

The Future is Here - benbreen
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2015/apr/02/william-gibson-future-is-here/

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jes5199
I know plenty of people who loved "The Peripheral", but despite some clever
contrivances in the settings, I found it to be a completely boring book. The
plot unfolded with no help from the protagonists and nothing unexpected ever
happened.

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Avshalom
>The plot unfolded with no help from the protagonists

This was, I realized in hindsight, a problem with his Blue Ant books too.

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M8
Future is not here. We are nowhere near nanobots.

~~~
mycroft-holmes
Are we? [http://www.gizmag.com/nanobot-micromotors-deliver-
nanopartic...](http://www.gizmag.com/nanobot-micromotors-deliver-
nanoparticles-living-creature/35700/)

~~~
M8
Those are more like nano-automatons:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automaton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automaton)

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widowlark
Does anyone else feel a comparison between this novel and Snow Crash? Some of
the plot points are eerily similar.

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lhl
Having re-read Snow Crash last year, I'd have to say that while the books have
a bit of overlap (the deleterious effects of post-industrialization is
something of a theme from the earliest cyberpunk, it's almost a defining
characteristic), they differ quite a bit, both thematically and stylistically.

On style/tone, Snow Crash is a bit zanier, more satirical, and boisterous,
while The Peripheral is by and large sharper, more grounded, and spare
(typical Gibson).

In terms of story/plot (spoilers, obviously), while Snow Crash revolves
primarily around a world-domination plot and a world-spanning chase to unravel
that plot and the development of a seekrit cyber-weapon, The Peripheral
focuses on a much more mundane, chance encounter that spirals out (unraveling
much more like a whodunit, including the reveal) that takes place primarily in
2 "locations" (with the central conceit/twist described in the linked article
about a historical/simulated world and the future-present) - so in other
words, they're totally different, and I'm surprised you'd make any sort of
plot connections from the article's description!

While it wasn't perfect (I also reread Neuromancer last year, so maybe The
Peripheral suffers in comparison), it was a pretty fun read and had a bit to
chew on so I'd certainly recommend it if you're an SF fan.

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eli_gottlieb
Oh boy. Another Gibson cyberpunk novel about how shit everything is. This will
totally be worth spending money on, as opposed to some _other_ encouragement
to get it over with and kill myself /s.

