Neon Dust
Plum Parrot
Neon Dust is a progression cyberpunk trilogy set in a future New York City where megacorporate towers loom over the neglected, Dust-blighted neighborhood known as the Blast. Ex-corporate black-bagger Tony Santoro — stripped of his cyberware and dumped in the Blast after his handlers terminated his contract — must rebuild from nothing alongside sharp indie reporter Addie Jones, who harbors her own vendetta against the system. Together they take on the corrupt megacorps as mercenary operators, navigating a hardwired underworld where airborne Dust mutates DNA and dimension-bending Dust talents offer deadly power. From the creator of Cyber Dreams and Victor of Tucson.
Progression: Explicit 'progression cyberpunk' system verified via author interview (paulsemel.com 2026-05-14). Author defines progression as 'a large part of the plot has to involve getting stronger' via quantified advancement: gaining new cyberware/hardware, building reputation, gaining ranks among 'operators' (street-level operative tiers), and building bank account/resources. Tony's arc requires replacing cybernetics and regaining 'high-tier' operator status before he can pursue revenge — structured tier climb from stripped-down Blast survivor to elite operator. Addie's parallel progression via Dust manipulation: she starts with an unknown/uncontrolled Dust talent (dimension-bending, DNA-altering airborne Dust) and builds mastery from rudimentary empathy/talent to full Dust manipulation, with each volume expanding control. Street-level operations, day-to-day build-up from low to high tier, and ranked operator advancement central to plot; author contrasts this with regular cyberpunk like Neuromancer by emphasizing the climb.
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