A Zen assassin stalks San Francisco and the unlucky ex-cop hero from Virtual Light must assemble some very strange equipment. Further objects of desire include lovingly described knives, guns and even antique mechanical watches, as collected by Gibson himself (who pursues them through online auctions) - the ability to trace watches across the net is crucial to tracking the arch-villain.

All the world's clocks are ticking in a countdown to transformation and to chrome-polished scenes of extreme violence as zero-hour nears. Multiple storylines meet and dovetail with deft, witty understatement and, in one case, a charming joke.

Vintage Gibson, with enough artful backfill that you needn't read the prequels - but they're great fun too.