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 picture made available 26 April 2016 shows a tiger playing in the water with a trainer nicknamed “Super Tiger Man” at the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi province, Thailand, 24 April 2016. The site known in Thai as “Wat Pa Luangta Maha Bua Yannasampanno” has been the focus of a dispute with the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) after the DNP asked in 2015 that the temple hands over its 147 tigers since it was not licensed to keep them. The temple has requested for a zoo license according to its managing director. (Photo by Diego Azubel/EPA)

A frozen public bench is seen next to a lake side due to the heavy wind conditions in Geneva February 8, 2015. (Photo by Pierre Albouy/Reuters)

Free Syrian Army fighters stand near an ambulance on the eastern edge of the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria, February 27, 2017. (Photo by Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)

A boy dressed as Lord Krishna is pictured while Hindu devotees march on the streets to celebrate Janmashtami festival, which marks the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, in Dhaka, August 14, 2017. (Photo by Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters)

A sadhu, or a Hindu holy man, blesses a devotee as he smokes marijuana at a transit camp on the way to Gangasagar, in Kolkata, India, Sunday, January 7, 2018. Thousands of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take the annual holy dip at Gangasagar, where the Ganges River reaches the Bay of Bengal, on the auspicious Makar Sankranti festival day that falls on Jan. 14. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)

A woman is helped out of the wrecked car of a train that derailed at the station of Pioltello Limito, on the outskirts of Milan, Italy, Thursday, January 25, 2018. Italian officials said that the commuter train derailed in northern Italy, killing some people, seriously injuring 10 and trapping others heading into Milan at the start of the work day. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)

A Pakistani vendor prepares peanuts for sale on a roadside in Peshawar, Pakistan, 01 January 2018. After a good raining season the sales of dry fruits flourish in the country. Tourists from all over Pakistan come to Peshawar to purchase dry fruits along with other items because of price differences between different parts of the country. (Photo by Bilawal Arbab/EPA/EFE)