It Is, In Fact, Wednesday

[lydamorehouse]

 And, I have some reading to report!

For the next while, a lot of what I suspect I'll be reading will be what is essentially show prep for the cyberpunk podcast, but a lot of that is pretty interesting (at least to me!) 

I will break this down by category.

BOOKS:

I'm about one hour from finishing Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller. This one is interesting because as I told a friend of mine, if I started to describe it, you would absolutely be like, "Oh, hell yes, that is cyberpunk," because it involves a sexually (at least in part) transmitted nano-disease that causes mass, shared hallucinations and the city is run by immortal, unreachable artificial intelligences. Yet, somehow, despite this and the very present poverty and economically stratified dystopia, I'm not feeling it. I think it's the animal companions. I honestly think that the reason my brain keeps nope-ing out at the idea that this is cyberpunk is because there are, essentially, telepathically bonded animals (even though it's clearly stated this is not MAGICAL, but also nanobot driven.) It is, however, very queer/GLBTQIA+. And, I should be clear, I like it. 

SHORT STORIES:

“We are the clouds” ALSO by Sam J. Miller, Lightspeed (September 2014) (audio version available) 

A fascinating take on “human batteries.” Sauro, our main character, is a Latino gay boy, who, like a lot of poor folks in this future New York has an implanted ‘cloud port,’ which is basically an extra signal boost to a municipal-wide internet infrastructure. He falls in love with a danger twink named (of course!) Case, who runs him through an emotional ringer, but which allows Sauro to realize the power of collective action. Content Warning for exploitive sex work and sex workers.

 

“Unauthorized Acess” by An Owomoyela, Lightspeed (September 2014) (audio version available)

This one has a very old-school cyberpunk feel to it. There is a central non-binary character in the story called LogicalOR. Main character is a probably-on-the spectrum/maybe lesbian Black woman who has just been released from jail for being a hacker/whistleblower. Highly recommended. 
 

 

MANGA

Angel Oil by Tanaka Tatsuyuki
Another odd one that I'm not fully sure can be categorized as cyberpunk. It's difficult to know for sure, if only because it was never licensed in English and the pirate scanlators gave up after five chapters. But, it is visually Very Cool and follows a kind of Alice in Wonderland character, Hinako Maeda, the only [presumed] human character, who seems to live among robots or, as it is implied in a later chapter, humans whose brains/consciousnesses have been transferred into robotic bodies. She goes out on a quest to get oil because the rations for their settlement have been mysteriously cut off. Without oil, her grandma will die.

 

Adou or A-DO by Amano Jaku
I initially felt like this one was just straight-up an Akira rip-off, wherein the author just said to themselves, "What if Aikra, only with a female protagonist and without all the testosterone-fueled rape-y crap and more focus on the experimented on kids?" And, while I think Adou eventually rose above that, (it is licensed in English and there are at least 15 chapters online), I would probably have read it, anyway, because, yes, please. 

So, that's what I've been consuming lately. What about you? Have you read anything interesting lately?

Comments

[sabotabby]

I wanted to love Blackfish City because it sounds like exactly the thing I'd love, but it was just a cool concept and aesthetic with no story or characters.

[lydamorehouse]

I can see your point. I haven't gotten to the end yet, so it's possible my opinion will change. I have to wonder if it "reads" differently in audiobook. I will say that the narrator/voice actor is very good and that might be influencing my take on the novel.