What William Gibson Books should I get?

Well… all of them really (except possibly The Difference Engine).

If you have never read any then I would start with Neuromancer which is his most famous and arguably most significant piece of work (famously it coined the term cyberspace, the matrix and loads of other stuff we just take for granted these days). Its central themes are loss of identity in the face of technology and taking capitalism to the absolute exteremes. After that Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive whcih along with Neuromancer form a single story arc (The Sprawl Trilogy).

The second trilogy (Bridge Trilogy) is set closer to the present (but still firmly in the future) and revolves arround a community living on the remains of the Golden Gate Bridge. It has a much stonger stoty arc than the previous books and Gibsons style has definately matured since Neuromancer being more matter fact but still there are similar themes explored. In particular rampant capitalism and the widening gap between the “haves and have-nots”.

His two most recent books Pattern Recognition and Spook Country are both set in the present. Pattern Recognition following the 11/9 attacks and Spook County revolving around the US involvement in the rebuilding of Iraq. Both these books could be described as thrillers as opposed to sci fi but explore simmilar themes to his earlier work are very engaging although there is so much product placement in them that you;d think he was being paid. The set piece at the end of Spook Country is particularly cool.

I’ve read “Neuromancer” and it was AWESOME! I’m not normally a cyber-punk/sci-fi reader and I adored it… it’s amazing the future he predicted.

If I was doing it all over again, I’d start with the Bridge Trilogy, then go back for the Sprawl, then move into his newer works.

If you like Pattern Recognition, then try Bellwether by Connie Willis.