings, Dust: Omnibus is essential reading for all fans of the genre.
Strange Tales From The City Of Dust is the ultimate Omnibus for the complete Dust storyline. 5 episodic adventures along with 3 short stories and detailed author notes, commissioned artwork, and more!
CLOCKWORK DEUS: Episode 1 Alice, a "Tinkerer" for the Wonderlust brothel has discovered a Prostibot that has become self-aware. Together, they will uncover the secret behind a shadowy organization in Dust's abandoned zone, The Blooming Fields.
THE DARKEST PART: Episode 2 Laila, a mysterious Saudi Arabian woman, has escaped an event known as "The Opaque", a consuming void that destroyed her former city. Now in Dust, she must…
Between Blade Runner and The Terminator, I was hooked on Cyberpunk. Throw in some Ghost in the Shell and Black Mirror, and the obsession was complete. With the rise of Synthwave as a musical genre and as a retro-futuristic aesthetic, I had both the soundtrack and the visual cues to which I could write Cyberpunk. I also feel strongly about our increasing reliance on technology and the blurring lines between biology and technology. This is something I explore in my writing.
This book is a thrilling, action-packed ride through a merciless world ruled by nefarious corporations and filled with deadly, genetically enhanced super-humans. As well as Cyberpunk aficionados, Early Adopters will also appeal to fans of comics as well as lovers of action and espionage. No Mary-Sues here, though. Morally grey, gritty, and grueling!
Praise For Early Adopters: Rogue Elements - Amazon Reviews
"A thumping good read."
"This is my favourite Superhero Universe now."
"Everything I wanted from The Watchmen movie and didn't get."
Over a decade ago now, a group of misfits underwent genetic editing under the auspices of scientific research. They thought they could make a difference. They thought they were going to be superheroes, but MiliTech turned them into their own living, breathing weapons.
Outside of their honeymoon period, they are disavowed and relentlessly…
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
Between Blade Runner and The Terminator, I was hooked on Cyberpunk. Throw in some Ghost in the Shell and Black Mirror, and the obsession was complete. With the rise of Synthwave as a musical genre and as a retro-futuristic aesthetic, I had both the soundtrack and the visual cues to which I could write Cyberpunk. I also feel strongly about our increasing reliance on technology and the blurring lines between biology and technology. This is something I explore in my writing.
This quick read is the lovechild of Transformers and Wangan Midnight. As silly as it is brilliant, this is a retro slice of Cyberpunk fun that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Fast-paced and filled with lots of action, Atomic Fireflies is sure to put a digital smile on the face of any Cyberpunk reader.
When Kaemon meets a strange racer on Tokyo’s freeways, his life will be changed forever. Can a broken man find a new life amidst the chaos of cars, robots, and aliens?
Retro-futuristic tale for fans of the ‘90s, Japan, Transformers, Tokyo Drift, and Ready Player One!
Growing up, I commonly read a sci-fi or fantasy novel a day. I craved freshly innovative stories, not megastar copycats. Innovation lacking, I stopped reading. I loved Salvatore’s invention of the Drow and favored groundbreaking stories where authors build on a predecessor’s shoulders rather than writing formulaic remakes for easy sales. Devastatingly, when I began writing, publishers, agents, and literary voices unitedly screamed at authors to “stay in their genre.” Write sci-fi or fantasy, never both. That wasn’t me, so I wrote about what happens when technology clashes with magic. The result? Mosaic Digest recently dubbed me “one of speculative fiction’s most inventive voices.”
This book takes the tired and worn trope surrounding mankind’s search for the fountain of youth, twists it violently, and asks, “What if this were viable, although exorbitantly expensive, tech?” I loved not only this fresh, original angle, but Morgan’s thoughtful treatment of it.
With immersive world-building and a gritty protagonist, Altered Carbon dragged me through a truly surprising and original murder mystery that kept me guessing through the final reveal – though it wasn’t the murder plot that kept me hanging on.
