City Come a-Walkin' by John Shirley explores a cyberpunk world where San Francisco is creating its own superheroes to combat corruption and organized crime control of finance. The plot revolves around the Mafia's conspiracy to take over the city and the citizen's collective unconscious, embodied in City, fighting back. The book delves into the dangers that affect urban life, portraying City as an amoral entity acting in its own interests to defend the creative diversity that sustains urban life. The writing style, while at times rough, is powerful and thought-provoking, with detailed exploration of cyberpunk concepts and a distinct atmosphere.

Characters:

Characters are complex, with moral protagonists contrasted against the amoral embodiment of the city's psyche, representing urban struggles.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is powerful and thought-provoking, with occasional awkwardness and rich details that create a cyberpunk atmosphere.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot revolves around a mafia takeover of San Francisco, countered by the city’s personified consciousness fighting back, reflecting elements of noir and individualism.

Setting:

The setting is a near-future San Francisco, where the city itself is personified, reflecting themes of urban life and cultural decay.

Pacing:

The pacing of the book is mixed, with engaging moments early on but a tendency to slow down at times, making it occasionally tedious.

Three of the seven men in the conference room were thinking solely about supper just then—seven-thirty p.m. on a Thursday. The other four were thinking about supper and about plans for the evening (on...

Notes:

The novel features characters that embody the essence of urban life, such as Stu Cole, a noir club owner, and his performer, Catz Wailen.

City, the personified psyche of San Francisco, acts as a central character, representing the city's collective angst.

City communicates through television, exploring themes of telekinesis and electronic manipulation.

The story critiques a future where banks, run by the mob, dominate the government and public life.

City's character contrasts with moral, human protagonists, highlighting complex urban morality.

The novel includes concepts of identity and urban life, challenging standard genre tropes.

It evokes a sense of impending doom regarding the degradation of city life.

The protagonist struggles with debt and personal relationships amid mob influence.

William Gibson praised the novel's influence on cyberpunk culture in his forward.

City Come a-Walkin' is considered a foundational book for the cyberpunk genre.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings for City Come a-Walkin' include themes of violence, crime, and potentially disturbing elements related to urban corruption.

From The Publisher:

Stu Cole is struggling to keep his nightclub, Club Anesthesia, afloat in the face of mob harassment when he's visited by a manifestation of the city of San Francisco, crystallized into a single enigmatic being. This amoral superhero leads him on a terrifying journey through the rock and roll demimonde as they struggle to save the city.

What can you read after
City Come a-Walkin'?

See the list (12 books)

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