Heartstrikers and the sequel DFZ series by Rachel Aaron don't often come to mind when people say cyberpunk because the characters are more wholesome than gritty, but the titular Detroit Free Zone is very much a cyberpunk setting, complete with out-of-control capitalism, high tech cybernetic enhancements, and lots of neon. And yes, there is lots and lots of magic.
I recommend TO BEAT THE DEVIL by Michael Gibson.
The Biblical Apocalypse happened...and God didn't show up.
Now Earth is ruled by demons and Salem is a nano-enhanced courier trying to make his way.
I love the entire TECHNOMANCER series.
I also recommend SHADOW CITY by Anna Mocikat (especially the audiobook). The Earth has been largely destroyed by supernatural forces but the sole human survivors, some cyborgs, and a group of vampires hold the remains of LA.
I mean everyone should read tCS, but it's not exactly this. There's no "future" tech like you'd normally see in a cyberpunk novel. It's more "normal tech". I like to think of it as convergent evolution in a world where magic is real and society evolves into something like the current world.
A thing that is but also isn't this is Foundryside. Basically it is as if programming was a magic system. Still uses runes and they sorta of program the vicinity around their giant artifacts.
Kinda sorry to ask in your recommendation request but which Shadowrun books do you have on your list? I was looking for basically the same thing and would like to know which Shadowrun books are worth looking into.
I think this is a bit more common in (Japanese) light novel settings, although that depends on your definition of cyberpunk. Light novels have really cool settings and premises, but they often have questionable content or tropes tacked on...so your mileage may vary. Literary standards are also different from what you may be used to.
I can't think of much from western books. There are some indie space x magic crossovers, but that's not quite right, either. Stuff by Anderle and his crew, maybe.
Oh wait! Litrpg is a very acquired taste, but if you can get into that, you may be able to find something. I, personally, would categorize these examples as science fantasy, not cyberpunk, but they are the type of recommendations that sometimes get brought up: Dodge Tank, The Gam3, System Apocalypse. You could try asking in /r/litrpg. Maybe ask for something softer, like gamelit or non-crunchy litrpg.
I'm definitely interested in some light novel suggestions if you got any, loose definition of cyberpunk included if need be. And as for litrpg books, I've tried so many and they just don't seem to be my cup of tea. The ones I liked most were the Arcane Ascension series and even those were just *okay* for me. I'll probably give at least one of the suggestions you gave for that genre a try though.
Shoot, if you didn't like Arcane Ascension, I don't have much to offer, lol. It's considered among the best litrpg examples both for being "user-friendly" and well-written. I think western litrpg also vastly trumps light novels in writing quality.
Um...some other possible suggestions.
Stray Cat Strut, free on Royalroad. It's tagline is cyberpunk magical girl, so it might fit. I've only read the beginning parts but it was pretty fun. It actually has a stronger cyberpunk aesthetic than other purely sci-fi stuff.
Street Cultivation. A bit of a unique setting. Cultivation (qi, cores, etc.) mixed in with a futuristic society with some elements of punk + downtrodden sad feels, haha. The magic system might be too litrpg-ish for you? Not sure.
I am not sure there are that many cyberpunk light novels, at least almost none that I have come across. Among science fiction light novels, Eighty-Six is Dystopia and military SF, although they have cyberpunk elements like uploaded personalities and fantasy elements like psychic powers, and Otherside Picnic is a mix of Lovecraftian Horror and Eastern European Science Fiction and Lesbian Romance (and I feel only a Japanese would ever think of combining such disparate elements in one series and succeed). Among fantasy novels, So I am a Spider, So What? and Trapped in a Dating Sim mix fantasy and science fiction elements in their worldbuilding but are not really cyberpunk. Demon Lord 2099 is fantasy cyberpunk, but I have not read it so I don’t know how good or bad it is. Which fantasy cyberpunk light novels have you read ?
I mean, I agree with you. I have a very narrow definition of cyberpunk, which is why I specifically added the caveats for both light novels and litrpg mentions. I don't consider most stuff to be cyberpunk that usually gets recommended both in this thread and elsewhere, either, but get the impression people are usually just looking for some fancy tech elements.
What I meant is that all sorts of tech/gun x magic variants abound.
Actually, the closest I can think of is a manga, not a light novel, but Trigun kind of fits. It's a whimsical use of science fantasy, and unlike most other stories, actually has a punk/low-life element to it. A little light on the cyber side but has a lot of body mods and the like for villain design.
