Agency: Sequel to The Peripheral, now a major new TV series with Amazon Prime

William Gibson

Jan 2020 · Penguin UK

About this ebook

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING NOVEL FROM WILLIAM GIBSON, THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF NEUROMANCER

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San Francisco, 2017. Clinton's in the White House, Brexit never happened - and Verity Jane's got herself a new job.

They call Verity 'the app-whisperer,' and she's just been hired to evaluate a pair-of-glasses-cum-digital-assistant called Eunice...

Only Eunice has other ideas.

Pretty soon, Verity realises that Eunice is smarter than anyone she's ever met. Which is just as well since suddenly some very bad people are after Verity.

Meanwhile, in a post-apocalyptic London a century from now, PR fixer Wilf Netherton is tasked with interfering in the alternative past in which Verity and Eunice exist. It appears something nasty is about to happen there - and fixing it will require not only Eunice's unique human-AI skillset but also a little help from the future.

A future that Verity fears may never be . . .

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'Dazzling, astoundingly inventive' The Times

'Wild, richly satisfying' Guardian

'Terrific' Spectator

'Rattles along with great pace and suspense' Sunday Times

'One of our greatest science-fiction writers' New York Times

'A sensual, remarkably visual ride' Guardian

'Among our most fascinating novelists' Daily Telegraph

Ratings and reviews

bland or with little to really enthuse me as a reader, as a follow up to the peripheral it lacks the same urgency and excitement which is a real shame as this is the only Gibson book I do not rate; perhaps the next will be back to the same level at the rest.

Should have been a short story instead of a 400-page novel. Very little happens, there are too many throwaway characters (most of whom seem interchangeable), and the Clinton/Trump & Brexit/No-Brexit elements go nowhere.

Following on from 'The Peripheral', it's a roller-coaster ride through alternate realities. A proper page turner!

About the author

William Gibson is credited with having coined the term "cyberspace" and having envisioned both the Internet and virtual reality before either existed. His first novel Neuromancer sold more than six million copies worldwide, and Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive completed the trilogy. He has written six further novels about the strange contemporary world we inhabit. His most recent novels include Spook Country, Zero History and The Peripheral. His non-fiction collection, Distrust That Particular Flavour, compiles assorted writings and journalism from across his career.