Agency

This is a follow up to The Peripheral, which is up there as one of Gibson's best books for me. I'm assuming he is working on his usual template of loosely connected trilogies and that there will be another to come in this world. Being a return visit, this doesn't have the same kind of impact or originality as The Peripheral did, but there is plenty here that fans will appreciate; his traditional sparse prose, meticulous examination of detail in fashion and tech, and big, big, ideas. The usual labyrinthine, noirish plot is present and correct as well - it took me until half way through the book before I felt I had a handle on what was going on. It feels like a much more optimistic book than its predecessor (as long as you don't look at some of the details too closely), and I am left looking forward to a putative third volume. Basically, Gibson is one of our finest writers, and any new book should be celebrated.