“Spider-Man: No Way Home” costars Andrew Garfield and American actress and singer Zendaya reunite with a hug at the 2023 SAG Awards on Sunday, February 26, 2023, at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A highland cow grazing high above the River Tweed at Thormylee in the Scottish Borders strikes a formidable pose in the morning light on May 3, 2023. (Photo by Phil Wilkinson/The Times)

A man takes a block of ice out of an ice factory for sale in Iraq's southern city of Basra on July 8, 2023. (Photo by Hussein Faleh/AFP Photo)

Revellers brave the rain as they make the most of New Year's Eve in Liverpool city centre, United Kingdom on December 31, 2023. (Photo by Ioannis Alexopoulos/London News Pictures)

Indian actress Ananya Panday poses for pictures on the red carpet on the day of the wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in Mumbai, India, on July 12, 2024. (Photo by Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters)

Clown/comedian/filmmaker Pierre Etaix attends The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences' Presents “Pierre Etaix: The Laughter Returns” at AMPAS Samuel Goldwyn Theater on November 16, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Valerie Macon/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.

A great tit eats food from the top of a photographer's hat as the press wait for politicians on Downing Street on December 16, 2019 in London, England. The UK's Prime Minister is set to hold a mini Cabinet reshuffle to replace outgoing ministers following last week's general election victory. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)