(Print: January 21, 2020; 978-1101986936; Berkley; 416 pages) Audio: 1/21/2020; 9780525498438; Penguin Random House Audio; duration 10:18:39 (9 parts). (Film: No.)

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
Verity opens a package, having just taken a job as something like a product analyzer. This particular product seems to be some sort of AI device, with very convincing personality traits. When Gavin, from the company that hired Verity, refuses to provide any information, asking HER to tell THEM exactly what it is and does, the device cuts off all monitoring from the company and enlists Varity in it’s own project, which is far-reaching and dangerous. Enter a world of drones, time travel, alternate realities, and adventure.
This is another title I chose from Goodreads top reads of 2020. I wanted to try genres I typically don’t (like this science fiction novel), just for the adventure. I enjoyed the conversation style between Verity and Eunice (the AI device). I struggled with the sci-fi nature of a tech, rather than character, driven plot.

AUTHOR:
William Gibson (3/17/1948). According to Wikipedia, “Gibson coined the term 'cyberspace' for 'widespread, interconnected digital technology' in his short story 'Burning Chrome' (1982), and later popularized the concept in his acclaimed debut novel Neuromancer (1984). These early works of Gibson's have been credited with 'renovating' science fiction literature in the 1980s.'''

NARRATOR:
Lorelei Elizabeth King (10/29/1953). According to Wikipedia, Lorelei “is an American actress, screenwriter and development executive who has been based in the United Kingdom since 1981. She has narrated audiobooks, acted in radio plays for BBC Radio 4 and appeared on television.”
I enjoyed her narration of this book.

GENRE: Fiction, Science Fiction

LOCATIONS:
San Francisco and London

SUBJECTS:
Bots, Droids, Artificial Intelligence, Future, Technology, Nuclear disaster, Politics, Military

SAMPLE QUOTATION:
“Picking up the headset and switching it on, she hung it from her right ear, settling the earbud. She put the glasses on, pressing their low-profile power-stud. The headset pinged, a cursor appearing. A white arrow, centered in her field of vision. Then moving down, of its own accord, to the empty boxes, the chargers, the black phone.
'Here we go,' said a woman's husky voice in Verity's ear. Glancing to her right, toward what would have been the voice's source had anyone been there, Verity inadvertently gave whoever was controlling the cursor a view of the living room. 'Got a hoarding issue, Gavin?' the voice asked. the cursor having settled on the miniature junkyard of semi-disassembled vintage electronics on Joe-Eddy's workbench.
'I'm not Gavin,' Verity said.
'No shit,' said the voice, neutrally.
'Verity Jane.'
'Ain't the office, is it Verity Jane?'
'Friend's place.'
The cursor traversed the living room, to the closed curtains. 'What's outside?'
‘Valencia Street,' Verity said. 'What should I call you?'
‘Eunice.’
'Hi Eunice.'
'Hi yourself.' The cursor moved to Joe-Eddy's Japanese faux Fender Jazzmaster.'Play?'
'Friend does. You?'
'Good question.'
'You don't know?'
'Thing-shaped hole.'
'Excuse me?'
'I got one, in that department. Want to show me what you look like?'
'How?'
'Mirror. Or take the glasses off. Point 'em at your face.'
'Will I be able to see you?'
'No.'
'Why not?'
'No there there.'
'I need to use the bathroom,' Verity said, standing. 'I'll leave the glasses here.'
'You don't mind, maybe open the drapes.'
Verity crossed to the window, hauled both layers of dusty blackout curtain aside.
'You put the glasses down,' the voice said, 'I can look out the window."

RATING:
3 stars. I know this author is popular, so I'm happy that my rating won't hurt his popularity. I’m sorry to say it did not hold my interest. I grew bored with it and had to keep putting it down, and going back later to re-listen and force myself to visualize the descriptions, of which there were a lot.
( )

Gibson has long been one of my favorite writers, both stylistically and topically. Agency did not disappoint. The emergence of artificial intelligence has been a perennial topic for Gibson, and it appears again here. If this topic appeals to you, as well, I would suggest that [a:Robert J. Sawyer|25883|Robert J. Sawyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1543370297p2/25883.jpg]'s WWW trilogy beginning with [b:Wake|12114375|Wake (First 25,000 words)|Robert J. Sawyer|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|4466559] is an even more satisfying treatment. ( )

In this universe somehow or other one timeline seems to dominate and people can create 'stubs' -- but the stubs are REAL -- and when things go wrong, the planet and every living thing on it will suffer, so there are those who try to 'manage' the stubs. To combat all this one of these 'agents' has loosed an AI who can think and act for herself in order to see if that might make a positive difference. The tension, I think, is embedded and implicit -- the amorality of 'gaming' versus the, uh, realness of reality -- people have lost their grip on the difference. We can't manage ourselves, basicall, we're wayyy too irrational. It's not stated explicitly, but that's the message. The second half gets more exciting qua story. Gibson as always is thinking hard about many things. For me it was not so much a fun read though. **** ( )

Disappointing: Gibson has a few ideas (primarily his take on time travel of data, not things) and I like his sense of humor, but mostly this is light reading that stretches on to far. ( )

Sequel to The Peripheral involves the characters from the first book interfering with a new stub-world, this one set in San Francisco in 2017.
Great writing, really interesting premise and amazingly textured world building. ( )