Virtual Light

Chevette rides as a courier, banging her paper laminate-framed bike through the streets of a future 'Frisco - she lives for it. On an impulse, she's risked everything; stolen a pair of sunglasses from some jerk. No ordinary shades, either: loaded with super-sensitive data, they could decide the destiny of the entire city. Rydell is working for Mr Warbaby, who has been hired to recover the glasses. But Rydell is none too sure that he likes his new employment opportunity; with SFPD Homicide involved, an abandoned bridge populated by freaks and misfits, and some weirdness involving the Republic of Desire and a 'Death Star', it's turning out to be a very strange and dangerous scene indeed ... William Gibson, author of the classic Neuromancer and creator of cyberpunk, here turns his hyper-acute imagination on the near future - to supercharged, nerve-shredding effect. ϡ쯦랠 Virtual Light - A Gripping Techno-thriller From William Gibson, Bestselling Author Of Neuromancer San Francisco, The Nearish Future: Ex-cop Berry Rydell's Lost One Job He Didn't Much Like And Landed Another He Likes Even Less. Some Sunglasses - Actually High-end Kit Involving Virtual Reality And Super-sensitive Data - Were Stolen From A Courier, And A Man Named Warbaby's Been Charged With Retrieving Them. Warbaby Needs A Driver And Rydell Is The Perfect Fit. But When The Courier Is Killed And Warbaby Gets To Work - Giving Rydell A Taste Of What's Expected And Exactly What's At Stake - He Has Second Thoughts. Especially When He Comes Face To Face With Chevette, Stealer Of Sunglasses, Who'll Land An Ex-cop In A Heap Of Trouble . . . 'audacious, Witty And Passionate. A Wonderful Read' Observer 'a Stunner . . . A Terrifically Stylish Burst Of Kick-butt Imagination' Entertainment Weekly 'studded With Crackling Insights Into The Relationship Between Technology, Culture And Morality, Virtual Lightdoesn't Miss Its Stride For A Nanosecond' Time Out William Gibson's First Novel Neuromancer Sold More Than Six Million Copies Worldwide. Count Zero And Mona Lisa Overdrive Completed His First Trilogy. He Has Since Written Six Further Novels, Moving Gradually Away From Science Fiction And Futuristic Work, Instead Writing About The Strange Contemporary World We Inhabit. His Most Recent Novels Include Patter Recognition, Spook Country And Zero History, His Non-fiction Collection. Distrust That Particular Flavor, Compiles Assorted Writings And Journalism From Across His Career. 'Doesn't come any more stylish than this' Sunday Telegraph ——- THE FIRST BOOK IN THE BRIDGE SERIES - READ IDORU AND ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES FOR MORE San Francisco in the nearish future. Ex-cop Berry Rydell's lost one job he didn't much like and landed another he likes even less. Some sunglasses - actually high-end kit infused with super-sensitive data - were stolen from a courier, and a man named Warbaby's been charged with retrieving them. And Warnaby needs Rydell's help. But, with SFPD Homicide involved, an abandoned bridge populated by freaks and misfits, and some weirdness involving the Republic of Desire and a 'Death Star', it's turning out to be a very strange and dangerous scene indeed . . . Can Rydell navigate this unsteady reality in time to save the city . . . and himself? William Gibson, author of the classic Neuromancer and creator of cyberpunk, here turns his hyper-acute imagination on the near future - to supercharged, nerve-shredding effect. ——- 'Audacious, witty and passionate. A wonderful read' Observer 'A stunner . . . a terrifically stylish burst of kick-butt imagination' Entertainment Weekly 'Studded with crackling insights into the relationship between technology, culture and morality' Time Out California, the not so distant future. Berry, ex-cop/private security, looking to just make ends meet. Chevette, a young bicycle messanger. A murder, a secret missing, and a murderer closing in on Chevette. Berry is the only thing standing between him and Chevette. Can he keep her alive long enough to figure why, and how to stop it? Multi-national corporations, reality tv, a world gone just a bit more ragged than our own. Murder, mystery, real people just trying to get by or survive another day in an harsh world. Big dome private communities and shanty towns built on the discarded remains of a bridge we all know. High tech meets duct tape and superglue. With his unique style and flair, Gibson spins a tale set in a world just to the left of ours. 2005: Welcome to NoCal and SoCal, the uneasy sister-states of what used to be California. Here the millenium has come and gone, leaving in its wake only stunned survivors. In Los Angeles, Berry Rydell is a former armed-response rentacop now working for a bounty hunter. Chevette Washington is a bicycle messenger turned pickpocket who impulsively snatches a pair of innocent-looking sunglasses. But these are no ordinary shades. What you can see through these high-tech specs can make you rich--or get you killed. Now Berry and Chevette are on the run, zeroing in on the digitalized heart of DatAmerica, where pure information is the greatest high. And a mind can be a terrible thing to crash ..