Book Review: Agency by William Gibson

Agency by William Gibson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Unlike most Gibson novels, I didn't love this one. It felt ... thin. For me, Gibson has always been a master of dropping you into a strange yet somewhat familiar world and immediately wrapping you up in a plot driven by a well-constructed cast of characters. I loved that many of his earlier works were related in subtle ways, not serial novels but random characters (often minor ones) from earlier novels would pop up in later ones. The unifying factor was the theme: the technology, the cyberpunk world.

This book is more a straight-up sequel to Peripheral (though at least once review refers to it as a sequel and a prequel, which just shows that the reviewer probably didn't really read the book or doesn't understand the underlying alternative timelines device that Gibson uses). As such, it's ok. We get to revisit a number of characters from the Peripheral, but not in any deep or satisfying ways. While there is lots of Gibsonesque action, none of it really relates to the more interesting geo-political plot, the vast majority of which happens off the page. The connections between the personal events and the global ones are never explored.

The issues around AI are never really explored either. Who/what is Eunice? Why does she matter? What is she doing? All issues are explored (excuse the pun) peripherally. And that includes the peripherals, themselves. I was hoping for more ... thought? exploration? ... anything about them. The action was fun but there were so many missed opportunities to make the book more than a thin all-action-no-meaning jaunt.

I hated the wrap-up in the final chapters. Far too tidy and perfunctory. Over all, the book had a sense of being created because Gibson's publishers said "Hey, how about a sequel to The Peripheral? I bet that would sell." and then completed because they said, "All right, Gibson, think this one is long enough. How about you wrap it up here?"

I didn't hate the book - I rather enjoyed reading it thanks to the action-driven plot - but unlike far better Gibson novels, it didn't leave me with anything to think about. Six months from now, I won't think back to some cool issue raised in this novel. I'll still be excited to see what Gibson comes up with next, just hoping it's better than this...

View all my reviews