The Center Can Hold

The Peripheral by William Gibson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Wow and wow again. Gibson has delighted and surprised. The street-smart voice and savvy of his earlier work is back, coupled with the insight and utter normal weirdness of his latest books. Flynne lives in our world (possibly), in a future that hasn't changed much. Everything comes from 3D printers, but the rich are still rich and the poor still have to hustle any way they can. From the flap: "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 supposed to do—a job Flynne didn’t know he had. Beta-testing part of a new game, he tells her. " Flynne thinks she's part of a video game, but she's really visiting the future virtually. She witnesses what was almost certainly murder, and it doesn't feel like a game. The search for truth (and maybe justice) is a wild ride from a writer at the top of his game. With youth's clear eyes of doom and destruction, and the wisdom and experience (and hope!) of maturity, Gibson has crafted another masterpiece.



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