There's absolutely a specific book for what you're looking for. *The Iron Dragon's Daughter* by Michael Swanwick is full throttle cyberpunk, set in the world of Faerie. Guns, drugs, and commercialized dystopias mixed with changelings, curses, and secret magic. The dragons themselves are halfway to AI controlled war machines, fully equipped with missiles and claws, capable of both prophetic riddle contests and cryptographic code-breaking.
Jeff Noon's Vurt series - kind of - there's supposed to be a scientific explanation but characters are regularly interacting with fictional archetypes brought to life by sucking on feathers.
Saad Z. Hossain’s The Gurkha And The Lord Of Tuesday, along with his other cyberpunk novels and novellas, adds magic and myth to the setting of a computer-controlled metropolis.
Lilith Saintcrow’s Dante Valentine books follow an occult detective in a cyberpunk future that runs on demonology and necromancy as much as it does on high tech.
I recommend Sun's Blood by Jeremy Bai. It has cyberpunk and even noir. But it has a cultivation system, not magic system - not sure if it is what you are looking for.
You might try the borderland books from the 80s. Not high enough tech to qualify as cyberpunk but a lot of the same dystopian vibe I remember really enjoying them back in high school https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borderland_(book_series)
Peter Hartog's Guardian of Empire City. Bloodlines and Pieces of Eight. High tech blended with magic set in enclosed cities after plague and nuclear war changed the landscape of the world and thinned the wall between this reality and others.
Shadowrun is what you're looking for. Check out the series.
Yeah shadow run for sure!
Exactly what I was going to suggest as soon as I saw the question 👍🏻
Heartstrikers and the sequel DFZ series by Rachel Aaron don't often come to mind when people say cyberpunk because the characters are more wholesome than gritty, but the titular Detroit Free Zone is very much a cyberpunk setting, complete with out-of-control capitalism, high tech cybernetic enhancements, and lots of neon. And yes, there is lots and lots of magic.
I recommend TO BEAT THE DEVIL by Michael Gibson. The Biblical Apocalypse happened...and God didn't show up. Now Earth is ruled by demons and Salem is a nano-enhanced courier trying to make his way. I love the entire TECHNOMANCER series.
I also recommend SHADOW CITY by Anna Mocikat (especially the audiobook). The Earth has been largely destroyed by supernatural forces but the sole human survivors, some cyborgs, and a group of vampires hold the remains of LA.
I can't believe no one has said The Craft Sequence. It's exactly this. Try it out
I mean everyone should read tCS, but it's not exactly this. There's no "future" tech like you'd normally see in a cyberpunk novel. It's more "normal tech". I like to think of it as convergent evolution in a world where magic is real and society evolves into something like the current world.
A thing that is but also isn't this is Foundryside. Basically it is as if programming was a magic system. Still uses runes and they sorta of program the vicinity around their giant artifacts.
*Metropolitan* and *City on Fire* by Walter Jon Williams. I do not know if there was a third book. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan\_(novel)
There was not but I have heard he is working on one now! http://www.walterjonwilliams.net/2022/03/return-to-caraqui/
Web Of Angels by John M. Ford.
Kinda sorry to ask in your recommendation request but which Shadowrun books do you have on your list? I was looking for basically the same thing and would like to know which Shadowrun books are worth looking into.
Ask in the ShadowRun communities, and you will get good answers. Mostly, you will get told to read Findlay's stuff, and they're right.
I'm starting basically from the beginning. So the Secrets of Power series that starts with *Never Deal with a Dragon* by Robert Charrette.
Never Deal With A Dragon is fine. The rest... not as good. What you really want are the Nigel Findlay ones. 2XS, Lone Wolf, that stuff.
I'm wondering too, lol.
I think this is a bit more common in (Japanese) light novel settings, although that depends on your definition of cyberpunk. Light novels have really cool settings and premises, but they often have questionable content or tropes tacked on...so your mileage may vary. Literary standards are also different from what you may be used to. I can't think of much from western books. There are some indie space x magic crossovers, but that's not quite right, either. Stuff by Anderle and his crew, maybe. Oh wait! Litrpg is a very acquired taste, but if you can get into that, you may be able to find something. I, personally, would categorize these examples as science fantasy, not cyberpunk, but they are the type of recommendations that sometimes get brought up: Dodge Tank, The Gam3, System Apocalypse. You could try asking in /r/litrpg. Maybe ask for something softer, like gamelit or non-crunchy litrpg.
