The Peripheral
by William Gibson · first published 2014
44% recommend51% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Near-future cyberpunk with a barnstorming plot, mind-bending futurism and a bleak, plausible take on technology standing in for being there. Suits readers who want Gibson's modernized, trippy later style.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Depending on her veteran brother's benefits in a city where jobs outside the drug trade are rare, Flynne assists her brother's latest beta-test tech assignment only to uncover an elaborate murder scheme. "William Gibson returns with his first novel since 2010's New York Times-bestselling Zero History. Where Flynne and her brother, Burton, live, jobs outside the drug business are rare. Fortunately, Burton has his veteran's benefits, for neural damage he suffered from implants during his time in the USMC's elite Haptic Recon force. Then one night Burton has to go out, but there's a job he's s
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Neuromancer - William Gibson REAMDE- Neal Stephenson Pattern Recognition / Zero History / Spook Country - William Gibson The Peripheral - William Gibson Not exactly the same thing, but I'll also throw in Glasshouse by Charles Stross. And since we're talking Charles Stross, also add Halting State to the list. Oh, and VALIS by Philip…
on “Ask HN: Books that altered your view of reality” ↗…it rhymes Being Mortal (Atul Gawande, 2014) - Powerful book about old age and confronting the mortality of our loved ones The Dark Forest (Cixin Liu, 2014) - Wonderful science fiction from China The Peripheral (William Gibson, 2015) - Bleak, near future science fiction. The Water Knife (Paolo Bacigalupi, 2015) - More bleak, near future science fiction.
on “Ask HN: Best books you've read in 2015” ↗…Nick Cole Ctrl-Alt-Revolt by Nick Cole Glasshouse by Charles Stross Second the Vernor Vinge recommendations, and the Neal Stephenson and William Gibson Sprawl Trilogy recommendations. Gibson's The Peripheral, as well as Pattern Recognition, Zero History, and Spook Country all apply, as well. Same for his Idoru, Virtual Light, and All Tomorrow's Parties. Finally, Gibson and Sterling's The Difference Engine…
on “Ask HN: Recommendations of good cybercrime novels?” ↗Sadly, no. I quite recommend The Peripheral[1] by William Gibson, and Jean le Flambeur[2] trilogy if you want a modern cyberpunk with the action of a sheer scale. In the second story, the gaming community also contributes a significant part to…
on “The Gig Economy (2018)” ↗The peripheral by Wiliam Gibson
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗…not the territory after all, but the realisations about the impact of technology, progress, and the choices we make when we let society work a certain way have been profound, for me at least. Also The Peripheral, and Gibson’s essay in Wired about undersea cables, and... yeah. Having read Gibson feels like a superpower. As others have said: - The Hitch Hiker’s Guide - Stepehnson’s Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon,…
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗Yeah, The Peripheral is quite good. Gibson seems pretty happy with the adaptation too, which is a good sign. I still haven't read the books. The Sprawl trilogy was one of my favourite series when I was young. I'd like to…
on “Will we finally see Neuromancer on the screen?” ↗…algorithms. Also Glasshouse as an exploration of post-singularity society. Never managed to finish a Cory Doctorow book though. I found William Gibson's Bigend trilogy a slog, but I really enjoyed The Peripheral - it's a fun read. Enders Game and Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card are fantastic, but the remaining books suffer from diminishing returns (with the possible exception of Ender's Shadow). There…
on “What are your favourite sci-fi books?” ↗…shaping up to be some of the best dystopien sf I've read in a long while. And for something a bit different I stumbled across in a thrift shop: "Canal Dreams" by Ian Banks. Oh, and Gibson's latest: "The Peripheral". Second the recommendedation for Richard Morgan, especially "Thirteen / Black Man" and "Broken Angels" (I accidentally started with this, book two of a triology, but actually think it stands well.on…
on “Electric Sheep on Ubuntu Linux 17.10” ↗The "klept" word came from William Gibson's The Peripheral and Agency books[1]. Highly recommend. [1] https://www.goodreads.com/series/270911-jackpot
on “Oh, 2022” ↗…turners with fun SF ideas: Dark Matter, Wayward Pines, also good. * Agency by William Gibson. I actually thought this book was just okay, but I am adding it to this list because it's the sequel to The Peripheral, which was amazing (but is older than 5 years). The premise is that people in the future can send information into the past, creating a parallel world. Like most William Gibson novels, it seemed like…
on “Ask HN: Best SciFi books in last 5 years” ↗…from slaves to immigrants. Very eye-opening, a lot of America's 'wealthy families' got their first pool of capital in this manner. Also: Junji Ito, Uzumaki and No Longer Human William Gibson, The Peripheral and Agency
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?” ↗I recently read William Gibson's "The Peripheral" and I really liked it. I think it's one of his best.
on “What are your favorite sci-fi and fantasy books?” ↗For anyone wanting to see this explored further, William Gibson's latest The Peripheral deals heavily with the idea of people going places via telepresence.
on “My Life as a Robot” ↗I thought Ready Player One was Cyberpunk-lite. For actual brain-bending, dystopian-but-vaugely-plausible futurism I would highly recommend the latest William Gibson novel "The Peripheral". He's always had a fascinating ability to meld technology and spirituality with a barnstorming plot thrown in for good measure. This latest novel is nicely impenetrable in places too - giving you just…
on “YC’s Summer Reading” ↗