Audio By Carbonatix
Post 9/11, the future for William Gibson is now. Since his 1984 novel Neuromancer, Gibson has propelled cyberpunk as a science-fiction genre with postmodern thrillers that examine the impact of technology on politics and the human psyche. In 2003, he shifted from the dystopia of the near future to the dystopia of the present with Pattern Recognition, a contemporary narrative that examines modern existence through the fragmented lens of advertising and corporate cool hunters.
Spook Country, his latest effort, also follows a current-day plot beginning with the storyline of Hollis Henry, a former rock star turned freelance journalist sent on a baffling assignment by a mysterious technology magazine. Across the country in New York, a young Cuban immigrant finds himself working for an elaborate criminal disinformation campaign while Milgrim, a prescription-drug junkie, is ordered to spy on the conspiracy by a shadowy government agent. At the center of all the action is a shipping container meandering the globe with unknown contents and an unknown destination.
With so many variables, little becomes certain until the final pages — and even then, all that remains as a defining principle is chaos. Gibson creates an untiring meditation on a world filled with high-tech apparitions, where masses of information can be smuggled on an iPod, where the specter of terrorism underpins the most mundane — and fantastic — aspects of daily existence.
Gibson will read from and sign his new book today at 4 p.m. at the Boulder Book Store, 1107 Pearl Street. For more information, call 303-447-2074 or visit www.boulderbookstore.com.
