William Gibson is not one of the authors that spits out novels like a machine – in his long and fruitful career he has only published 11 novels andof short stories and articles in the tens each. Still his impact on modern literature was huge – the “noir prophet” of the cyberpunk subgenre (that he was one of the pioneers of) has predicted the rise of reality television, virtual reality, video games and the internet. He is a Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction writer, with a special eye for what the future might bring.

A tiger jumps while being trained at the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok, Thailand, February 25, 2016. Thailand's controversial Tiger Temple, dogged for years by talk that it supplies the black market and mistreats its animals, is fighting to keep the big cats after wildlife authorities rejected a bid to extend a zoo licence that expired in 2013. The Buddhist temple, home to more than 100 tigers, has been investigated for suspected links to wildlife trafficking and wildlife activists have accused it of illegal breeding of the animals. Thai wildlife authorities have sent ten of the temple's tigers to a wildlife sanctuary. But the temple, which bills itself as a wildlife sanctuary, has denied links to illegal trafficking, and wants to hold on to its tigers. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)

A racegoer flashes her undies in front of the racing crowd during Caulfield Cup Day at Caulfield Racecourse on October 21, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

Residents recently returning to their area cleared by government troops react as they ride a tricycle a day after President Rodrigo Duterte declared the liberation of Marawi city in southern Philippines Wednesday, October 18, 2017. Sporadic explosions continue Wednesday as Philippine soldiers fought to gain control of the last pocket of Marawi controlled by Islamic militants. (Photo by Bullit Marquez/AP Photo)

People in traditional costumes prepare before competing in the 55th Verdiales music contest in Malaga, southern Spain December 28, 2016. Verdiales is a form of traditional Flamenco music, which is common in the province of Malaga. Members of singing groups, known as “pandas”, wear traditional costumes decked with flowers and other accessories as they perform in the contest, which is held annually on December 28. (Photo by Jon Nazca/Reuters)

A child carrying a small broom walks by a line of National Guard members deployed to Bellevue Square as community members clean up after looting and vandalism that occurred Sunday at Bellevue Square in downtown Bellevue, Washington, U.S. June 1, 2020. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Reuters)

A young man performs a wheelie on his bicycle during a stunt show in the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, on Sunday, October 31, 2021. (Photo by Pedro Ramses Mattey/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Annabelle, 13, and her sister Estelle, 10, both artistic gymnasts from Borna, hang from the rings during their training, ahead of the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023, the world's largest sports movement for people with intellectual disabilities, at the Federal base for competitive gymnastic artistics in Chemnitz, Germany on May 6, 2023. (Photo by Annegret Hilse/Reuters)