Jordan Colley

This is a hard book to describe. It's the first book by Gibson that I've read; I haven't read the more well-known Neuromancer. I've tried several times to describe it to my wife, but it always comes out as a weird amalgam of plot details.

Cayce Pollard suffers from an allergy to certain brands that makes her indispensable in the advertising world as a taste-maker and advisor. In her personal life, she is obsessed with snippets of online video that have become a viral sensation on message boards. This is early 2000s internet, and the book reflects the sort of optimistic and trusting environment that permeated online. The book delves into her search for the creator of the footage and plays out like a mystery/spy novel, where everyone has an angle and Cayce is trying to sort out the truth.

Gibson's writing style is frenetic at times, using lots of commas and poetic descriptions interweaved with dialogue. It works well for the sleep-deprived main character caught in a whirlwind. I'm curious to read one of his other books to see if this is indicative of his writing style or particular to this book.

The book moves at a pretty quick pace, and I would say that it's more of a plot-driven book than a character-driven one. It is interesting to see how Cayce's brand allergy and trend spotting give her a unique lens to see the world. That being said, I wouldn't say there is a lot of emotional depth or growth for the characters.

The themes explored are the interesting part. Gibson mentions numerous brands in descriptions throughout the book, calling out how inundated we are by advertising in our daily lives. The book explores art and its commodification, the search for truth, privacy and wild online fandom.

I enjoyed the book, but wouldn't recommend it to everyone. If any of those ideas perk up your ears, you might really enjoy it. I'm intrigued enough to read something else of his. Maybe I'll dig into Neuromancer at some point.