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 70-metre-long Noah's Ark replica constructed of steel and American cedar on March 31, 2005 in Schagen, Netherlands. (Photo by Michel Porro/Getty Images)

Grafitti by the illusive artist Banksy adorns the levee wall in the Lower Ninth Ward on August 29, 2008 in New Orleans, Louisiana. New works by the artist, whose paintings are also sold in galleries, have been popping up throughout New Orleans coinciding with the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

American actress and singer Bella Thorne attends the GQ Mexico Men of The Year Awards 2017 on October 26, 2017 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Victor Chavez/Getty Images)

Ukrainian serviceman Valerii looks on at a position in a frontline, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Mykolaiv region, Ukraine on October 26, 2022. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

A camel is pictured in front of the Saturn tracking complex at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on October 9, 2018. An astronaut and cosmonaut are due to travel to the ISS on October 11 aboard a Russian Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)