Morgan’s not-particularly-likeable protagonist not only darkened the story, he pressured me to revisit difficult moral questions and to reconsider them from his perspective. He pulled me into the story, shook my moral compass, and then made me believe that perspective was standard in his world.
This must-read story is a confident, action-and-violence packed thriller, and future classic noir SF novel from a multi-award-winning author.
Four hundred years from now mankind is strung out across a region of interstellar space inherited from an ancient civilization discovered on Mars. The colonies are linked together by the occasional sublight colony ship voyages and hyperspatial data-casting. Human consciousness is digitally freighted between the stars and downloaded into bodies as a matter of course.
But some things never change. So when ex-envoy, now-convict Takeshi Kovacs has his consciousness and skills downloaded into the body of a…
Although I write Fantasy, I’m a Cyberpunk enthusiast who mentally lives in the high-tech effed-up future authors and artists imagined in the ‘80s. My imagination has been so influenced by Cyberpunk since I watched (and eventually read) Akira as a kid that I ended up creating a Fantasy world with a retro-futuristic, low-life/high-tech vibe, and a lot of motorcycles. An awful lot. I’m also a rebel by heart and a queer person, hence my stories always feature a fight against society and LGBTQ+ characters. I like reading about dystopias, morally grey characters, and dark content. This is what I read, and this is what I write about.
More a space opera than a full-fledged Cyberpunk story, Schismatrix is a masterpiece with incredible worldbuilding and socio-political commentary. This book impacted mine on many levels; it features an initially hopeless protagonist who eventually fights for a cause, a revolution with struggling factions, a dystopian tyranny, futuristic pirates. It’s a visionary book permeated with deep reflections on human essence and transhumanism, one that’ll make you wonder where humanity is heading, what our purpose is, and what our search for growth and change will entail.
The Nebula-nominated novel of “abrave new world of nearly constant future shock”—plus all the short fiction of the Shaper/Mechanist universe (The Washington Post).
Acclaimed science fiction luminary and a godfather of the genre’s remarkable offspring—cyberpunk—Bruce Sterling carries readers to a far-future universe where stunning achievements in human development have been tainted by a virulent outbreak of prejudice and hatred.
Many thousands of years in the future, the human race has split into two incompatible factions. The aristocratic Mechanists believe that humans can only achieve their greatest potential through technology and enhancing their bodies with powerful prosthetics. The rebel Shapers view…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
Although I write Fantasy, I’m a Cyberpunk enthusiast who mentally lives in the high-tech effed-up future authors and artists imagined in the ‘80s. My imagination has been so influenced by Cyberpunk since I watched (and eventually read) Akira as a kid that I ended up creating a Fantasy world with a retro-futuristic, low-life/high-tech vibe, and a lot of motorcycles. An awful lot. I’m also a rebel by heart and a queer person, hence my stories always feature a fight against society and LGBTQ+ characters. I like reading about dystopias, morally grey characters, and dark content. This is what I read, and this is what I write about.
Pat Cadigan is one of my favourite authors. Mindplayers is a short book, bizarre and strange but fascinating as per Cadigan’s style. The main setting here is the human mind. The protagonist is forced to become a Mindplayer, a sort of state-controlled psychologist who jacks into people’s minds in order to cure them. This book makes you wonder how vast the world inside your head is, and if your thoughts and memories really belong to you once a government takes control of them. There’s even Brain Police involved, what can be more dystopian than this?
Allie Haas only did it for a dare - the kind of dare you know is a mistake but you do it anyway because it's Mistake Yime. But putting on the madcap that Jerry Wirerammer has 'borrowed' was a very big mistake. The psychosis itself was quite conventional, a few paranoid delusions, but it didn't go away when she took the madcap off. Jerry did the decent thing and left her at an emergency room for dry-cleaning but then the Brain Police took over. Straightened out by a professional mindplayer, Allie thinks she's left mind games behind for good but…
