One of Gibson's "the future is now!" books. Not as good as classic cyberpunk Gibson, but an enjoyable and quick read. ( )

One of Gibson's "the future is now!" books. Not as good as classic cyberpunk Gibson, but an enjoyable and quick read. ( )

despite interesting topics (apophenia, viral video, marketing/globalisation/capitalism/etc...) and a few great sentences, this book was weak. Definitely what I think of as a "plot novel" where the movement of the narrative is so primary to the author's concerns that he castrates all the characters and descriptions. In just the most obvious instance, there's a long exposition in dialogue of everything that's been secretly happening in the book in the 2nd-to-last chapter, and then the last chapter has a string of emails from virtually every character, like one of those cheesy movie endings where we're told what everyone is doing five years hence. Maneuvers like that are symptomatic of plot-premacy, but also the author's lazi/ineptness: a Joycean epiphany, on the contrary, retrospectively rearranges all the previous events according to an organically developed revelation. Which takes actual talent to execute. ( )

With 'Pattern Recognition', Gibson moved away from speculative fiction, or rather the world caught up to him. Proof that the future is here. ( )

Err... this is from page 21 "Looks back as she's leaving and he is there, regarding her severely from the depths of black parentheses"

What? He regarded her severely? Really? What on earth are black parentheses? (They're in a coffee shop.) This entire book is written in this way - like the author is experimenting with short sweet lines, made more complex by the addition of unexpected adverbs and metaphors.

But all I really wanted is a story. Some action, some characterization... not this cold clinical book that was obviously written with a thesaurus close to hand; oh, and a book of brand names wasn't far off either - every second sentence drops another. Of course, this is the point of the book - name-branding - but I still sort of expected some plot or, at least, a chance to give a hoot about the main character.

I'm left wondering if the main character is also a name brand - all marketing and words, no personality. ( )

One of the best examples of Gibson's ability to assimilate the sum total of modern life into a work of alleged science fiction. I say alleged because with every passing year, the premise of his books seem more plausible.

Pattern Recognition weaves post 9-11paranoia, fashion, post Soviet Union economics, independent film, and Otaku lust into a page turning delight. The author's ability to dive deep into social observation and report the findings back in a fistful of simple, salient words is remarkable. It almost makes me think social ficition, or psyche-fiction would be a more apt term for these kind of books. Like some kind of carnival mirror that shows us a slightly skewed version of our lives.

To be honest, it's more of an ideas, or concept book than a sci-fi adventure. More of a chess game than a football game, if you can stomach a sports metaphor. ( )

At the time I couldn't tell if I enjoyed this story or not. It had the overarching conspiracy that I enjoyed from earlier novels, but at times the story was to abstract and it was difficult to understand the motivations of the characters. Looking back I feel like this was an experiment for Spook Country. It has a similar feel and takes place in the same "present day, but just under the surface" world, but the story telling is not as tight. ( )

William Gibson has been one of my favorite authors since I first read and was enthralled by Neuromancer. Maybe I've gotten jaded or perhaps things get past me now that didn't used to, but this book left me feeling unaffected, something I never thought I'd say about a Gibson novel.

Cayce Pollard, in this contemporary tale, set soon after 9/11, can predict market success of products and logos, of public relations campaigns for consumer goods. The nature of this skill is nebulous at best. At the heart of the story is some footage, aka video, that appears piece by piece on the internet. Cayce is tasked to find the "maker" of the footage. If there's a slimmer premise for a novel, I can't think of it.

The book sparkles with Gibson's clever prose, but this time, it feels like name dropping due to all the product names bandied about. And for 80 or so pages, nothing seems to happen. There is more packed into the last 50 pages of the 356 page trade paperback than the rest of the book together, or so it seemed. And I was left thinking, so what? The premise, the action, all seemed quaint, out of place with how the world is evolving. To set his story so close to now, Gibson pretty much guaranteed that this bookhad a short life for freshness. It's not quite stale now, but it certainly felt old.

Or maybe it's just me, missing something obvious. I doubt it. ( )

See Unearthing History at From Word to Word

Speedy, superficial, chic (but not as pointedly chic as "American Psycho"), international (but not as genuinely as Chico Buarque), appropriately breathless. Yet another book by an author who has gotten used to a drifting international lifestyle, and knows he needs to watch his designer sneakers and fatigued Gap jeans.

