All Things Punk: DECOPUNK

A genre of books, movies and other entertainment media set primarily in the Art Deco and Streamline Moderne art eras-- mostly from the early 1920s-50s.

Prior to World War I, France was the center of art and learning in the modern world. The artistic style named Art Deco became popular in Paris during this time, and spread throughout the world. Art Deco, or Style Moderne, is characterized by rich colors, bold geometry and decadent detail work. Writers and producers of the DECOPUNK style have infused science fiction into the bold world of the roaring 20s and beyond.

My first foray into the world of decopunk took place when I saw the fantastic Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Combining the movie-glamour of the early WWI spy scene with the over-the-top adventure and futuristic tech, SC&TWoT was one of the freshest and most imaginative movies I'd ever seen. 

You can't go wrong with intrigue, glamour, fashion, and murder! When ingenue Phryne Fisher returns to her hometown of Melbourne and takes up the dubious title of Lady Detective sparks fly between her and Inspector Jack Robinson. This is classic decopunk! Set in Australia after WWI, we get to see the world through the eyes of the magnificent Miss Fisher. She experiences all that the time period has to offer, and we get to tag along. 

Whenever you "punk" any era, you're expected to take the standards of fashion and give it a sci-fi flare. In the photo above (courtesy of DeviantArt @doppleganger) the standard German serviceman's suit has been given a high-tech upgrade in the form of her headphones. What do you think she hears through those?!

Do you adore the glitz, glamour and fashion of The Great Gatsby? Do you thirst for sci-fi, high-tech action? Combine the two and you get DECOPUNK! The books above are just a few of the books currently available in the genre. You'll see that they share the love of bold colors, geometric patterns, and intricate details. Suave spies dashing about in pre-War London, chasing flapper girls in glittering gowns who carry pistols loaded with diesel-powered bullets? You'll find that and more when you explore the exciting world of DECOPUNK!

Even the video game industry is falling in love with DecoPunk. In Fallout 4, the 40s and 50s never ended and the world is a place of peace and prosperity until the great Resource War ends in nuclear holocaust. When the player, the Lone Survivor, emerges from his vault, he finds a post-apocalyptic world with smudges of the world he remembers remaining. There are hundreds of DecoPunk touches sprinkled in with the chaos of Fallout 4. 

There is nothing more enchanting than discovering a world of glittering excitement and intrigue mixed with your favorite sci-fi tropes. The fashion of the 20s-50s, the architecture and the romance, combined with elements of sci-fi make DECOPUNK a genre you won't want to miss!

CyberPunk Defined

CyberPunk: What every fan needs to know

Cyberpunk: a genre that focuses on the juxtaposition of a world filled with high technology and a crumbling/breakdown of  the established social order

Have you ever heard the term 'cyberpunk' and you don't know exactly what that means? Does it intrigue you and yet confuse you a bit at the same time? No worries! We'll dig down deep to the root of the genre and figure out what it's all about.

First of all, cyberpunk books, movies and stories have elements of science fiction that focus on major advancements in technology that should change the world for the better. Medical tech, communications, transportation and finances are just some of the ways that technological advancements might change the way society operates. The unfortunate aspect of cyberpunk that makes it more dystopian than not, is that these advancements are usually the harbingers of the end of democracy, humanitarianism and social order in general. The glaring differences in the glamour of high tech and the dysfunction of broken society makes cyberpunk an often evocative storytelling platform. 

Have I seen cyberpunk and I didn't know it? Well, sure! Let's look at some popular books or movies that could be labeled cyberpunk, but very rarely are.

Though often labeled horror, Brian Lumley's Psychomech Trilogy has so many cyberpunk traits that I don't think it can be ignored as a reading choice for cyber fans. A blind man is taken in by a seemingly well-meaning man who believes in the powers of ESP. Using high-tech machinery, the blind man explores the powers of the human mind and everything that exists beyond. A definite must-read.

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Initially appearing as a serial in Young Magazine in 1982, Akira is a manga by Otomo Katsuhiro that takes place in futuristic Tokyo. The story features Tetuso Shima, a gang member in  Neo-Tokyo after the devastation of World War III. While riding in the ruins of the city he has an accident and latent psychic powers are unleashed. Set with a backdrop of political and scientific upheaval, Tetsuo discovers a mysterious man named Akira. 

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I had to add this movie here, because it's one of my favorites. When I first watched it I had no idea what genre the movie fit into, I just loved it. 

Set in an alternate 1999, during the craziness of the Y2K hysteria, a cop-turned-street hustler discovers a conspiracy to cover up the murder of a rapper named Jericho One by police. The cop's evidence comes in the form of data disks that record life through a person's eyes. "Jacking in" to the disks is like a drug in this version of 1999 LA, and our cop is an addict. 

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So now you have an idea of what types of movies, books and manga are cyberpunk. There are many other examples, of course, but you get the idea! Now that you know what makes cyberpunk special, it's time to get out there and discover more in this genre. Lovers of dystopian, post-apocalyptic, and SF novels will surely find something to love in cyberpunk. 

If I've interested you in cyberpunk, give my newest novel REDSHIFT a try. Redshift melds the elements of cyberpunk with romance, adventure and a bit of time-travel just for fun. Redshift is currently available for preorder and it will release on March 27th. 

A mysterious wormhole appeared on the edge of the Nevada desert in 2018, and Dr. Rand Hazen and his team were first on site to study it. When the wormhole went into flux it took the town and Rand's lover with it. Rand followed her, desperate to find her, and found himself in the far, far future in the last days of humanity. 

PRE-ORDER REDSHIFT HERE