Storming the Reality Studio: A Casebook of Cyberpunk & Postmodern Science Fiction

Book Overview

The term "cyberpunk" entered the literary landscape in 1984 to describe William Gibson's pathbreaking novel Neuromancer . Cyberpunks are now among the shock troops of postmodernism, Larry McCaffery... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0822311682
• ISBN13: 9780822311683
• Release Date: November 1991
• Publisher: Duke University Press
• Length: 405 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.7" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Strap yourself in for a great ride...

This book is a must-have if you're a fan of anything cyberpunk. There are more than 40 contributors, so not every piece is brilliant, but the book still deserves a five star rating. Highlights: fiction from almost everyone who was important in the cyberpunk movement (Gibson, Rucker, Shiner, Shirley, Sterling, etc.) and some other excellent writers not usually included in the group (Ballard, W. S. Burroughs, Pynchon), along with insightful essays by a diverse selection of writers including Timothy Leary and several important figures in the world of postmodern theory (Baudrillard, Derrida, Jameson, Kroker). Storming the Reality Studio is one book that I am proud to own, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

A very fine anthology--well chosen

I enjoyed this collection of cyberpunk writing immensely. McCaffery chose a fine collection of cyberpunk examples, ranging from the well known to the less known, from fiction to non-fiction ssay. The ordering is near perfection--the arrangement allows the pieces to speak to each other, and of each other (a very cyberpunkean move). Given the above reviewer's apparent distress concerning certain aspects of the book, and some misguided reductions of cyberpunk (basically just SF without hairy aliens; and his basic misunderstanding of the interpolation that occurs within the genre--i.e. his rantings re: Acker and hackdom), I hope this doesn't dissuade you from purchasing this very worthwhile book--it's wonderful. Especially exciting is the "Cyberpunk 101" section where various books and films are listed and shortly (and bitingly witty--see the one for Ballard's _Crash_) are recommended and briefly summarized.

Learn cyberpunk fiction in 21 days: Guaranteed!!!

Ian Davis's Review of: Storming the reality studio How to explain this book... The young persons guide to modern Sf, Nahhhh... Cyberpunk sampler....no that's not it... Ah ha! Got it!!! The cyberpunk catalouge! That's good... This book is, and i'm quoting from the cover, "A casebook of post-modern and cyberpunk fiction"... Eeeep! Whenever I hear the words "post modern" and "fiction", in the same sentence it makes my ears sweat. I don't like the term..not one bit... But this book over came part of that fear...and take note when I say part..because it still needs something...like better content. Don't get me wrong..I liked the book. It has some very good art and stories..including some rare art from J. O'Barr. But a high proportion is shit, pure pseudo SF shit at it's most dismal. It has excerpts from many a book...that's why it's like a catalouge.On how the editor Larry McCaffrey, has compiled this tome I have a theory. McCaffery sits in his office. One man, a well dressed excec from a large publisher sits across from him in one chair, and a semi-serious Sf reader in another. They take turns choosing stories. the reader picks stories that best represent authors with a grasp of the field, and the exec looks at a list of books that sit unsold in one of his wharehouses. I say this because that is how the book feels. some excerpts from novels have all the right in the world to be there. A "cyberpunk" book WITHOUT Neuromancer would be ludicrous. But to include bizzre poems and little picture assembled by a first year art student, is not at all good, espescially when you include books like "Empire of the senseless". The book lacks any coherent structure, except for the flimsy Fiction, non Fiction division. The last thing that makes me cringe is whenever McCaffery writes. He seems to think Cyberpunk is this incredible Post-MTV and MuchMusic art form, but in reality it's still Sf, just with better stories, and no talking fur covered aliens. But you might think a hate it. Nay! I liked about 65% of it very much and another 10% quite a bit, but that last %25 wretch! Lets say what's good... Some of the stories are quite good, printing exerpts from hard to find and little known books, like IMP plus and MetroPhage. these are really good examples of the "cyberpunk" genre. And the short stories are pretty well done. The best parts however lie in the rarest. J. O'barrs graphics short storie is easily one of the best examples of the comic as fiction I have ever seen. The inteview with Cyberpunk-papa William Gibson is quite interesting, and available here and here alone, as far as I've looked. Some of the essays are very nice, if you have read the books they refer to. The non-fiction peice on Japan's love of Cyberpunk is impressive, especially about the earliest stories from that country in the vein of "cyberpunk". Two last good notes. One part, the comaparison between the text in Kathy Ackers "Empire of the sensless" and Gibs