Agency (The Jackpot Trilogy Book 2)

{ June 2022 - Verified ebook for complete book description, cover image, table of contents, separation of book (front/ back matter, parts, and chapters), and epub format error checking. } Hardcover, 402 pages Published: 2020 Locus Award for Best SF Novel (2021) Nominee Goodreads Choice Award for Science Fiction (2020) Nominee Series: Jackpot #2 "One of the most visionary, original, and quietly influential writers currently working" (The Boston Globe) returns with a brand-new novel. In William Gibson's first novel since 2014's New York Times bestselling "The Peripheral," a gifted "app-whisperer," hired to beta test a mysterious new product, finds her life endangered by her relationship with her surprisingly street-smart and combat-savvy "digital assistant." William Gibson has trained his gifted eye on the future for decades, ever since coining the term "cyberspace" and then popularizing it in his classic speculative novel "Neuromancer" in the early 1980s. Cory Doctorow raved that "The Peripheral " is "spectacular, a piece of trenchant, far-future speculation that features all the eyeball kicks of Neuromancer." Now Gibson is back with "Agency"—a science fiction thriller heavily influenced by our most current events. Verity Jane, gifted app-whisperer, has been out of work since her exit from a brief but problematic relationship with a Silicon Valley billionaire. Then she signs the wordy NDA of a dodgy San Francisco start-up, becoming the beta tester for their latest product: a digital assistant, accessed through a pair of ordinary-looking glasses. "Eunice," the disarmingly human AI in the glasses, soon manifests a face, a fragmentary past, and an unnervingly canny grasp of combat strategy. Verity, realizing that her cryptic new employers don't yet know this, instinctively decides that it's best they don't. Meanwhile, a century ahead, in London, in a different timeline entirely, Wilf Netherton works amid plutocrats and plunderers, survivors of the slow and steady apocalypse known as the jackpot. His employer, the enigmatic Ainsley Lowbeer, can look into alternate pasts and nudge their ultimate directions. Verity and Eunice have become her current project. Wilf can see what Verity and Eunice can't: their own version of the jackpot, just around the corner. And something else too: the roles they both may play in it. The Sunday Times Top Ten Novel From The Internationally Bestselling Author Ofneuromancer 'dazzling, Astoundingly Inventive' The Times 'wild, Richly Satisfying' Guardian 'terrific' Spectator _______________ San Francisco, 2017. Clinton's In The White House, Brexit Never Happened - And Verity Jane's Got Herself A New Job. They Call Verity 'the App-whisperer,' And She's Just Been Hired By A Shadowy Start-up To Evaluate A Pair-of-glasses-cum-digital-assistant Called Eunice. Only Eunice Has Other Ideas. Pretty Soon, Verity Knows That Eunice Is Smarter Than Anyone She's Ever Met, Conceals Some Serious Capabilities And Is Profoundly Paranoid - Which Is Just As Well Since Suddenly Some Bad People Are After Verity. Meanwhile, In A Post-apocalyptic London A Century From Now, Pr Fixer Wilf Netherton Is Tasked By All-seeing Policewoman Ainsley Lowbeer With Interfering In The Alternative Past In Which Verity And Eunice Exist. It Appears Something Nasty Is About To Happen There - And Fixing It Will Require Not Only Eunice's Unique Human-ai Skillset But Also A Little Help From The Future. A Future Which Verity Soon Fears May Never Be . . . _______________ 'one Of The Most Influential Writers Around...with Gibson's Trademark Panache, The Story Rattles Along With Great Pace And Suspense' Sunday Times 'one Of Our Greatest Science-fiction Writers' New York Times 'a Sensual, Remarkably Visual Ride, Vigorous With Displays Of Conceptual Imagination And Humour' The Guardian 'among Our Most Fascinating Novelists' Daily Telegraph 'gibson Is A Prophet And A Satirist, A Black Comedian And An Astounding Architect Of Cool' Spectator 'one Of The Most Visionary, Original, And Quietly Influential Writers Currently Working' Boston Globe 'his Eye For The Eerie In The Everyday Still Lends Events An Otherworldly Sheen' New Yorker 'engaging, Thought-provoking And Delightful... [gibson] Can Always Be Counted On To Show Us Our Contemporary Milieu Rendered Magical By His Unique Insights, And A Future Rendered Inhabitable By His Wild Yet Disciplined Imagination' The Washington Post 'gibson Blurs The Line Between Real And Speculative Technology In A Fast-paced Thriller That Will Affirm To Readers That It Was Well Worth The Wait' Booklist 'typically Visionary, Yet Plausible And Thrilling Too' I Paper 'if You're One Of Those Who Sees Gibson As A Visionary, It's Time To Be Scared - The Scenarios He's Playing With Here Don't Make For Comfort Reading' Sfx Magazine AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “ONE OF THE MOST VISIONARY, ORIGINAL, AND QUIETLY INFLUENTIAL WRITERS CURRENTLY WORKING”* returns with a sharply imagined follow-up to the New York Times bestselling The Peripheral . William Gibson has trained his eye on the future for decades, ever since coining the term “cyberspace” and then popularizing it in his classic speculative novel Neuromancer in the early 1980s. Cory Doctorow raved that The Peripheral is “spectacular, a piece of trenchant, far-future speculation that features all the eyeball kicks of Neuromancer .” Now Gibson is back with Agency —a science fiction thriller heavily influenced by our most current events. Verity Jane, gifted app whisperer, takes a job as the beta tester for a new product: a digital assistant, accessed through a pair of ordinary-looking glasses. “Eunice,” the disarmingly human AI in the