[This page needs updating]
"Reality is a crutch for people who can't handle Science Fiction...."
Ok, at least there's no need to explain/excuse science fiction, but this is an opportunity to promote a few authors who are currently taking up the most space on my bookshelves.
To start with, there's the ever present Philip K. Dick. One of the few authors I never get bored of, he wrote the novel 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' which was later filmed as Blade Runner, one of the first (and best) cyber-punk films.
Phil Dick crops up a lot on the Web, so without further ado I'm going to move on to Bad Taste.
"Aliens invade New Zealand. The leader is an intergalactic fast-food entrepreneur who hopes the introduction of human dishes will help his company regain ground recently lost to competitors."
What more can I say? Except it stars Peter Jackson, who also wrote, produced, directed and edited it, and basically did everything else as well, including acting as cameraman and doing the special effects. All the cast had to double up during filming - at one point Peter Jackson, playing the part of Derek, ended up having a hand to hand fight with an alien zombie being played by, err... Peter Jackson. It also includes a wonderful quote on the lines of "Isn't it incredible how you can fit the population of an entire town into a few cardboard boxes, if you just trim off all the fat." At this point the other three heroes, Ozzie, Frank and Barry, are eavesdropping on the speech while standing in a room, surrounded by cardboard boxes.... Bad Taste has now been released world wide and is well worth seeing if you get the chance - though it's probably best not to see it while eating :-). And, remember, "Dereks don't run!"
Next, Mick Farren. I've only come across two of his books, so far. 'Corpse' and 'The Last Stand of the DNA Cowboys'. Corpse was Ok, but The Last Stand of the DNA Cowboys is one of the greatest novels I've ever read. There don't appear to be many references to his works on the Web, so here's a quick bibliography:
Farren, Mick [U.K., 9/3/1943- ]
If there's anyone out there who knows more about him, or the books above, please get in touch!
Wiliam Gibson. 'Nuf said.
Now onto something really weird - Jeff Noon, author of 'Vurt' and 'Pollen'. Extremely strange books, yet at the same time easy to read. I can't attempt to explain his style of writing, so I'll just quote from the first page from Vurt:
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VURT A young boy puts a feather into his mouth... Part One Day One 'Sometimes it feels like the whole world is smeared with Vaz.' |
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STASH RIDERS Close by was a genuine dog, flesh and blood mix; the kind you don't see much anymore. A real collector's item. It was tethered to the post of a street sign. The sign read NO GO. Slumped under the sign was a robo-crusty. He had a thick headful of droidlocks and a dirty handwritten card - 'hungry n homeless. please help.' Mandy, all twitching steps and head-jerks, scurried past him. The crusty raised his sad little message ever so slightly and the thin pet dog whined. Through the van's window I saw Mandy mouth something at them; 'Fuck off, crusties. Get a life.' Something like that. I was watching all this in the halo of the night lights. We stuck to the
dark hours in those days. The Thing was on board and that was a major crime;
possession of live drugs, a five year stretch guaranteed.
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And to finish off the cyber-punk theme - don't believe you can have humorous cyber-punk? Try Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, another excellent book (complete with happy ending).
Ok, there really is only one link needed for this section - the Science Fiction Resource Guide.