Alien: Out of the Shadows (2014) – Tim Lebbon

It’s been a long time since I picked up an Alien novel. I dug the Alien 3 novel based on the original script by William Gibson, and before that I read Alan Dean Foster’s adaptation of Aliens bach when it first came out. But I was eager to dig into the universe again, I was…

Johnny Mnemonic (1995) – Robert Longo

William Gibson wrote the screenplay for Johnny Mnemonic based on one of his short stories, but you get the impression it changed a lot from what he had written to what ended up on the screen. A lot of the tech seems to be glossed over, and with an hour-and-a-half runtime, this film feels like…

The X-Files (2000) – First Person Shooter, and Theef

William Gibson and Tom Maddox pen First Person Shooter, an episode which first aired on 27 February, 2000.There are some elements of sexism and toxic masculinity throughout this story, because it has permeated the game culture that is at the episode’s heart. When a young man dies while playing an immersive First Person Shooter, evidence…

The X-Files (1998) – Chinga, and Kill Switch

This week’s instalment features episodes written by two guest writers. First up is Chinga which was written by Stephen King and given an X-files polish by series creator Chris Carter. The episode first debuted on 8 February, 1998. Predominantly a Scully (Gillian Anderson) story, with a bored Mulder (David Duchovny) popping up every now and…

Neuromancer (1984) – William Gibson

Today’s book shelf takes me to a science fiction classic, written by the father of the cyberpunk genre, William Gibson. This novel came out in 1984. I was to turn 12 that year, and if I had been given this book then, or any age shortly around then, I don’t think I would have enjoyed…