J.D. Robb discussion

So earlier this week, a fellow In Death fan and myself were having a discussion over whether or not the In Death series fell into this sub-genre of Science Fiction called Cyberpunk.

The short definition of Cyberpunk is: a futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech" featuring advanced technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cybernetics, juxtaposed with a degree of breakdown or radical change in the social order.

Now granted that the In Death world's answer to cybernetics are Droids like in Star Wars. But at the same time, I feel that the world in the books have that same feeling as say Phillip K. Dick and or William Gibson and .

Another thing with Cyberpunk is how it gives characters deep philosophical conversations about living and existing. I feel the In Death world does the same thing with Eve and Roarke trying to navigate through this technology heavy world as two humans in love when they're in a day and age where sometimes people might have sex with a droid.

To give a more thorough look at Cyberpunk I attached a link detailing the genre and the influential works behind it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk

Hopefully we can have an honest conversation about it.

I’ve not heard of this as a sub genre but it certainly seems to fit your description, rather perfectly. I’m not familiar with the two books you’ve referenced (though I have seen parts of the Blade Runner movie).

I don’t think In Death series fix into cyberpunk. I always thought cyberpunk Focuses on the dark side of the future. In Death has a dark side but they have come thought it

Interesting. I don't recall the term cyberpunk before. However, after reading your post and links, I agree with Barbara. Cyberpunk seems a little darker. I read Blade Runner years ago and loved it. I always considered it Sci-Fi. I'm going to check out a couple other books when I get a chance.

Jonetta wrote: "I’ve not heard of this as a sub genre but it certainly seems to fit your description, rather perfectly. I’m not familiar with the two books you’ve referenced (though I have seen parts of the Blade ..."

To be fair, I've read Blade Runner but not Neuromancer but I list it because it's considered by fans to be one of the quintessential stories in the Cyberpunk genre. I mean if you want something more familiar I could probably list The Matrix but that series is too different compared to the In Death series.

I think if you offered an In Death novel to a cyberpunk fan they would be disappointed. Some of the characteristics are there but they are very low key!

Phrynne wrote: "I think if you offered an In Death novel to a cyberpunk fan they would be disappointed. Some of the characteristics are there but they are very low key!"

I've been offering Purity to some of those fans because that's as close to Cyberpunk as it gets, and I know Fantasy would also bring the same thing but I confess that I've usually skipped that one.

But I will agree that when it comes to the In Death series being part of the Cyberpunk genre, it's very vanilla, but vanilla has always been my favorite Ice Cream flavor.

While In Death is futuristic, I also don't consider it Cyberpunk as the focus is on the romance and the mystery.

Cyberpunk as a genre focuses more on the intersection between humanity and technology with the emphasis on the influence the tech has had on people's lives. I'm not sure I agree about it being negative though as technology has an important role to play. Books that I've shelved as Cyberpunk are Lock In or Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore.

That said, there are a couple of In Death's with this theme such as Rapture and Fantasy where AI or VR play significant roles in the mystery.

I'm not sure I'd go cyberpunk, because I usually can't understand a cyberpunk novel and get lost. The plot and characters get lost in the tech. In this book the tech is part of the setting.