This is the moment a diver appears to shake hands with a giant 52ft whale. The divers were just metres away when one humpback whale – which weighs 36,000kg – extends its giant flipper in a peaceful manner. (Photo by Masa Ushioda/SeaPics/Solent News & Photo Agency)

A curious leopard cub toys with a camera at MalaMala Game Reserve in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. (Photo by Barcroft Media)

A woman holds her umbrella while walking against strong winds as Typhoon Soudelor approaches Taiwan in Taipei, August 7, 2015. (Photo by Pichi Chuang/Reuters)

Thousands flock to Bondi Beach for the traditional expats Christmas Day celebration in Sydney, Australia, 25 December 2014. Expats of all nationalities have been flocking to Bondi Beach for Christmas Day for many years. (Photo by Dean Lewins/EPA)

Everton fan and legendary fashion photographer Matt Lever has captured the dizzying drama behind the scenes at catwalk shows since 1999. Here: Balmain, Spring/Summer 2011. (Photo by Matt Lever)

Elephants munch on Christmas trees in their enclosure at Berlin's Zoologischer Garten Zoo on January 4, 2013 in Berlin, Germany. Traditionally, the animals get in the first week of the year leftover Christmas trees. (Photo by Andreas Rentz)

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.