Pattern Recognition
4 journalers for this copy...
Different cover. Have had this one on the wishlist for a while - described as part detective story, part "cultural snapshot" (only Arena would say something like that!)
From amazon.com (for the benefit of potential bookray participants): The first of William Gibson's usually futuristic novels to be set in the present, Pattern Recognition is a masterful snapshot of modern consumer culture and hipster esoterica. Set in London, Tokyo, and Moscow, Pattern Recognition takes the reader on a tour of a global village inhabited by power-hungry marketeers, industrial saboteurs, high-end hackers, Russian mob bosses, Internet fan-boys, techno archeologists, washed-out spies, cultural documentarians, and our heroine Cayce Pollard--a soothsaying "cool hunter" with an allergy to brand names.
Pollard is among a cult-like group of Internet obsessives that strives to find meaning and patterns within a mysterious collection of video moments, merely called "the footage," let loose onto the Internet by an unknown source. Her hobby and work collide when a megalomaniac client hires her to track down whoever is behind the footage. Cayce's quest will take her in and out of harm's way in a high-stakes game that ultimately coincides with her desire to reconcile her father’s disappearance during the September 11 attacks in New York.
Although he forgoes his usual future-think tactics, this is very much a William Gibson novel, more so for fans who realize that Gibson's brilliance lies not in constructing new futures but in using astute observations of present-day cultural flotsam to create those futures. With Pattern Recognition, Gibson skips the extrapolation and focuses his acumen on our confusing contemporary world, using the precocious Pollard to personify and humanize the uncertain anxiety, optimistic hope, and downright fear many feel when looking to the future. The novel is filled with Gibson's lyric descriptions and astute observations of modern life, making it worth the read for both cool hunters and their prey.
Pollard is among a cult-like group of Internet obsessives that strives to find meaning and patterns within a mysterious collection of video moments, merely called "the footage," let loose onto the Internet by an unknown source. Her hobby and work collide when a megalomaniac client hires her to track down whoever is behind the footage. Cayce's quest will take her in and out of harm's way in a high-stakes game that ultimately coincides with her desire to reconcile her father’s disappearance during the September 11 attacks in New York.
Although he forgoes his usual future-think tactics, this is very much a William Gibson novel, more so for fans who realize that Gibson's brilliance lies not in constructing new futures but in using astute observations of present-day cultural flotsam to create those futures. With Pattern Recognition, Gibson skips the extrapolation and focuses his acumen on our confusing contemporary world, using the precocious Pollard to personify and humanize the uncertain anxiety, optimistic hope, and downright fear many feel when looking to the future. The novel is filled with Gibson's lyric descriptions and astute observations of modern life, making it worth the read for both cool hunters and their prey.
Hrm. I had this one on my wishlist for ages, and was really looking forward to reading it. I'm not usually a sci-fi reader though and I found it a bit heavy going. It's a great book though - I think I'm just not the right reader for it! Gibson is a very imaginative writer, and I will give his other works a go. Is now off on a bookray...
List of participants:
RockDg9
deadendmind
serendipity-sg
Kislany
bilbi
jmcbeth
MrsDanvers
titihood
choclaholic
Enjoy!
List of participants:
RockDg9
deadendmind
serendipity-sg
Kislany
bilbi
jmcbeth
MrsDanvers
titihood
choclaholic
Enjoy!
Good timing! I just finished reading a bookring book, and now can start on this one straight away.
If you can get over the really odd writing style, this is an interesting story and it kept me reading. The heroine is a great character. The content, concepts and ideas were intiguing although a little boggy at times. I probably wouldn't read another of this author's work, but I did enjoy this story.
On to deadendmind.
On to deadendmind.
I picked it up today from the post office. As soon as I finish the book I'm reading, I'll get to it. Thanks hunnyb and RockDg9!
P.S. What a lovely label!
P.S. What a lovely label!
I finished the book today. I liked it a lot, although I didn't expect I would. It has a very interesting plot, the way modern culture and the post-industrial, information-based society intertwine. Very clearly a novel of the 21st century.
I liked the characters, especially Cayce Pollard, and how female characters are important in the book.
The world of the internet, technology, marketing and advertising are very prevalent and in my opinion quite accurately portrayed.
I also liked the description of the modern metropolis whether it was London, New York, Tokyo, or Moscow.
Just a bit weak at the end in my opinion, but otherwise a very interesting, well-written thriller.
Another little thing. The relationship Cayce has with the forum she frequents and the online community in which she belongs, reminded me a bit of bookcrossing. The way we go to the fora to meet our friends, the way it feels, like a good way to relax after a long day...
I will send it to serendipity-sg as soon as he gives me his new address.
October 11: I sent the book out today.
I liked the characters, especially Cayce Pollard, and how female characters are important in the book.
The world of the internet, technology, marketing and advertising are very prevalent and in my opinion quite accurately portrayed.
I also liked the description of the modern metropolis whether it was London, New York, Tokyo, or Moscow.
Just a bit weak at the end in my opinion, but otherwise a very interesting, well-written thriller.
Another little thing. The relationship Cayce has with the forum she frequents and the online community in which she belongs, reminded me a bit of bookcrossing. The way we go to the fora to meet our friends, the way it feels, like a good way to relax after a long day...
I will send it to serendipity-sg as soon as he gives me his new address.
October 11: I sent the book out today.
Journal Entry 8 by s3rendipity from Thessaloniki - Θεσσαλονίκη, Thessaloniki Greece on Sunday, September 3, 2006
Paid to predict the hottest trends, Cayce Pollard is in London to evaluate the redesign of a famous corporate logo when she's offered a different assignment: find the creator of the obscure, enigmatic video clips being uploaded to the Internet-footage that is generating massive underground buzz worldwide.
Still haunted by the memory of her missing father-a Cold War security guru who disappeared in downtown Manhattan on the morning of September 11, 2001-Cayce is soon traveling through parallel universes of marketing, globalization, and terror, heading always for the still point where the three converge. From London to Tokyo to Moscow, she follows the implications of a secret as disturbing-and compelling-as the twenty-first century promises to be.
Nice book,a catching-breath plot and very nice writing.l ll pass it on to Kislany.
Still haunted by the memory of her missing father-a Cold War security guru who disappeared in downtown Manhattan on the morning of September 11, 2001-Cayce is soon traveling through parallel universes of marketing, globalization, and terror, heading always for the still point where the three converge. From London to Tokyo to Moscow, she follows the implications of a secret as disturbing-and compelling-as the twenty-first century promises to be.
Nice book,a catching-breath plot and very nice writing.l ll pass it on to Kislany.
