Hardwired (1986) by Walter Jon Williams is a classic cyberpunk novel. It hits all the themes of cyberpunk while also taking place in the wasteland, rather than your standard cyberpunk setting of an overgrown city.
I feel like the original cover (left) totally captures what this book is. It's 80s, it's cyberpunk, it's in the wasteland. You might say it's cheesy now, but I bet It's a good visual representation of what the author was thinking.
Now look at the reprint (right) from 2006. That's just awful. I mean, sure, he's in the wasteland, but that just looks like a cheap photoshop job. Look at those sunglasses, is that a robot eye or a lens flare? What's with his puffy jacket? Ugh, I'm just so annoyed by it. Especially because the book is good, and I highly recommend it. But if you saw that cover on the right at a store, you definitely wouldn't think it was a cyberpunk classic from the 80s.
Speaking of which, check out the cover for the audiobook:
I'm not sure which is worse, the 2006 re-print or this audiobook cover. It's such a shame what they're doing to this book with these lazy covers.
Anyway, I recommend Hardwired for any cyberpunk fans who haven't read it. I just wanted to also complain about how lazy the covers are in all the reprints.
