As a staple of the cyberpunk subgenre, I can see why it’s been slotted in as such, especially with the authors forward. It’s not entirely what I expected, though, as it goes so far in the future as to be outright transhumanism and have aliens; pretty atypical inclusions generally, but especially for “foundational” works. 

Either way, once situated I found I enjoyed it quite a bit. It almost felt as zany as Snowcrash, though nowhere near as prescriptive in themes, but in how… strange the characters and the technology intersect with them. It’s also very sweeping in terms of time scale. Long-lived, redefining our concept of a human life, accomplishments, and condition, I think this, I guess collection of stories compiled, have the central themes down. As you might expect it’s fairly technophobic, but more balanced than you’d expect, possibly.