The Dog Said Bow-Wow

Swanwick, Michael. "The Dog Said Bow-Wow." Originally published in the collection, The Dog Said Bow-Wow, 2001. Rpt. Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology, James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel, editors (San Francisco: Tachyon Publications, 2007).[1]

Mentioned in Sandor Klapcsik's review of the anthology in SFRA Review #284 (Spring 2008): pp. 15-16, as "an alternate history setting [...] populated by biotechnologically modified characters: a talking dog, a multiple-headed queen, autistic servants. The virtual gods have turned hostile and rampage if anyone uses a computer."[2]

Reviewed in more detail by Alex Willging, 2 August 2012.

In a future point in time, following a war between humanity and artificial intelligence, a pair of con men attempt to pull off a major swindle in Neo-Victorian England. One thief is an uplifted dog named Surplus and the other is his human companion, Darger. Together [...] they trigger a major coup in Buckingham Labyrinth through the use of an antiquated modem and the seduction of a royal lady.

The human character in this story is [...] a con man. His partner is an enhanced, bipedal dog [...]. He walks, dresses, and speaks English like a perfect gentleman, though in more emotionally heated moments, his canine nature sometimes gets the better of him. [...]

This story is an oddity genre-wise. It’s an authentic example of cyberpunk being played for comedy [... with] all the elements of cyberpunk that made Neuromancer great – a criminal group breaks into a wealthy family’s sanctuary and gets involved with an evil AI – but in this case, there’s more wacky mishaps and poking fun at Victorian social etiquette.[3]

See for AI and steampunk, in a comic mode.

RDE, 7Jan21