(C) BoingBoing
This story was originally published by BoingBoing and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Cyberpunk pioneer Rudy Rucker is back with "Sqinks," a novel about AI-like aliens replacing human brains. [1]

['Mark Frauenfelder']

Date: 2025-08-28

Legendary cyberpunk pioneer Rudy Rucker has launched a Kickstarter campaign for his latest science fiction venture, Sqinks, a novel that blends his signature "transrealism" with modern AI anxieties. Set in contemporary San Francisco, the story follows a Rucker-inspired protagonist confronting alien entities called "sqinks" that resemble large language model AIs and have sinister plans for human brains.

The campaign, which has already raised nearly $9,500 of its $12,000 goal with 25 days remaining, will fund both the novel and a companion piece, "The Sqinks Journal," which documents Rudy's creative process.

"It's a surreal rollercoaster, rich with ideas, scares, and laughs," Rucker explains about the novel. "It's a love story. A transreal cyberpunk love story. It'll make you laugh, and it'll make you feel good."

Previously:

• Rudy Rucker interview: 'All these years, and I'm still looking for the big aha.'

• Rudy Rucker is Kickstarting his next novel, Juicy Ghosts

• Rudy Rucker on Walkaway

• My favorite Rudy Rucker novels in new editions

• Rudy Rucker's autobiography: Nested Scrolls

• 'Big Germs' — short fiction by Rudy Rucker

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2025/08/28/rudy-rucker-sqinks.html

Published and (C) by BoingBoing
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/boingboing/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.