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.

Students of the General Yermolov Cadet School wait to board an airplane for a parachute jump at an airdrome in the village of Novomaryevskaya outside the southern city of Stavropol, Russia, May 13, 2016. (Photo by Eduard Korniyenko/Reuters)

A jogger runs on the bank of Donaukanal channel in central Vienna, Austria, September 5, 2016. (Photo by Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters)

A Muslim dervish sings a traditional Sufi song near a rally for the Mawlid al-Nabi holiday, marking the birthday of Islam's prophet, Muhammad, in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, November 10, 2019. To mark the holiday, thousands take part in religious processions, ceremonies and distribute free meals to the poor. (Photo by K.M. Chaudary/AP Photo)

Iraqi children play with a ball on a street blocked with burning tyres, amid a general strike in the southern city of Basra, on November 25, 2019. The demonstrations rocking the capital and Shiite-majority south since October 1 are the biggest grassroots movement the country has seen in decades. Sparked by outrage over rampant government corruption, poor services and lack of jobs, they have since gone straight to the source: calling out the ruling system as inherently flawed and in need of a total overhaul. (Photo by Hussein Faleh/AFP Photo)

Groundhog Club co-handler Al Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, in front of the crowd gathered for the 133rd celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. Saturday, February 2, 2019. Phil's handlers said that the groundhog has forecast an early spring. (Photo by Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo)

A vintage car sits in flood water on March 20, 2019 in Hamburg, Iowa. Although flood water in the town has started to recede many homes and businesses remain surrounded by water. Several Midwest states are battling some of the worst flooding they have experienced in decades as rain and snow melt from the recent “bomb cyclone” has inundated rivers and streams. At least three deaths have been linked to the flooding. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)