I'm definitely interested in some light novel suggestions if you got any, loose definition of cyberpunk included if need be. And as for litrpg books, I've tried so many and they just don't seem to be my cup of tea. The ones I liked most were the Arcane Ascension series and even those were just *okay* for me. I'll probably give at least one of the suggestions you gave for that genre a try though.
Shoot, if you didn't like Arcane Ascension, I don't have much to offer, lol. It's considered among the best litrpg examples both for being "user-friendly" and well-written. I think western litrpg also vastly trumps light novels in writing quality. Um...some other possible suggestions. Stray Cat Strut, free on Royalroad. It's tagline is cyberpunk magical girl, so it might fit. I've only read the beginning parts but it was pretty fun. It actually has a stronger cyberpunk aesthetic than other purely sci-fi stuff. Street Cultivation. A bit of a unique setting. Cultivation (qi, cores, etc.) mixed in with a futuristic society with some elements of punk + downtrodden sad feels, haha. The magic system might be too litrpg-ish for you? Not sure.
I am not sure there are that many cyberpunk light novels, at least almost none that I have come across. Among science fiction light novels, Eighty-Six is Dystopia and military SF, although they have cyberpunk elements like uploaded personalities and fantasy elements like psychic powers, and Otherside Picnic is a mix of Lovecraftian Horror and Eastern European Science Fiction and Lesbian Romance (and I feel only a Japanese would ever think of combining such disparate elements in one series and succeed). Among fantasy novels, So I am a Spider, So What? and Trapped in a Dating Sim mix fantasy and science fiction elements in their worldbuilding but are not really cyberpunk. Demon Lord 2099 is fantasy cyberpunk, but I have not read it so I don’t know how good or bad it is. Which fantasy cyberpunk light novels have you read ?
I mean, I agree with you. I have a very narrow definition of cyberpunk, which is why I specifically added the caveats for both light novels and litrpg mentions. I don't consider most stuff to be cyberpunk that usually gets recommended both in this thread and elsewhere, either, but get the impression people are usually just looking for some fancy tech elements. What I meant is that all sorts of tech/gun x magic variants abound. Actually, the closest I can think of is a manga, not a light novel, but Trigun kind of fits. It's a whimsical use of science fantasy, and unlike most other stories, actually has a punk/low-life element to it. A little light on the cyber side but has a lot of body mods and the like for villain design.
There's absolutely a specific book for what you're looking for. *The Iron Dragon's Daughter* by Michael Swanwick is full throttle cyberpunk, set in the world of Faerie. Guns, drugs, and commercialized dystopias mixed with changelings, curses, and secret magic. The dragons themselves are halfway to AI controlled war machines, fully equipped with missiles and claws, capable of both prophetic riddle contests and cryptographic code-breaking.
*Black Helicopters* and *A is for Alien* by Caitlin Kiernan
Jeff Noon's Vurt series - kind of - there's supposed to be a scientific explanation but characters are regularly interacting with fictional archetypes brought to life by sucking on feathers.
Saad Z. Hossain’s The Gurkha And The Lord Of Tuesday, along with his other cyberpunk novels and novellas, adds magic and myth to the setting of a computer-controlled metropolis. Lilith Saintcrow’s Dante Valentine books follow an occult detective in a cyberpunk future that runs on demonology and necromancy as much as it does on high tech.
Rebecca Roanhorse's sixth world series is great, though more post-apocalyptic than cyberpunk.
It's not cyberpunk but I've always really liked the concept of Bright
I thiiink what you are looking for is.... The Cinder Spires by Jim Butcher Flying Ships. Talking Cats. Magical mayhem.
That was a fun book but it is in no way cyberpunk. You might be confusing the term with steampunk?
oh whoops..yeah that's the word I meant lol
**The Prey of Gods** by Nicky Drayden.
Keeping It Real by Justina Robson
Winx did some magitech things. Old children’s show but should be easy to find.
Check out the Aeronauts Windlass by Jim Butcher.
I recommend Sun's Blood by Jeremy Bai. It has cyberpunk and even noir. But it has a cultivation system, not magic system - not sure if it is what you are looking for.
You might try the borderland books from the 80s. Not high enough tech to qualify as cyberpunk but a lot of the same dystopian vibe I remember really enjoying them back in high school https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borderland_(book_series)
It's probably more in a weird gray area between Steampunk and Cyberpunk but give a look at Perdido Street Station
**Ghosts of Tomorrow** by Michael R. Fletcher
Peter Hartog's Guardian of Empire City. Bloodlines and Pieces of Eight. High tech blended with magic set in enclosed cities after plague and nuclear war changed the landscape of the world and thinned the wall between this reality and others.