Every time I’m guest at a Comic-Con or equivalent, someone will walk past my desk, see my array of cyberpunk books, and ask me where they should begin.
My short answer is always this: anywhere you like. They are set in the same universe, but are all stand-alone.
Here’s my longer answer: what are you in the mood for, a short, sharp entry into the world, or a full length novel?
As of today (July 2026), I’d say: if you want a novella as an entry point, begin with This Machine Kills Billionaires. It contains my awarding winning novella, The Hidden God, three bonus short stories, and an essay.
What is it about? One of the early reviewers (Robin Duncan, author, and host of the British Fantasy Society Podcast) said the following:
T.R. Napper has done it again. Lying behind this incendiary title is a novella (The Hidden God) crackling with invention and insight. Do not think based on the description that this is a purely intellectual exercise; there is action and suspense, physical violence and psychological strife, and there are testing moral questions, laid out with the author’s quintessential thoughtful directness.
Though – and apologies for this outrageous boasting – my three published novellas have all won Best Science Fiction Novella at the Aurealis Awards (Australia’s premier juried awards for spec-fic).
The Weight of the Air, the Weight of the World (included in Neon Leviathan), Ghost of the Neon God, and The Hidden God (included in This Machine Kills Billionaires). It’s hard to find a bad one.
If you prefer a full-length novel, I recommend my debut, 36 Streets. It also won several awards. It’s still being discovered by readers, four years after it was published, and considered my some to be a modern cyberpunk classic. Richard Morgan (Altered Carbon), has praised the work, saying:
“Raw and raging and passionate, this is cyberpunk literature with a capital fucken L.”
Now, if you buy all of my books (and I won’t object if you do), and insist on being told what order to read them in, I will keep it simple and say: in the order they were published.
Being:
- Neon Leviathan (collected stories) (2020)
- 36 Streets (2022)
- Ghost of the Neon God (2024)
- The Escher Man (2024)
- This Machine Kills Billionaires (2026)
If you’ve done all that, well, fear not: I’m always writing, and have more planned in this universe. And don’t hesitate to share the love. Word of mouth still beats the most-followed and flamboyant TikToker – so leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon, and tell your mates.
Cheers
