Misty MasseyThe city is dark, and quiet, the only sounds the occasional rattle of animals searching through the alleys for food scraps. Suddenly a sharp whistle pierces the air, and several figures emerge from the shadows. Dark clothes, hair slicked back, and switchblades in their back pockets…it’s the Punks!
No, not really. So if it’s not a bunch of miscreants lurking in an alley, what are they? For us, the “punks” are certain subgenres of fantasy and science fiction that focus on the social implications of technology. Punk literature, on its own, is an offshoot of the punk music culture of the mid-70′s, which embraced individuality, nonconformity and rebellion. The first appearance of a speculative punk subgenre was cyberpunk. The word was created by science fiction writer Bruce Bethke as the title of his 1980 story about a crew of teenage computer hackers, and it swiftly became the label for [...]
Continue reading Genres Part Three – The Punks
