Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology

Rewired is a self-conscious anthology of early 21st century science fiction. Kelly and Kessel want to put the very best stories on display-and they succeed with 16 excellent stories including pioneers like Gibson, Sterling, and Cadigan, and rising talents like Stross and Bacigalupi. The stories are all smart, provocative, well written. Virtual realities dominate as a technological theme, but the personal moves are way more diverse, and the stories that get away from computers are all the better for it.

Cyberpunk is one of those subgenres that feels more and more accurate these days. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. Depends on my mood towards the world at the time. But this is a good collection. My favorites were “The Dog Said Bow Wow” and “The Voluntary State.” YMMV.

Kelly and Kessel share the wave of writers styled after the fabled Cyberpunk era, labeling them Post-Cyberpunk. The stories in here are from some of the original members (Gibson, Sterling) as well as some new faces. Added on (as a bonus!) is the correspondence between Bruce Sterling and John Kessel about the very idea of Cyberpunk.

As for the stories, I enjoyed many of them, especially Sterling's "Bicycle Repairman" where the dark ninja is beaten by a repairman. Or "Lobsters" by Charles Stross, where the "KGB" uploaded, cybernetic lobsters want salvation in the cyberspace world.

Most disappointing, for me, as Gibson's "Thirteen Views of a Cardboard City." This is probably because I am a reader primarily attracted to characters and their show more interactions, and in this story, there are none.

All in all, it's a great anthology to add to a Cyberpunk, or Post-Cyberpunk in this case, collection. show less

Honestly, I didn't enjoy this as much as I wanted to. I don't know if the editor was going for a literary analysis or something, but the reprinted letters got tedious and unread almost immediately.

Bruce Sterling - Bicycle Repairman - 4 Stars
Gwyneth Jones - Red Sonja and Lessingham in Dreamland - 2
Jonathan Lethem - How We Got in Town and out Again - 5
Greg Egan - Yeyuka - 5
Pat Cadigan - The Final Remake of The Return of Little Latin Larry with a Completely Remastered Soundtrack and the Original Audience - 1
William Gibson - Thirteen Views of a Cardboard City - 1
David Marusek - The Wedding Album - 5
Walter Jon Williams - Daddy’s World - 5
Michael Swanwick - The Dog Said Bow-Wow - 4
Charles Stross - Lobsters - 1
Paul Di Filippo - What’s Up, show more Tiger Lily? - 5
Christopher Rowe - The Voluntary State - 5
Elizabeth Bear - Two Dreams on Trains - 4
Paolo Bacigalupi - The Calorie Man - 3
Mary Rosenblum - Search Engine - 3
Cory Doctorow - When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth - 4

Average: 3.5. Weighted: 3.8, rounded up to 4 stars show less

Pretty good collection!

"Bicycle Repairman" by Bruce Sterling (****)
"Red Sonja and Lessingham in Dreamland" by Gwyneth Jones (****)
"How We Got in Town and Out Again" by Jonathan Lethem (***)
"Yeyuka" by Greg Egan (****)
"The Final Remake of The Return of Little Latin Larry With a Completely Remastered Soundtrack and the Original Audience" by Pat Cadigan (*)
"Thirteen Views of a Cardboard City" by William Gibson (**)
"The Wedding Album" by David Marusek (*****)
"Daddy’s World" by Walter Jon Williams (****)
"The Dog Said Bow-Wow" by Michael Swanwick (**)
"Lobsters " by Charles Stross (****)
"What’s Up, Tiger Lily" by Paul Di Filippo (**)
"The Voluntary State” by Christopher Rowe (**)
"Two Dreams on a Train” by Elizabeth Bear (****)
"The show more Calorie Man” by Paolo Bacigalupi (***)
"Search Engine” by Mary Rosenblum (****)
"When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth” by Cory Doctorow (****) show less

Amazing compilation. Enjoyed every story and every page.

"Bicycle Repairman" by Bruce Sterling - good
"Red Sonja and Lessingham in Dreamland" by Gwyneth Jones - good
"How We Got in Town and Out Again" by Jonathan Lethem
"Yeyuka" by Greg Egan
"The Final Remake of The Return of Little Latin Larry With a Completely Remastered Soundtrack and the Original Audience" by Pat Cadigan - good
"Thirteen Views of a Cardboard City" by William Gibson
"The Wedding Album" by David Marusek
"Daddy’s World" by Walter Jon Williams
"The Dog Said Bow-Wow" by Michael Swanwick - ok
"Lobsters " by Charles Stross - good
"What’s Up, Tiger Lily" by Paul Di Filippo
"The Voluntary State” by Christopher Rowe - good
"Two Dreams on a Train” by Elizabeth Bear
"The Calorie Man” by Paolo Bacigalupi - excellent
"Search Engine” by show more Mary Rosenblum
"When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth” by Cory Doctorow - good show less