We have the technology!
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| Octopus Hat We have the technology! |
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Wednesday, February 26, 2003 Pattern Recognition I just realize that I never posted my thoughts on the new Gibson book. I really enjoyed it, probably more than anything since "Virtual Light." It was very odd, and very cool to be reading a Gibson book that took place in the present day, and not in the "near-future" realm of cyber-punk. It had all the elements of techno-fetishism that make his works so cool to read, but it was all centered around tech that, largely, is available TODAY. I don't even think that you could call the book Sci-Fi; it was more of a techno-thriller. And while I'm sure that there were lots of Gibson fans who were apalled by this, I didn't mind one bit. Gibson's language is probably the sharpest it has ever been in PR, and if I had my copy with me I could fill this post with kick-ass quotes. I'm hesitant to give a plot summary, as Gibson is never really about PLOT. But the basics are the heroine (Cayce) of the story is a member of an on-line community that follows mysterious and beautiful video-clips that are anonymously distributed across the web. She is hired by a big ad-agency to find the maker of the "Footage" so that said agency can harness the powers of the Footage's marketing genius. A globe-spanning adventure follows. All this is tied together with Cayce's e-mail correspondence with half a dozen supporting characters. The E-mail aspect sounds kind of lame, but Gibson pulls it off beautifully. Oh, and Gibson finally ends the book well. All of his other novels left me a little off-balance with there abrupt and (sometimes) bizarre endings, but PR ends very nicely. All the threads neatly wrapped up. Which made my finishing of the book much more enjoyable, as my "Gibson hangover" wasn't nearly as bad. For more reviews of the book, see: Slashdot, Doctorow/Mindjack, and SF Cronicle. posted by JMV | 2/26/2003 01:38:00 PM | |
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