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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22320.Pattern_Recognition?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Pattern Recognition" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167348713m/22320.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22320.Pattern_Recognition?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Pattern Recognition</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9226.William_Gibson">William Gibson</a><br/><br/>
  <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9648757?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
  rating: 4 of 5 stars<br/>William Gibson is a rather tough author to read.  Not because his writing is particularly difficult, or overly vague, but rather because his novels, while short, are incredibly dense.  Every page is packed full of detailed descriptions, observations (both by the author and the characters), internal monologues, and commentary one the mundane and unusual alike.  While this can be fascinating and quite enjoyable as Gibson is very good at making extremely accurate and insightful commentary on universal truths that occur millions of times a day (most of which we are completely unaware), the sheer information overload can be fatiguing.  Gibson's first novel, "Neromancer" is like this and "Pattern Recognition" follows in much the same vein. While the former explored the expansion of technology and it's affect on cultures and human relationships,  the latter is much more tightly focused on the dynamics of sub-cultures and the formation of patterns within the mass chaos that is the collective human consciousness, with technology playing an important albeit more facilitatory role.   
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<br/>The main character is one Cayce Pollard, a so-called freelance "cool hunter" that has the amazing ability to spot consumer trends and what is just "cool" even before the people creating the trends know it exists.  As a hobby, she is part of an online community studying what is simply known as "the footage", a serious of mysterious, short segments of film that are released at random times onto the net. With no identifying characteristics, no known maker, and no discernible narrative or subject, the film has garnered a massive cult following that, at the time of the novel, has nearly reached "critical mass" where it crosses the line from "cult" to mainstream.  In fact no one even knows if it's parts of a whole, or individual works.  Cayce is hired by her current contracter to find the maker of the footage, and discover it's secret.  
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<br/>It's a fascinating story that explores the history of trends, sub-culture dynamics, the psychology of marketing and consumerism, and even a little human relationship drama thrown in for good measure.  I wouldn't say it's his best work, but it's one of the first novels that takes a razor-sharp look at our modern culture and our modern world.
  <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/644641?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Mike's review
rating:

recommended for: Gibson fans, people who enjoy a challange
status: Read in January, 2008

William Gibson is a rather tough author to read. Not because his writing is particularly difficult, or overly vague, but rather because his novels, while short, are incredibly dense. Every page is packed full of detailed descriptions, observations (both by the author and the characters), internal monologues, and commentary one the mundane and unusual alike. While this can be fascinating and quite enjoyable as Gibson is very good at making extremely accurate and insightful commentary on universal truths that occur millions of times a day (most of which we are completely unaware), the sheer information overload can be fatiguing. Gibson's first novel, "Neromancer" is like this and "Pattern Recognition" follows in much the same vein. While the former explored the expansion of technology and it's affect on cultures and human relationships, the latter is much more tightly focused on the dynamics of sub-cultures and the formation of patterns within the mass chaos that...more William Gibson is a rather tough author to read. Not because his writing is particularly difficult, or overly vague, but rather because his novels, while short, are incredibly dense. Every page is packed full of detailed descriptions, observations (both by the author and the characters), internal monologues, and commentary one the mundane and unusual alike. While this can be fascinating and quite enjoyable as Gibson is very good at making extremely accurate and insightful commentary on universal truths that occur millions of times a day (most of which we are completely unaware), the sheer information overload can be fatiguing. Gibson's first novel, "Neromancer" is like this and "Pattern Recognition" follows in much the same vein. While the former explored the expansion of technology and it's affect on cultures and human relationships, the latter is much more tightly focused on the dynamics of sub-cultures and the formation of patterns within the mass chaos that is the collective human consciousness, with technology playing an important albeit more facilitatory role.

The main character is one Cayce Pollard, a so-called freelance "cool hunter" that has the amazing ability to spot consumer trends and what is just "cool" even before the people creating the trends know it exists. As a hobby, she is part of an online community studying what is simply known as "the footage", a serious of mysterious, short segments of film that are released at random times onto the net. With no identifying characteristics, no known maker, and no discernible narrative or subject, the film has garnered a massive cult following that, at the time of the novel, has nearly reached "critical mass" where it crosses the line from "cult" to mainstream. In fact no one even knows if it's parts of a whole, or individual works. Cayce is hired by her current contracter to find the maker of the footage, and discover it's secret.

It's a fascinating story that explores the history of trends, sub-culture dynamics, the psychology of marketing and consumerism, and even a little human relationship drama thrown in for good measure. I wouldn't say it's his best work, but it's one of the first novels that takes a razor-sharp look at our modern culture and our modern world....less

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