The Algorithm as Author: Viktor Pelevin and Russian Post-Cyberpunk Aesthetics.

The present study focuses on Viktor Pelevin's 2017 novel iPhuck 10 in terms of its post-cyberpunk features which have, to date, been understudied. We begin by comparing the cyberpunk and post-cyberpunk paradigms and argue that Pelevin's more recent novels go beyond the canonical conventions of cyber...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Caietele Echinox no. 49; pp. 33 - 55
Main Author: Dinu, Camelia
Format: Article
Published: Echinox Cultural Foundation 2025
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:The present study focuses on Viktor Pelevin's 2017 novel iPhuck 10 in terms of its post-cyberpunk features which have, to date, been understudied. We begin by comparing the cyberpunk and post-cyberpunk paradigms and argue that Pelevin's more recent novels go beyond the canonical conventions of cyberpunk to embrace a post-cyberpunk aesthetic marked. We then analyze iPhuck 10 through four major thematic threads: the redefinition of the human in relationship to artificial intelligence, the transformation of technology in the medium of consciousness, the dissolution of the corporeal body, and the critique of post-Soviet society. This study aims to demonstrate that the use of posthuman and post-Soviet motifs in iPhuck 10 differentiates the novel from traditional (Western) cyberpunk narratives and thereby positions it as a key example of post-cyberpunk literature in contemporary Russian fiction.