Mirror Image: An Anthology of Cyberpunk Literature Author: Bruce Sterling [USA] Translator: Zhang Yi Beijing Times Chinese Bookstore

As an important genre of science fiction, the emergence of cyberpunk can be said to have dealt a heavy blow to the increasingly depressed new wave of science fiction and revolutionized the history of science fiction literature. Cyberpunk returned to the hard science fiction style, with "cyberpunk leader" William Gibson, Pat Cadigan, Bruce Sterling, Rudy Lack, John Shirley, and Lewis Shiner as outstanding representatives, forming an unstoppable literary movement. It brought together the cultural waves of the 1980s and became a unique subculture that combined technology with music, psychedelics, fashion, and so on. After that, cyberpunk culture extended to the entire society, which was a phenomenon that had never appeared in any previous science fiction genre.

The short story collection "Mirror Image: Anthology of Cyberpunk Literature", edited and published by Bruce Sterling, the "flag bearer of the cyberpunk movement", includes works by 11 pioneering science fiction authors - almost all famous cyberpunk writers. The core themes of these 12 works include extremely avant-garde explorations in science fiction literature, such as cyborgs, implanted circuits, brain-computer interfaces, artificial intelligence, neurochemistry, etc. These technologies fundamentally redefine the nature of human nature and self, reflecting that cyberpunk is a science fiction philosophy category that constantly explores the essence of human beings, and it is still very advanced today. The novels in the anthology combine the settings of emerging high-tech with underground popular culture elements - rock music, psychedelics, anarchism, etc. - to make cyberpunk literature unique.

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★The forerunner and source of inspiration for cyberpunk, influencing classic works such as Cyberpunk 2077, Ghost in the Shell, Neuromancer, Deus Ex, and Shadowrun! The book Mirror Image is dedicated to exploring avant-garde settings such as cyborgs, artificial intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, neurochemistry, and implanted circuits. It perfectly integrates high technology and modern underground pop culture, and innovates the history of science fiction literature with elegant, vigorous, wild and sharp words!

★Cyberpunk is not only a genre of science fiction, but also a cultural wave sweeping the world! This book includes the Cyberpunk Manifesto written by Bruce Sterling, the "flag bearer of the cyberpunk movement", which explains the systematic definition of cyberpunk for the first time, and the origin of the cyberpunk writers calling themselves "Mirror Organization". This is a historical text of science fiction literature, and is the best choice for understanding cyberpunk!

★A milestone work of the cyberpunk movement, a selection of the original cyberpunk masterpieces! Edited by Bruce Sterling, the "spokesman of cyberpunk", it selects 12 representative masterpieces from 11 science fiction pioneers, including William Gibson, the father of cyberpunk, Pat Cadigan, the author of the novel "Alita: Battle Angel", Greg Bell, the master of hard science fiction, Mark Laidlaw, the author of the games "Half-Life" and "DOTA2", John Shirley, the rock musician, Rudy Rucker, the descendant of philosopher Hegel, and other authoritative authors, presenting a pure cyberpunk feast!

★Mirror Image is a book that can provide readers with a broad introduction to the tenets and themes of cyberpunk works. In my opinion, the way to introduce is to present stories and show the most typical examples of each writer's work to date. I have not selected stories that have been widely selected in other books, so even the most veteran cyberpunk believers will see new ground in this book. - Bruce Sterling

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As radical innovators of hard science fiction, these writers were inspired by the most advanced technologies of the time: cybernetics, genetics, neurochemistry, ecology. They were fascinated by the violent collision between high technology and popular culture, by the strange gathering places on the streets that had their own uses. The science fiction they wrote belonged to a decade marked by satellite rock concerts, Sony Walkmans and home computer networks, in which the ivory towers of science were turning into trendy apartments.

——Bruce Sterling (American science fiction writer, author of The Difference Engine)

This is a thrilling collection of works by the brightest new writers in the eighties sci-fi scene, works that combine technology and desire to glimmer the future in a star-studded mirror.

——Roger Zelazny (American science fiction writer, author of Lord of Light)

They are the hot and young pioneers of discourse, smashing 40,000 tons of whizzing heavy metal prose into the ground with all their might, sending sparks flying and causing a literary uproar.

——Michael Swanwick (American science fiction writer, author of "Air Combat Game")

Mirror Image provided the source material for later cyberpunk literature and visual themes, making cyberpunk a broader cultural form. As our technologically saturated world becomes more and more like the cyberpunk world in the novel, Mirror Image will continue to resonate with the cyberpunk future around us.

——The Routledge Guide to Cyberpunk Culture

There is no doubt that William Gibson's early short stories are the best works of cyberpunk literature.

——Dake Su Enwen (expert in science fiction literature research, author of "The Metamorphosis of Science Fiction")

I admire classic science fiction, like the work of Greg Bell, who is a great writer.

——Doris Lessing (British writer, Nobel Prize winner in Literature)

Lewis Shiner is an old friend of mine and one of the authors of the Ace of Change series that I edit. When cyberpunk emerged, he was a rising star in the "Mirror Movement".

——George RR Martin (American fantasy writer, author of the "A Song of Ice and Fire series")

James Patrick Kelly has changed our attitude, our perception, and even our understanding of the short story. His stories are disturbing, clever, moving, funny, and unique in every sense of the word.

——Connie Willis (American science fiction master, author of "The Book of Doomsday")

When reading John Shirley's work, you can sometimes hear the guitar, like a terrible invisible wall of sound gnawing at the edges of the text.

——Mark V. Zisin (science fiction and fantasy publisher)

editor:

Bruce Sterling (1954- )

A famous American science fiction writer, a leader in the cyberpunk literary movement, and a winner of important science fiction awards such as the Hugo Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. Sterling mainly writes cyberpunk science fiction novels. In 1986, he edited and published the cyberpunk literature anthology "Mirror Image". The preface he wrote for the book is recognized as a cyberpunk manifesto, which gave a detailed definition of cyberpunk and also promoted the spread of cyberpunk. Sterling was given the title of "Chairman Bruce" for his outstanding contributions in the field of cyberpunk. His representative works include "Splitting Matrix", "Holy Fire", "Global Brain", "Difference Engine", "Network Island", etc.

[For the profiles of the 11 cyberpunk writers, please see the long review]