A quick visit to Wikipedia will confirm that "cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a near-future setting. Noted for its focus on "high tech and low life," it features advanced science, such as information technology and cybernetics, coupled with a degree of breakdown or radical change in the social order." But for me it's always been about the radical change in social order over the high tech. It's been about hackers, artificial intelligences, and megacorporations, and tend to be set in a near-future Earth that's absolutely dystopic, not some far-future setting in a galaxy far far away. What's important is the extraordinary cultural impact of the technology being twisted in ways its creators could never have imagined. And, thanks to Blade Runner, it will always have the echo of film noir inside my head.
It's dark. It's gritty. It's exciting and the books included in this bundle are designed to showcase that very trend, available September 10th through October 2nd. You'll find a vast and dizzying array of ideas here—important ideas, because that's what this kind of science fiction is all about. There's social commentary. There's angst. Heartbreak. Heroes. It's a grim near future we're facing. We see it in the news every day. So it's hardly surprising that some of our best writers have taken this bleak future and laid it bare.
StoryBundle's Cyberpunk bundle is curated by bestselling author Steven Savile, a man who certainly understands the genre. His brand new novel, as yet unreleased (it's debuting here in StoryBundle first, a month before it will be available anywhere else for sale!) is a heartbreaking example of a future you wouldn't want to live in, brought about by choices no man should have to make. He's just written a cyberpunk computer game for a major studio, too. Joining him are New York Times and USA Today bestsellers, Kevin J Anderson, David Farland, Kindle sensation Michael Bunker (whose Pennsylvania will challenge the way you think about SF), Rob MacGregor and his writing partner, Billie Dee Williams – none other than Lando Calrissian himself!), Melissa Scott & Jo Graham (with a collaborative novel and a solo novel from Melissa), brilliant British novelist Keith Brooke and one of the founding fathers of science fiction, Frank Herbert. There's a complete trilogy of incredible novels from David Bischoff and something really special, a debut novel from an exciting new writer who David Farland describes thus: "If Wordsworth had written cyberpunk he might have done something like this." That's Beowulf: A Bloody Calculus, by Milo Behr.
Says Savile, "Some of these writers are among my favourites in any genre. I can honestly say I adore each and every one of the books in this bundle. I'm incredibly excited to share them with you, especially the opportunity to help launch what I think will be a dazzling career for Milo, one of David Farland's students. Why do I think you should pay attention? David's other students include Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, oh, and Stephanie Meyer. He knows a thing or two. More than anything, I think the books here do a fantastic job of showcasing the dark cities and darker edges of where this world is going and can't help but capture your imagination in the same way that Philip K Dick and other great writers captured mine. I really hope you enjoy them." – Steven Savile
The initial titles in the bundle (minimum $3 to purchase) are:
If you pay more than the bonus price of just $15, you'll get another seven books, including the next two books in the Star Hounds series!
The bundle is available for a very limited time only, via http://www.storybundle.com. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub and .mobi) for all books, but after the three weeks are over, the bundle is gone forever!
It's also super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.
Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.
StoryBundle was created to give a platform for independent authors to showcase their work, and a source of quality titles for thirsty readers. StoryBundle works with authors to create bundles of ebooks that can be purchased by readers at their desired price. Before starting StoryBundle, Founder Jason Chen covered technology and software as an editor for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com.
For more information, visit our website at storybundle.com, Twitter us at @storybundle, Like us on Facebook, and Plus us on Google Plus. For press inquiries, please email press@storybundle.com.
