Dorene

It's a tough read but lays out some of the groundwork for the Union/Merchanter/Company universe that many of C.J. Cherryh's later books are set in. It portrays a 3-sided power struggle (war) where, in my opinion, no one side is on the side of right. They all in their own ways feel trapped into the course of action they've chosen to take.

I ran across an abandoned copy of “Pattern Recognition” at one of my favorite coffee haunts. After determining that it indeed was an orphan, I adopted it and brought it home. It has become one of my all time favorite novels and I have been passing it around to all of my friends. Even those who don't necessarily read SciFi have enjoyed the novel.

Gibson's writing, for me, is compelling...but I always feel like I am intuitively “missing” something. It hovers right there at the edge of my consciousness, but I can never quite grasp it. Sort of how I felt about calculus for a long time. I was fascinated by the complexity of the subject, but always felt my understanding of it was VERY superficial. Finally, during the third time I took the class, understanding hit me like a bolt of lightning. I want to read “Pattern Recognition” two or three more times so I can come to that sort of comprehension with it.

This book has frightened me...it's frightened me in the same way “A Handmaid's Tale” once frightened me. It's not hard to imagine a societal breakdown such as the one portrayed in “Talents”...a breakdown where the disparity between rich and poor is so vast and the atrocities done in the name of “God” so great. The descriptions of company towns, reeducation camps, neoconservative religious political leaders...it just doesn't sound that farfetched. Butler knows how to spin a yarn in such a way as to keep me unsettled and almost despondant throughout the entire prose. I know Earthseed is supposed to be a comfort, but all I can see or feel is the desolation of the characters. As well as it was written, I was be glad to finish this and put it behind me. My emotions needed to settle down a bit.

I don't know if I've ever read a book more beautifully written, science fiction or not. McDonald makes liberal use of metaphors in this book, it's almost necessary considering the subject matter. He manages to convey a sense of awe and wonder while simultaneously apologizing for it's inadequacy. You walk away with a sense of how wondrous and different the Chaga is, wishing to be able to see it for yourself.

Gaby McAslan resonates for me as the main character. She is much of what I wish I were and I get lost in her life as she chases (or rather is chased by) the encroaching alien life form spreading across the African continent. She is ambitious and sometimes almost single mindedly driven...but there's a human side to her too, with vulnerabilities not unlike the rest of us. The Chaga has been her purpose for her entire career and simultaneously stimulates her and terrifies her. Hard to blame her actually.

I was sad to reach the end of this book.

Oh, and it's very quotable. I had to have a notebook close by while reading. I often needed to write down a quote for future reference/blatant plaigerism.