> Cyberpunk is largely an expression of fears about an Asian (Japanese more often than not) "takeover" of Western society. It's actually very xenophobic but it

> Cyberpunk is largely an expression of fears about an Asian (Japanese more often than not) "takeover" of Western society. It's actually very xenophobic but it does reflect the dystopian fears of the time. Cyberpunk has waned in recent years as the xenophobia has and the realization that this isn't the future. This is way off base, and really does a disservice to those authors. Cyberpunk in the 80s may have inherited some economic xenophobia but there were a lot of other ideas in there that I think were more important and continue to be, around the internet and technology. It also hasn't waned the way you describe. The Deus Ex games are examples of cyberpunk that doesn't have as much to do with Asian takeovers of Western society as Neuromancer or Snow Crash perhaps does. Aside from the technological themes, the demons are thoroughly all-American: media propaganda, military contractors, corporate regulation, big scary government, war on terror, police actions... I would argue a lot of that came from the dystopias envisioned by sci-fi in the 80s, some of it from the cyberpunk authors. I agree about Neuromancer being fairly average in quality, and that CJ Cherryh should be on the list.