Next Monday (24th), William Gibson will be stopping by Forbidden Planet in London to sign copies of his critically-acclaimed new novel, THE PERIPHERAL. The signing will take place between 1-2pm, and we expect it to be very popular – so make sure you arrive ASAP. Further details and directions on how to get to the store can be found on the store’s website.

The novel is published by Viking in the UK, and is out now. Here’s the synopsis…

Flynne Fisher lives down a country road, in a rural near-future America where jobs are scarce, unless you count illegal drug manufacture, which she’s keen to avoid. Flynne earns what she can by assembling product at the local 3D printshop. She used to make more as a combat scout in an online game, playing for a rich man, but she’s had to let the shooter games go.

Wilf Netherton lives in London, seventy-some years later, on the far side of decades of slow-motion apocalypse. Things are pretty good now, for the haves, and there aren’t many have-nots left. Wilf, a high-powered publicist and celebrity-minder, fancies himself as a romantic misfit in a society where reaching into the past is just another hobby.

Flynne and Wilf are about to meet one another. Her world will be altered utterly, irrevocably, and Wilf’s, for all its decadence and power, will learn that some of these third-world types from the past can be badass.

Here are just a small selection of reviews the book has received…

‘All of Gibson’s characters are intensely real, and Flynne is a clever, compelling, stereotype-defying, unhesitating protagonist who makes this novel a standout.’ — Publishers Weekly

‘In THE PERIPHERAL, William Gibson’s first futuristic novel since 1999’s ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES, we experience the fantastic synthesis of a 20th century writer — the Gibson of NEUROMANCER, eyeball-kicks of flash and noir; and the Gibson of PATTERN RECOGNITION, arch and sly and dry and keen.’ — Boing Boing

‘Dramatic, scary, creepy,violent, and finally satisfying…’ — Locus

‘THE PERIPHERAL is intellectual entertainment of the first order, a pop SF thriller that will make you think.’ — Toronto Star

You can read an excerpt of the novel over on TechCrunch, and an interview conducted by Ned Beauman over on the Guardian.

Zeno represents William Gibson in the UK and Commonwealth, on behalf of the Martha Millard Literary Agency.