Mon, 04 Jul 2005
Gibson, Pattern Recognition
William Gibson, Pattern Recognition, Penguin
This is newish in paperback but has been out for a while in
hardback. Also, the publisher is different in the USA I think.
Our copy came from the UK.
William Gibson first surfaced in a big way with 1984's
Neuromancer, with big thoughts and concepts with punk sensibilities.
Since then there really haven't been ideas with the scope of
Neuromancer's (the Net!) but more an examination, usually in
a near dystopian future, of some way in which things aren't working too well.
In this novel we're right in an undefined present (Putin is
the only head of state mentioned) and we scoot around between
NYC, London, Tokyo, and Moscow while on a mission. The
mission involves cult video footage, spys and demi-gangsters, and
a cool and very likeable female protaginist.
The flow is nice and the descriptions, just as in other Gibson
books, occasionally inspired. Characters are getting more fully
developed these days and aren't just attitude on a stick or
plot handholds.
I like the quote from one of the characters towards the end
"I think it's all actually about the money for him." He grimaces.
"Ultimately I find that that was the whole problem, with most of the
dot-com people ..."
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pre Dec 04 reviews are here