Pattern Recognition. By William Gibson.

Immediately you are thrown into a world darkly similar to our own, it has all the comforting details of normality, Weetabix, Google, Prada, but it’s just not quite it.

The characters are glossy in a gritty environment, almost out of place, and yet I found them quite at home, tightly woven into the plot and sporting quirky exaggerated characteristics.

Cayce, our lead girl is sensitive to brands, she can predict how the public will respond to a new logo; a dream come true to the marketing industry. Though she appears slightly vulnerable at first, Cayce shows her mettle against the backdrop of a gritty Tokyo. Cayce is intelligent, individual and quiet. She partakes in contemplation and Pilates, and she has a deep fascination with an ambiguous online cult film. It’s all rather alluring to the hidden geek inside us all.

Gibson has written a giant commercial, from its hyper real characters and ultra romantic settings, it sells itself continuously as it is read; proving how addictive and brilliant Gibson’s writing is. But below the romantic and cultural city surface there permeates a cold capitalist nothingness. Tiring; in the same way that walking around a shopping mall is tiring. I recommend it, but warn against taking it at face value. Don’t expect any characters to be substantial. The minute you feel you can take hold, they slip through your fingers and are gone.

3 and a half stars.

http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/index.asp