NNO Book Club: Pattern Recognition

Science fiction can be a tricky genre. If it is not set in space or on a ship of some sort, if it is not set in a distant future that seems nothing like our present, if the “science” aspects of it have – in the 20+ years since it was published – have become less the magical future and more just a mundane Tuesday – is it still science fiction?? I guess we will find out.

William Gibson has an almost larger than life reputation as a writer, including the oft-included biography tidbit that he coined the term “cyberspace” in 1982, long before most of us had any concept of an interconnected digital world existing in some formless dimension and help shaped the genre of cyberpunk. He and Bruce Sterling created one of foundational works of what became steampunk. In short – he’s kinda important and it feels like it is time to read one of his works.

Pattern Recognition, and the trilogy it begins, is more realist, grounded in a more contemporary (for 2003) setting than the novels both before and after it but I am hoping maybe that is a good place to start with someone who has been described as a “noir prophet” of cyberpunk. All of that to say – we are starting 2025 reading Pattern Recognition by William Gibson.

***Book summary from Goodreads***
Cayce Pollard is an expensive, spookily intuitive market-research consultant. In London on a job, she is offered a secret assignment: to investigate some intriguing snippets of video that have been appearing on the Internet. An entire subculture of people is obsessed with these bits of footage, and anybody who can create that kind of brand loyalty would be a gold mine for Cayce's client. But when her borrowed apartment is burgled and her computer hacked, she realizes there's more to this project than she had expected.

Still, Cayce is her father's daughter, and the danger makes her stubborn. Win Pollard, ex-security expert, probably ex-CIA, took a taxi in the direction of the World Trade Center on September 11 one year ago, and is presumed dead. Win taught Cayce a bit about the way agents work. She is still numb at his loss, and, as much for him as for any other reason, she refuses to give up this newly weird job, which will take her to Tokyo and on to Russia.

With help and betrayal from equally unlikely quarters, Cayce will follow the trail of the mysterious film to its source, and in the process will learn something about her father's life and death.

***This month's restaurant selection***
For January, we are returning to Oishi Sushi Bar. With some great lunch specials available on Saturday like sushi rolls paired with soup and salad, to bento boxes, and even some Thai curry options. There should be something for everyone. You can check out the menu here: https://www.oishisushithaioldsmar.com/.

***Not sure about book club or never been to one before? ***
Read the book (or some of the book). Come to the Meetup. Eat yummy food and chat with folks about what you thought about the book. REPEAT!

***Not sure where to get the book? ***
All books we select have a decent number of copies (at least 3-4 across all formats) at both the Hillsborough and Pinellas County Library. And, of course, you can always buy a copy.

***Didn’t finish/hated this book?***
Come to the Meetup anyway! If you didn't finish - just be aware, there will be spoilers. If you hated it, come and rant! In my experience, the books that generate the best conversations and the books we really love are rarely the same books.