Pattern Recognition
Pattern Recognition - William Gibson Finished reading 18/10/04
Pattern Recognition is the story of Cayce Pollard - a 'cool hunter' - who is fascinated by some anonymous footage disseminated on the internet. This footage is anonymous not just in direction, but also in location and purpose. It is released in sections, 135 of them so far, and has a level of devotion from the fanatics that goes far beyond obsession.
Cayce is employed to track down the maker. Other important characters are Voytek (the ZX81? collector), Baranov (the drunk ex-security man), Dorotea (the driven career woman), Hubertus Bigend (the owner of ad agency Blue Ant), and Nora and Stella, the Russian originators of the work.
The main themes are the ever-present chances of unexpected loss (Cayce's father, the uncertainty of the footage sources), deception and trust, and the benefits of philanthropy.
As with most of Gibson's books there is a very appealing aesthetic to the world he creates.