Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. Review by Violet Kane

Pattern Recognition found its way to my reading list as do most books for review on ARWZ. There was a combination of motivating factors�it was written by one of the greats of SFF literature, it was available on audiobook... What I did not expect, however, was to enjoy it as much as I did.

It may even be vaguely incorrect to review this novel on ARWZ because it isn't, as it turns out, truly SFF. This novel is set on present-day earth�present day for the time it was published, at least. In fact, this novel is quite strictly dated to the years directly post-9/11. The main protagonist of Pattern Recognition is Cayce, a woman whose father disappeared the morning of September 11th in New York. Cayce is still generally haunted by the irresolution of his disappearance, as well as plagued by a vague discomfort with the world she lives in. This discomfort is spurred both by changes in the post-9/11 years stemming from the attacks and to changes in Cayce's life that arose at the same time more coincidently. One of the only things about this novel that is SFF-ish is Cayce's peculiar sensitivity to brand names and images, many of which cause her virulent anxiety. As the novel opens, Cayce has gone to London on assignment for a company that aims to use her special powers of brand name recognition to assist in the development of a new logo they hope to trademark. Shortly after arrival, though, Cayce realizes she is under surveillance by forces much more powerful than the corporation that has contracted her.

On Audio

I did not expect to enjoy this novel, in part, because Neuromancer did not appeal to me when I read it. This Cayce, however (and yes, it's pronounced "Case"), turned out to be a very engaging and relatable character, one of the best female characters I've encountered in fiction, by far. The dynamics of the present-day setting are also very fascinating. I was amazed at how much this novel reads like SFF/cyberpunk at times, even though the technology is not speculative, but rather technology from our everyday lives. I'm tempted to interpret this choice on Gibson's part as a statement that we've reached a level of cyber-technology where it lends to stories just as interesting as speculative tales. At other times, though, this novel reads more like literary fiction, and I was very much drawn in by Gibson's subtle character crafting of Cayce.

This audio production of this novel is also exceptional; Shelly Fraiser's narration was spot-on with Cayce's character and added significantly to the enjoyment of this novel.

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Violet "Violanthe" Kane is the Webmaster and Founder of ARWZ.com. She is an editor of ARWZ Literary Zine and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Medieval studies.

Alternative Reality Web Zine: ISSN# 1559-3037

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