glasses, manifests a face, a fragmentary past, and a canny grasp of combat strategy. Realizing that her cryptic new employers don’t yet know how powerful and valuable Eunice is, Verity instinctively decides that it’s best they don’t. Meanwhile, a century ahead in London, in a different time line entirely, Wilf Netherton works amid plutocrats and plunderers, survivors of the slow and steady apocalypse known as the jackpot. His boss, the enigmatic Ainsley Lowbeer, can look into alternate pasts and nudge their ultimate directions. Verity and Eunice are her current project. Wilf can see what Verity and Eunice can’t: their own version of the jackpot, just around the corner, and the roles they both may play in it. * The Boston Globe ""One of the most visionary, original, and quietly influential writers currently working" (The Boston Globe) returns with a sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Peripheral. Verity Jane, gifted app-whisperer, has been out of work since her exit from a brief but problematic relationship with a Silicon Valley billionaire. Then she signs the wordy NDA of a dodgy San Francisco start-up, becoming the beta tester for their latest product: a digital assistant, accessed through a pair of ordinary-looking glasses. "Eunice," the disarmingly human AI in the glasses, soon manifests a face, a fragmentary past, and an unnervingly canny grasp of combat strategy. Verity, realizing that her cryptic new employers don't yet know this, instinctively decides that it's best they don't. Meanwhile, a century ahead, in London, in a different timeline entirely, Wilf Netherton works amid plutocrats and plunderers, survivors of the slow and steady apocalypse known as the jackpot. His employer, the enigmatic Ainsley Lowbeer, can look into alternate pasts and nudge their ultimate directions. Verity and Eunice have become her current project. Wilf can see what Verity and Eunice can't: their own version of the jackpot, just around the corner. And something else too: the roles they both may play in it"-- Provided by publisher THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING NOVEL FROM WILLIAM GIBSON, THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF NEUROMANCER ——- San Francisco, 2017. Clinton's in the White House, Brexit never happened - and Verity Jane's got herself a new job. They call Verity 'the app-whisperer,' and she's just been hired to evaluate a pair-of-glasses-cum-digital-assistant called Eunice... Only Eunice has other ideas. Pretty soon, Verity realises that Eunice is smarter than anyone she's ever met. Which is just as well since suddenly some very bad people are after Verity. Meanwhile, in a post-apocalyptic London a century from now, PR fixer Wilf Netherton is tasked with interfering in the alternative past in which Verity and Eunice exist. It appears something nasty is about to happen there - and fixing it will require not only Eunice's unique human-AI skillset but also a little help from the future. A future that Verity fears may never be . . . ——- 'Dazzling, astoundingly inventive' The Times ' Wild, richly satisfying' Guardian 'Terrific' Spectator 'Rattles along with great pace and suspense' Sunday Times 'One of our greatest science-fiction writers' New York Times 'A sensual, remarkably visual ride' Guardian 'Among our most fascinating novelists' Daily Telegraph "Verity Jane, gifted app-whisperer, has been out of work since her exit from a brief but problematic relationship with a Silicon Valley billionaire. Then she signs the wordy NDA of a dodgy San Francisco start-up, becoming the beta tester for their latest product: a digital assistant, accessed through a pair of ordinary-looking glasses. "Eunice," the disarmingly human AI in the glasses, soon manifests a face, a fragmentary past, and an unnervingly canny grasp of combat strategy. Verity, realizing that her cryptic new employers don't yet know this, instinctively decides that it's best they don't. Meanwhile, a century ahead, in London, in a different timeline entirely, Wilf Netherton works amid plutocrats and plunderers, survivors of the slow and steady apocalypse known as the jackpot. His employer, the enigmatic Ainsley Lowbeer, can look into alternate pasts and nudge their ultimate directions. Verity and Eunice have become her current project. Wilf can see what Verity and Eunice can't: their own version of the jackpot, just around the corner. And something else too: the roles they both may play in it"-- Publisher's description "Verity Jane, gifted app whisperer, takes a job as the beta tester for a new product ; a digital assistant, accessed through a pair of ordinary-looking glasses. "Eunice," the disarmingly human Al in the glasses, manifests a face, a fragmentary past, and a canny grasp of combat strategy. Realizing that her cryptic new employers don't yet know how powerful and valuable Eunice is, Verity instinctively decides that it's best they don't. Meanwhile, a century ahead in London, in a different time line entirely, Wilf Netherton works amid plutocrats and plunderers, survivors of the slow and steady apocalypse known as the jackpot. His boss, the enigmatic Ainsley Lowbeer, can look into alternate pastsw and nudge their ultimate directions. Verity and Eunice are her current project. Wilf ca see what Verity and Eunice can't: their own version of the jackpot, just around the corner, and the roles they both may play in it"-- Publisher's description In William Gibson's First Novel Since 2014's Bestselling The Peripheral, A Gifted App-whisperer, Hired To Beta Test A Mysterious New Product, Finds Her Life Endangered By Her Relationship With Her Surprisingly Street-smart And Combat-savvy Digital Assistant. Residence: Vancouver, B.c. Print Run 150,000.