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Wasn't William Gibson (author of Neuromancer) roughly quoted saying: "I don't write 'cyberpunk' dystopias anymore...because we are living them. They are our rea

Wasn't William Gibson (author of Neuromancer) roughly quoted saying: "I don't write 'cyberpunk' dystopias anymore...because we are living them. They are our reality today. So I just write contemporary fiction." ....somebody help me out on this...I might be off the mark.

anotherman554 6y ago
I suspect you are thinking of a different writer. I've never read a Gibson interview where he said anything like that, though I have not read every Gibson interview.
- akeck 6y ago
  This article has similar quotes from Gibson: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/11/william-gibson-i-was-losing-a-sense-of-how-weird-the-real-world-was https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/11/william-gibson...
  - anotherman554 6y ago
    Not really. He doesn't describe our world as a cyberpunk dystopia in that interview. Whatever world we have today I don't believe he has ever referred to as cyberpunk-esque.
markedathome 6y ago
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/11/william-gibson-i-was-losing-a-sense-of-how-weird-the-real-world-was https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/11/william-gibson...
yesbabyyes 6y ago
It's not exactly that, but about how Gibson has steadily gotten more and more near-future: "The ten novels that Gibson has written since have slid steadily closer to the present. In the nineties, he wrote a trilogy set in the two-thousands. The novels he published in 2003, 2007, and 2010 were set in the year before their publication. (Only the inevitable delays of the publishing process prevented them from taking place in the years when they were written.) Many works of literary fiction claim to be set in the present day. In fact, they take place in the recent past, conjuring a world that feels real because it’s familiar, and therefore out of date. Gibson’s strategy of extreme presentness reflects his belief that the current moment is itself science-fictional. “The future is already here,” he has said. “It’s just not very evenly distributed.” The further Gibson developed his present-tense sci-fi, the more mysterious and resonant his novels became. They seemed to reveal a world within the world: the real present. The approach was risky; it put him at the mercy of events. In 2001, Gibson rushed to incorporate the September 11th attacks into his half-completed eighth novel, “Pattern Recognition,” a story about globalization, filmmaking, Internet forums, brand strategy, and informational deluge. Terrorism turned out to fit neatly within this framework; “Pattern Recognition” is often described as the first post-9/11 novel. The risks could pay off." Also a great interview with the man. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/16/how-william-gibson-keeps-his-science-fiction-real https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/16/how-william-gi...
WorldMaker 6y ago
Also the "Gibson's Law" quote of "The future is already here. It is just unevenly distributed." is a thing I often quote, as it provides multiple useful perspectives.

anotherman554 6y ago

I suspect you are thinking of a different writer. I've never read a Gibson interview where he said anything like that, though I have not read every Gibson interview.

akeck 6y ago
This article has similar quotes from Gibson: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/11/william-gibson-i-was-losing-a-sense-of-how-weird-the-real-world-was https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/11/william-gibson...
- anotherman554 6y ago
  Not really. He doesn't describe our world as a cyberpunk dystopia in that interview. Whatever world we have today I don't believe he has ever referred to as cyberpunk-esque.

markedathome 6y ago

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/11/william-gibson-i-was-losing-a-sense-of-how-weird-the-real-world-was https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/11/william-gibson...

yesbabyyes 6y ago

It's not exactly that, but about how Gibson has steadily gotten more and more near-future: "The ten novels that Gibson has written since have slid steadily closer to the present. In the nineties, he wrote a trilogy set in the two-thousands. The novels he published in 2003, 2007, and 2010 were set in the year before their publication. (Only the inevitable delays of the publishing process prevented them from taking place in the years when they were written.) Many works of literary fiction claim to be set in the present day. In fact, they take place in the recent past, conjuring a world that feels real because it’s familiar, and therefore out of date. Gibson’s strategy of extreme presentness reflects his belief that the current moment is itself science-fictional. “The future is already here,” he has said. “It’s just not very evenly distributed.” The further Gibson developed his present-tense sci-fi, the more mysterious and resonant his novels became. They seemed to reveal a world within the world: the real present. The approach was risky; it put him at the mercy of events. In 2001, Gibson rushed to incorporate the September 11th attacks into his half-completed eighth novel, “Pattern Recognition,” a story about globalization, filmmaking, Internet forums, brand strategy, and informational deluge. Terrorism turned out to fit neatly within this framework; “Pattern Recognition” is often described as the first post-9/11 novel. The risks could pay off." Also a great interview with the man. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/16/how-william-gibson-keeps-his-science-fiction-real https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/16/how-william-gi...

WorldMaker 6y ago

Also the "Gibson's Law" quote of "The future is already here. It is just unevenly distributed." is a thing I often quote, as it provides multiple useful perspectives.