Sumo wrestlers compete during the “Honozumo” ceremonial sumo tournament at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo April 3, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

A boat is stranded on Poyang Lake in Lushan City, China during low-water season on November 3, 2016. (Photo by Xinhua/Barcroft Images)

A British Airways passenger plane flies in front of the moon above London, Britain, May 3, 2018. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

A dog has its portrait taken at a pet show in Hong Kong on February 3, 2023. (Photo by Isaac Lawrence/AFP Photo)

Workers repair a damaged road, in the aftermath of an earthquake, near Anamizu, Japan on January 3, 202. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A pedestrian holds an umbrella to protect from the sun in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, May 3, 2024. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)

The new curvy Barbie doll body shape (L) is seen next to the traditional Barbie in a combination of photos released by Mattel on January 28, 2016. Barbie, the world's most famous doll, has a new body. In fact, she has three new bodies – petite, tall and curvy. Some 57 years after the impossibly busty and narrow-waisted blue-eyed Barbie doll was first introduced, California-based toy maker Mattel on Thursday released the new models, which it says better reflect a changing world. (Photo by Reuters/Mattel)

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.