Spook Country

Gibson does a very fine LeCarre impression.

This was a disappointing sequel to Pattern Recognition. I had difficulty engaging with both the plot and the characters.

I think I picked this up in the airport to read on the plane on my way to somewhere. Though I loved some of Gibson's other books, I couldn't get into this one and eventually just stopped reading it. This one just wasn't for me.

I liked this book but unlike Pattern Recognition I didn't get sucked into it. The short chapters were interesting but I think it kept me from building the kind of immersion I expect. But a lukewarm experience ina Gibson novel is still hotter than most books.

I'm a William Gibson fanatic. Spook Country is set in 2006 and is tenuously connected to Pattern Recognition. These books aren't science fiction, but they are just as cutting-edge cool. I thought Pattern Recognition was Gibson's best work since Neuromancer. Spook Country didn't quite capture an overall mood like PR did, but it's a blast seeing its characters work the system in their personal spheres with the very latest technology as they bump into and up against one another. Gibson's commentary on the current state of America is perfect: understated and wry.

The story concerns the intersection of the lives of a member of a former rock singer whose band achieved cult status, a member of a Cuban-Chinese crime family, a drug addicted Russian translator, a couple of ex-government agents, and some hi-tech artists all affected by the comings and goings of a mysterious cargo container. There are a few people out there that will pick up this book simply because of that last sentence. Whether it's that or just Gibson's name on the cover, pick it up, read it, enjoy yet another of Gibson's worlds.