A review by jfaberrit
The Peripheral by William Gibson

2.0

I usually like William Gibson, but this was an underbaked mess of a book. In the end, what could have made interesting use of the timeline idea instead didn't really use it at all -- the book could have had the two main locations be on different continents without losing anything at all. Details that should have been critical, like the cause of the action that motivates the entire plot, are basically swept away without anything even passing for an explanation, while random characters are introduced throughout to fill plot gaps, without any attempt to explain how they fit into a bigger picture. The technological aspects are admittedly interesting, but the timing is questionable, since peripherals as envisioned in this book are already moving closer to reality, with some treatments for paralysis already actively exploring this field.

Overall, this was a book that could have been much better. For one that did use essentially the same ideas, but in a way that actually, you know, made sense, try Lock In by John Scalzi.