A boy bursts a soap-bubble at Gorky Park in Moscow on July 19, 2017. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

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 chicken seller carries his chickens on his head in the market in Peshawar, Pakistan, August 20, 2015. (Photo by Khuram Parvez/Reuters)

Samba dancers outside Woolwich station celebrate the opening of the Elizabeth Line in London, England on May 23, 2022. Originally due to open in December 2018, the £18.8bn railway links Reading and Essex via central London. (Photo by Jill Mead/The Guardian)

A Muslim woman reads the Quran following noon prayers on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 6, 2016. Devout Muslims began to celebrate Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, refraining from eating, drinking, smoking and sеx from sunrise to sunset. (Photo by Tatan Syuflana/AP Photo)

Indian tourists walks during heavy snowfall by Dal Lake in Srinagar on January 6, 2017. The sub-zero temperatures has frozen many water bodies in Kashmir and even drinking water taps have frozen at some places. (Photo by Tauseef Mustafa/AFP Photo)

A mobile phone showing the time at noon, is displayed for a photo in front of an almost empty road with low traffic, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, March 31, 2020. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift performs onstage during Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Levi's Stadium on July 28, 2023 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)