The directory «Plots»
Gibson William Ford
(b. 1948)
William Ford Gibson is an American-Canadian writer who has been called the "noir prophet" of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction. In 1982, Gibson coined the term cyberspace and popularized the concept in his debut novel, Neuromancer (1984). Gibson is best known for depicting a visualised, worldwide communications network before it became established in the 1990s, and he is credited with anticipating and establishing the conceptual foundations of the Internet.
Having moved around frequently with his family as a child, Gibson grew to be a shy, ungainly teenager who took refuge in reading science fiction. After spending his adolescence at a private boarding school in Arizona, Gibson dodged the draft at the onset of the Vietnam War by emigrating to Canada in 1967, where he became immersed in counterculture and after settling in Vancouver eventually became a full-time writer; he retains dual citizenship. Gibson's early works are bleak, noir near-future stories about the effect of computer networks and modern mass media on humans – "lowlife meets high tech". They attracted widespread attention after being published in science fiction magazines, and eventually effectively renovated the science fiction genre, making their mark far beyond it. The themes, settings and characters developed in these stories culminated in his first novel, Neuromancer, which garnered unprecedented critical and considerable commercial success, virtually launching the cyberpunk literary movement.
Although much of Gibson's reputation has remained rooted in Neuromancer, his work has continued to evolve in . To date, Gibson has written two dozens short stories, nine critically acclaimed novels (one in collaboration), a nonfiction artist's book, and has contributed articles to several major publications and collaborated extensively with performance artists, filmmakers and musicians. His work has been cited as an influence on science fiction authors, academia, cyberculture, and technology.
Palau, 1999, William Gibson
