The Peripheral (The Jackpot Trilogy, #1)

by Dr William Gibson

The New York Times bestselling author of Neuromancer and Zero History presents a fast-paced sci-fi thriller that takes a terrifying look into the future...
Flynne Fisher lives down a country road, in a rural America where jobs are scarce, unless you count illegal drug manufacture, which she's trying to avoid. Her brother Burton lives on money from the Veterans Administration, for neurological damage suffered in the Marines' elite Haptic Recon unit. Flynne earns what she can by assembling product at the local 3D printshop. She made more as a combat scout in an online game, playing for a rich man, but she's had to let the shooter games go.
Wilf Netherton lives in London, seventy-some years later, on the far side of decades of slow-motion apocalypse. Things are pretty good now, for the haves, and there aren't many have-nots left. Wilf, a high-powered publicist and celebrity-minder, fancies himself a romantic misfit, in a society where reaching into the past is just another hobby.
Burton's been moonlighting online, secretly working security in some game prototype, a virtual world that looks vaguely like London, but a lot weirder. He's got Flynne taking over shifts, promised her the game's not a shooter. Still, the crime she witnesses there is plenty bad.
Flynne and Wilf are about to meet one another. Her world will be altered utterly, irrevocably, and Wilf's, for all its decadence and power, will learn that some of these third-world types from the past can be badass.

• ISBN10: 1467687448
• ISBN13: 9781467687447
• Publish Date: 2 November 2014 (first published 28 October 2014)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Imprint: Penguin Audiobooks
• Format: Audiobook
• Language: English

Reviews

[viking2917]

Gold Farming meets Quantum Tunnelling.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Caffeinated Aspects:

• At its heart The Peripheral is a time traveling techno-thriller with fascinating technology for the geek in you. Technology like advanced haptic-controls that allow time travel and embedded phones. Yep, no needs to worry about pockets for your phone, as you carry it in you! In Peripheral, we explore two worlds, one in the future and one in our future’s future. All of this is wrapped in a thriller with murder, a mysterious Jackpot and plots that will alter the future.


• Gibson delivers two protagonists that are fleshed out and will draw you into their worlds. Flynne Fisher lives with her veteran brother Burton. Burton was part of elite Haptic Recon unit in the USMC  and suffers from neurological damage caused by those implants. Flynne agrees to take on a job in his stead- beta testing a reality game. She inadvertently witnesses a murder in a futuristic London building. Our second protagonist, Wilf Netherton, contacts her. Netherton works in public relations in future London. He seeks her aid in finding the murder as Netherton and others work to alter Flynne’s future. I loved Flynne’s snark and endless questions. While Netherton is not as animated and low-key, the two worked together.


• The world building in this speculative fiction is fascinating. Filled with corrupt governments these dystopian worlds are unique from the technology to the stark differences between them. One is disease free and a drug lord runs the other. Secondary characters are unique, and draw you further into both worlds. The tale moves back and forth between Flynne and Netherton and eventually moves to complete interaction.


• Gibson not only weaves this incredible world he then makes the reader question scientific advances. We see corruption in the government and financial worlds all while feeling realistic. Despite being dark at times, he gives us flawed heroes allowing us to hold out hope for the future. Leaping into the “peripheral” was fantastic.


• Lorelei King is a wonderful narrator and I have enjoyed her work previously. She creates unique voices and her tone and pacing where perfect for this story. I loved how she enhanced Flynne’s snarky personality and her interpretation of Netherton I felt was spot-on.

Decaffeinated Aspects:

• The world is incredible, but as I am told, this is Gibson style. He drops you into the tale without a boat. I struggled to stay afloat and indeed went back and listened to the first thirteen to sixteen percent of the audio before gaining enough of a footing to stay afloat. Things are explained as introduced and while I ended up loving this, I struggled at moments.


• There are a lot of secondary characters, movement between worlds and patience is required as questions will build up and you wait for answers. As I said, Gibson drops you in. While it keeps the pace, moving and engaging, total focus is needed when listening.This is not a first book to try on audio.

Audio copy provided by publisher, full review on blog.This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer