The main concern in cyberpunk literature is the benefits and hazards of technological progress. Technological wonders which always have fascinated cyberpunk writers are computers, artificial body enhancements, robotics, artificial intelligence, implants, bio-mechanics, cloning, designer drugs and cyberspace.
Common themes found in most cyberpunk novels:
| Main Character | Usually criminals, outcasts,visionaries or those who simply want freedom for its own sake | |
| Settings | Cyberpunk world is dark, grim and depressing usually urban | |
| Time/Place | Varies greatly from writer to writer, usually in the 10 to 20 years of year written | |
| Technology | Key aspect of many cyberpunk novels; gives the main character their power often in very physical ways (cybernetic limbs: arm, hand, leg) or through a computer with special characteristics |
Cyberpunk novels strive to create new gods, new divinity and new myths and through those new myths, cyberpunk characters area able to escape their ironic, pitiful existence's to achieve transcendence and hope.
What is Cyberspace?
A world present in virtually all cyberpunk novels. The term was originated by William Gibson in his novel Neuromancer and was described as:
| 'A consensual hallunciantion experienced daily by billions of legitmate operators, in every nation...A graphic representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding... transparent three-dimensional chessboard extending to infinity.' (51-52) |  |
Today cyberspace can be described as 'the global computer network, the matrix, the digital landscape, the ultimate neurological illusion' depending on what novel you read.
What every Cyberpunk SF Library collection should possess:
| Burning Chrome | a collection of short stories | |
| Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive |
Cyberspace trilogy |
| Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology | "The Cyberpunk Bible" and is a basic introduction to cyberpunk literature | |
| Islands in the Net | ||
| Crystal Express |
| Introduction | Movement | Philosophy | Literature | Music |
| Visual Media | Fashion | Other CP | Conclusion | Bibliography |