Whenever I travel I like to get a brand new book for the flight from the airport. Usually this ends up being Neuromancer by William Gibson as almost all airports stock this or something by Gibson anyway. Neuromancer is my Catcher in the Rye - think Conspiracy Theory staring Mel Gibson - I have read it countless times and have numerous copies.
Anyway, looking through the racks of books at London HR and finding nothing that inspires me to read it, I scan for the Gibson section. (Yes I have read The Da Vinci Code - as have 95% of the people reading in Terminal 3 by the looks of things.). Stuck between a healthy number of Patten Recognition's I find Angel Stations by Gary Gibson and decide to read this for no other reason than he shares a last name with William.
And what a find it turned out to be. In the story mankind has discovered a network of portals linked to each other, left behind by some ancient lost race known as Angels. These Angel Stations allow man to expand into the universe and explore. That explains the books title but doesn't really have anything to do with the actual story. Part CyberPunk, part space opera, part fantasy, a great read with lots of ideas and imagery to make you think along the way.
I recommend this book but with a small warning. This is the authors first novel and sometimes I think it shows as parts of the story and character threads get confused sometimes - they did to me anyway ;-) Saying that though I'm looking forward to his next novel.
You can read Gary Gibson's Blog at http://www.barkinglemur.co.uk/
