he first thing that hits you when you link to The Unofficial Cyberpunk Home Page is the care its author has taken to make it accessible -- there is a text-only version for Lynx users or people who like to surf with their images off, a graphics version for normal Web browsers, and a full-barreled foot-to-the-floor Netscape 1.1 option. This last makes excellent use of Netscape's table feature by taking a photo, dividing it up into nine pieces and placing each within its own cell. The effect is similar to an image displayed on a grid of TVs stacked three by three, and instantly sets the cyberpunk tone.

The site itself is a tribute to the cyberpunk genre and the people who spawned it. There is an authors section for such notables as William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, a movie listing for films like Bladerunner, and even a page that tackles the question, "What is cyberpunk?" There are also sections that link to other electronic resources, including both cyberpunk and cypherpunk sites, electronic magazines of cyberculture and a games page for RPGs, MUDs and MUSHES. While there is plenty of text to be had, there is little in the way of graphics outside of the home page, and no video or sound files.

As a resource the Unofficial Cyberpunk page is unbeatable, with everything neatly tagged and categorized. The authors section is an outstanding reference to anyone who's ever published in the field, but with no convenient way to browse the entire contents at once it's better suited to looking up individual authors. The "what is" page also stands out, among other reasons for its link to the dictionary of hacker jargon, a handy reference to anyone trying to find their way through the annals of cyber lore on the Web.

The movies page warns you ahead of time that it's under construction, and true to the "at work" icon there are few movie links to be had. The magazine section is also relatively spartan, though it contains links to the necessary cyber bibles such as Phrack and Wired. Both the games and other sites pages are adequately stocked and should provide some new links even for weathered Web veterans.

The biggest complaint about the Unofficial Cyberpunk page is that it has no resources or archives of its own -- probably because its author is too busy maintaining one of the best science fiction resource pages on the Web. -- Craig E.

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