At the plot's center is a sharp idea about the reconstruction of film clips scattered throughout the internet. It's visually obsessive like Robbe-Grillet's "Voyeur," but up-to-date like Lev Manovich. But Gibson is too busy with the confetti of international airport lounges to really pay attention to his visual images. ( )

Really enjoyed this one. Gibson has a masterful grasp of language that I both admire and thoroughly enjoy. And, of course, he has an eye on the tech and trends of the near-future. This one plays out as a mystery and keeps you turning pages. ( )

I was reading this again last night, and as I had the first time I read the book, I found the present tense grating, especially as I started out. But soon, I forgot my irritation in my enjoyment of Cayce Pollard and her richly detailed world--both interior and exterior. I love Cayce's basic competence, her ability to fit in with almost anyone without losing her own identity, even her psychological hang-ups. And her journey and its conclusion are thoroughly satisfying. Oh--and did I mention that Gibson’s use of language is masterful--even when it grates? ( )

This was my first William Gibson book so I went in with high expectations from all the good things I've heard. I enjoyed reading this book as he is a good writer and is able to pull you into his fictional world. I did not, however, enjoy the story -- or lack there of. The entire novel revolves around Cacye Pollard's quest to uncover the truth behind "the footage", a series of film clips mysteriously found online.

I couldn't believe that the mystery and intrigue generated in these characters could happen in real life. Sure, fads like this happen, but they don't get as big as they did in this book. And as others have said, the ending... blah.

I read in another review that this book wasn't meant to tell a story, just to give an ambiance of the internet culture in modern day. I buy that, but at least give me SOMETHING of a believable story. ( )

Wonderful conceit: allergy to marketing ( )

I remember once trying to read Neuromancer. I failed. The book is still sat on my shelf. When I opened my SantaThing parcel and saw this book I decided that I should really give Gibson another try. I took it as my only book on the Train to Nottingham for Christmas.

There are some lovely fields and towns that you pass through on the train. Really quite lovely.

Yeah. I got through the first four chapters and... gave up. Gibson is not an author who's work I can enjoy. I love the sound of his work, but the execution leaves me bored. ( )

I enjoyed this book, especially imagining the personality of the main character. She has redefined the meaning of "a duck in the face". There are many unique characters in this book in a world that is not too distant from ours.

Pattern Recognition continues Gibson's exploration of a near-real world, but here in present time and current (2004) issues. The essence of the theme which carries the narrative is concerned with how market primacy can be gained in a rapidly evolving or even stochastically changing technological context: branding, personal or global influence, generating public or group interest or generating groups to be interested. In a Pychonesque way, this broad theme is interlaced with a large number of other simultaneous streams of activity, sometimes incidental to the main theme and sometimes converging with it: the nature of art, collecting, grief, belief, evidence, artefact and others. To write more about the content would reveal too much; it's enough to say that the book is another terrific opportunity to look into the mirror Gibson has placed on our own world and gain a better understanding of this new century. ( )

Read Kindle version ( )

Previously read 10/25/2007 ( )

Really not nearly as good as the other books by him I've read. Burning Chrome and Neuromancer were much, much stronger, and Mona Lisa Overdrive and Count Zero, while slightly weaker than the two earlier books, were all still better than Pattern Recognition. ( )

I could easily become addicted to William Gibson. Like Spook Country, which I recently read and reviewed, Pattern Recognition is a hipster's delight. Gibson likes complex stories with interrelated events and characters. He's a student of pop culture, and his novels are right on top of current trends. Even more than complexity and hipness, I think, he likes happy endings. Some say he's a sentimentalist, but I don't think hipness has to be dark. These novels work for me. I want more! ( )

