Editing Cyberpunk (section)

=== Cyberpunk derivatives ===
{{Main|Cyberpunk derivatives}}

As a wider variety of writers began to work with cyberpunk concepts, new subgenres of science fiction emerged, some of which could be considered as playing off the cyberpunk label, others which could be considered as legitimate explorations into newer territory. These focused on technology and its social effects in different ways. One prominent subgenre is "[[steampunk]]," which is set in an [[alternate history]] [[Victorian era]] that combines anachronistic technology with cyberpunk's bleak [[film noir]] world view. The term was originally coined around 1987 as a joke to describe some of the novels of [[Tim Powers]], [[James P. Blaylock]], and [[K.W. Jeter]], but by the time Gibson and Sterling entered the subgenre with their [[collaborative fiction|collaborative novel]] ''[[The Difference Engine]]'' the term was being used earnestly as well.<ref>{{cite news|first=Michael |last=Berry |title=Wacko Victorian Fantasy Follows 'Cyberpunk' Mold |work=[[The San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=25 June 1987}} Quoted online by {{cite web|url=http://www.wordspy.com/words/steampunk.asp |title=Steampunk |website=Wordspy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081226121602/http://www.wordspy.com/words/steampunk.asp |archive-date=2008-12-26 }}</ref>

Another subgenre is "[[biopunk]]" (cyberpunk themes dominated by [[biotechnology]]) from the early 1990s, a derivative style building on biotechnology rather than informational technology. In these stories, people are changed in some way not by mechanical means, but by [[genetic engineering|genetic manipulation]].