Lessons of the Future: Cyberpunk Tropes (Neuromancer)

The Cyberpunk subcategory of Science Fiction has its own set of genre-specific tropes just as gothic literature does in the horror genre. There isn't an absolute rule saying that you must include every single cyberpunk trope, but the more you include the better. Here are a few tropes used in the book Neuromancer to begin getting a feel for what to include when writing cyberpunk stories.

The two main elements of the cyberpunk subgenre are the cyber and the punk, meaning a cyberspace and delinquency. In the first cyberpunk novel Neuromancer, the cyberspace is called “The Matrix,” sound familiar? Neuromancer also incorporates lowlife by having crime running rampant. The main characters Case and Molly are blatant criminals with drug addictions who are strapped for cash, but they are not the worst people in the book. Cyberpunk also has a huge sense of lawlessness even if there is an overpowering government. In Neuromancer, we rarely see authority figures, and when we do they are outgunned after a brief fight. Cyberpunk often also includes Asian cultures and black cultures. This is due to a common prediction that Asian and black cultures will eventually be the two dominating cultures in the future. Weapons from these two cultures are also commonly used in cyberpunk, especially Japanese. Neuromancer uses a group of Rastafarians from Xeon and a Ninja bodyguard named Hideo covering both of those cultures. Augmentations are another common trope of cyberpunk. Molly has a visor built into her eye sockets creating a permanent hud system for her. She also has knives implanted under her fingernails. The last two tropes I have observed in cyberpunk are the strong female and the material leather. Molly is the strong female character in Neuromancer who happens to also wear a long leather jacket.

If we include cyberspace, lowlife, lawlessness, Asian and black cultures, body augmentations, strong females, and lots of black leather we can safely say a story is cyberpunk. Cyberpunk is generally grungy and brutal so hardcore weapons and over exaggerated baddies are also a plus. Stick with as many of these as you can and you can’t go wrong.