I just finished Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson, last week, and I enjoyed it, although I felt that the plot got resolved a little bit too nicely and neatly.
The first several pages actually put me off a bit, with all of its mentions of Casey Pollard's clothes as CPU's (Casey Pollard Units) and the Rickson's -- meticulously crafted Japanese versions of a certain type of jacket -- and her way of taking the labels off of her clothes. It seemed a bit much, and slightly precious or pretentious.
But I gave the book a chance, and I thought the idea of "cool hunting" was neat (cool) and kind of an interesting idea. Casey's talent for spotting workable logos in an unconscious or preconscious instant seems believable, and I wonder where Gibson got the idea. I've never heard of anyone else talk about such a capacity, although, admittedly, I don't stay current with these kinds of trends.
The world-wide search for the makers of the footage was interesting, the intrigue with Hubertus Bigend's company, Blue Ant, Dorotea Benedetti's devious tactics, all held my attention, as did Parkaboy's and Mama Anarhcia's posts on F:F:F.
Even the place where the search ends up (I don't want to give it away, in case someone reading this by chance reads the book) was believable and compelling.
But with all of the intrigue and the confusion that complicate the plot, Casey ending up solving the mystery, getting paid, and etc. seemed just too -- I don't know -- pat, or emotionally "uplifting." It's as if the pattern of the plot, with all of its spying, post-modern subjectivity, industrial espionage and danger only resulted in the comfortable design of a sweet romance. Maybe that's not completely fair, but, who says I have to be fair?

Internet chic meets classic thriller in a journey across three continents. Gibson does a wonderful job of conveying a feeling of jet-lag throughout the story but, as ever with this type of novel, the ending seemed altogether too easy and let down the rest of the book. ( )

Entertaining and a page-turner. Popular technological themes are explored against a background of a thriller's plot. But the denoument of the plot didn't feel plausible enough, and Gibson's fabled attention to detail clearly wasn't evident in his description of a Camden tube station that hasn't existed for 15 years. This wouldn't matter in another author's work, but Gibson's precise, almost fetishistic descriptions demand attention and jar all the more as a result when you know they are wrong. Gripping, nonetheless, and well-written. ( )

I had never heard of William Gibson or the novel Pattern Recognition until it arrived on my front porch back in June, a gift from my good friend, Mark. What I found was an interesting novel that truly did stretch and challenge me as a reader. In fact, I will have to read this novel again because I was unable to grasp all that was being done.

Pattern Recognition tells the story or Cayce (pronounced Case) Pollard, a woman highly in tune with up and coming trends. She, more than anyone else, sees patterns in dress, attitudes and interests on the streets. This awareness makes her opinions sought after by marketing departments developing new logos. She earns a very comfortable living providing these services and travels extensively. As a result of being so attuned to what will be cool or perhaps because of it, Cayce cannot stand being around logos and other corporate symbols. She does not wear brand named clothing. She considers it an allergy. Because of her phobia, I will never again look at the Michelin Man in the same way after reading this book.

For someone on the cutting edge of cool, Cayce is introverted and her hobby borders on geeky. Outside of her work her passion is to hang out on a board discussing clips of a movie that mysteriously and randomly appear on the Internet. With each new piece of footage that is discovered, the boards become increasingly active with theoretical discussions about the footage. Is it a completed piece? In what order are the clips being released. Is it or will it be a movie at all? Cayce’s best friend on her favorite board, f:f:f, is Parkaboy. He is very opinionated when it comes to the footage and is known to get into heated discussions with other members. This level of dedication and interest over clips reminds me quite a bit of those people I know who are obsessed with Star Trek, The X-Files, and other science fiction/paranormal favorites. In that way, Cayce strikes me as a hero for the everyday nerd. She dictates cool for the outside world while making her home among those who don’t follow the trends.

Much of the detail in this novel went straight over my head. There were large stretches where I felt that significant things were happening, but I missed them entirely. Reading those sections over again did not change that. Even as I finished the novel the pieces weren’t fitting together for me. There were also important themes, such as the antique calculators, that I really didn’t understand. For this reason, I will need to reread this novel. I want to find the patterns in the novel that I missed.

Despite feeling lost at times and not comprehending all that was happening, I enjoyed reading Pattern Recognition. I very much enjoyed getting to know Cayce and follow her along on her adventures and her trek to find out more about the footage. She goes from London to Paris to Moscow and in the midst of these big cities, she even sneaks in a reference to Roanoke, Virginia. What I was left with most of all, were interesting ideas that I continue to think about. What would life be like if I were allergic to or had a phobia of logos, mascots, and other visual forms of marketing? What does globalization mean? What importance does corporate marketing have in my life? I like to think I’m somewhat immune to all of the advertising I see on a daily basis, but am I really?

A novel that makes you ask questions and think about the larger issues in society. Somehow, I’m not surprised at all that this is one of Mark’s favorite books. We are going to have quite a bit to discuss the next time we’re together.

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