Riot police walk in the street as a couple kiss on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. Vancouver broke out in riots after their hockey team the Vancouver Canucks lost in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

A model walks the runway during the Jean Paul Gaultier Ready to Wear Spring / Summer 2012 show during Paris Fashion Week on October 1, 2011 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

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.

Athletes of single bamboo drifting perform during the 9th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities of the People's Republic of China on September 11, 2011 in Guiyang, China. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)

Riot police walk in the street as a couple kiss on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. Vancouver broke out in riots after their hockey team the Vancouver Canucks lost in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

People look on as water from the rising Mississippi River is released through the Bonnet Carre Spillway while washing out a road May 9, 2011 in Norco, Louisiana. The Army Corps of Engineers began redirecting part of the Mississippi River through the spillway today to lower river levels and reduce pressure on levees in order to avoid a catastrophic failure. The water will flow nearly 6 miles north before emptying into Lake Pontchartrain as the Mississippi rises close to the highest level ever upriver in Memphis. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Adam Ghiggio from Australia poses next to mutant mannequins which are lined up to be used as displays for the new video game “Rage” at the Los Angeles Convention Center on June 5, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. The Electronic Entertainment Expo officially starts on Tuesday. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

A Dalek, a Cyberman and a Silence invade the Melbourne Cricket Ground on February 2, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. The Doctor Who Daleks this weekend are performing for the first time outside of the UK with the Melbourne Syphony Orchestra at Plenary Hall. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images for BBC Worldwide)