John Shirley is one of the original “Dread Lords” of Cyberpunk who brought a new noir sensibility to Science Fiction and Fantasy in the 1990s. Still associated with his literary compatriots Gibson, Rucker, and Sterling, Shirley has expanded his work into comics, film, TV, and rock music, bringing his legions of fans along with him.
Mixing outlaw humor, surrealistic horror, and cutting social satire, Shirley assembles here a unique collection of provocative stories and essays for literary adventurers. The title piece, “New Taboos,” is his prescription for a radical re-visioning of America. His novella A State of Imprisonment, published here for the first time, is a jauntily horrifying and grimly hilarious look at the ongoing privatization of the prison industry, in which the unjust get their just desserts.
Plus... Shirley’s TEDx address (Brussels, 2011) presents his proudly contrarian view of your next forty years. Be warned: it’s a chiller. And featuring: our always-intimate Outspoken Interview, in which the author’s most outrageous opinions and savage secrets are revealed.
What People Are Saying
“Astonishingly consistent and rigorously horrifying. All his stories give off the chill of top-grade horror.” New York Times
“One of our best and most singular writers. A powerhouse of ideas and imagery.” William Gibson
“John Shirley achieves things that other writers wouldn’t dare attempt. Brilliant. The true quill.” Bruce Sterling
“Shirley writes at the neon-lit frontier of sensory experience.” Publishers Weekly
“Readers who enjoy living a little dangerously are likely to appreciate the sheer, headlong exuberance of Shirley’s imagination.” San Francisco Chronicle
About the Author
John Shirley is one of the original “Dread Lords” of Cyberpunk who brought a new noir sensibility to SF and Fantasy in the nineties. Still associated with his literary compatriots Gibson, Rucker, and Sterling, Shirley has expanded his work into comics, film, TV, and music, bringing his legions of fans along with him. He is the author of numerous books and many, many short stories. His novels include Bleak History, Crawlers, Demons, In Darkness Waiting, and seminal cyberpunk works City Come A-Walkin’ as well as the A Song Called Youth trilogy of Eclipse, Eclipse Penumbra, and Eclipse Corona. His collections include the Bram Stoker and International Horror Guild award-winning Black Butterflies, Living Shadows: Stories New & Pre-owned, and In Extremis: The Most Extreme Short Stories of John Shirley. He also writes for screen (The Crow) and television. As a musician Shirley has fronted his own bands and written lyrics for Blue Öyster Cult and others.