Pattern Recognition by William Gibson

There's little to tie this book to traditional Science Fiction, but the story is truly a distillation of what the genre is supposed to be. William Gibson, father of cyberpunk, is the man who created the concept of virtual reality and explored the concepts and potential of what would become world wide web. He crafts Pattern Recognition into a near-future tale that is an astounding example of what good science fiction can be.

Cayce Pollard is a "cool-hunter" hired by companies to spot emerging trends and subcultures before they become mainstream. She's fiercely allergic to trademarks, having physical and visceral reactions to the strongest of them. The Michelin Man gives her vertigo. Hilfiger gives her a rash. Yet she presses on, because she has a gift. She's obsessed with an emerging Internet art known only as "the footage", snippets of a film released sporadically throughout the web, hunted and treasured by aficionados around the world. Nobody knows who's making the film, what it's all about, where it's coming from. The speculation is endless. Is it a narrative? An art form? Is it being released chronologically? By a studio? A mad genius?

After finishing a job for an obnoxious Belgian design firm, Cayce is given the opportunity for the job of a lifetime. Someone wants to pay her and give her unlimited resources to find the source of The Footage. She accepts, more for herself than for any kind of lucre, and begins a jaunt around the world and the world wide web in search of the source. What she finds is astounding, heartbreaking, and thrilling.

The beauty of the story is its absolute plausibility. Many companies have tried to market themselves through viral videos (the Lost Experience, Sprite Sublymonal, Cry Wolf), and some independent filmmakers have captivated the world (lonelygirl15). Gibson creates an incredibly poignant hero in Cayce Pollard, whose father disappeared the morning of 9/11, and whose whereabouts remain a mystery years later. Technology becomes a portal to loneliness, loss, heartache, fear, reconnection, love, and hope. This novel is the benchmark for modern Sci-Fi.

Also, after reading the novel, you'll be sure to want to investigate Curta Mechanical Calculators, Buzz Rickson's Bomber Jackets, and titanium laptops. The story is mostly about aversion to marketing, but damn. I really want one of those little grenade-shaped calculators.

Un Lun Dun by China Mieville

China Mieville's fantastic new novel (marketed for younger readers but perfect for all ages) follows two young girls, Zanna and Deeba, as they discover strange goings on beneath London. Zanna is seeing strange signs and omens, all pointing to her being the chosen one who will save the city. Not the city of London; but unLondon, an abcity that exists on a plane beneath the Metrolpolis. The girls stumble across a portal that drops them in the middle of a world that bears some similarity to theirs. The citizens are a tad different. There's Obaday Fing, a tailor who makes clothes from books and keeps his pins and needles in his head. Skool, a mute lumbering being in an old fashioned diving suit. There are ghosts, half-ghosts, utterlings (spoken words brought to life) attack umbrellas and more.

Mieville turns the quest story concept on its head, instead giving us a heroine who takes a very practical approach to solving the problems of unLondon. It is an instant classic, at once frightening, fantastical, and hilarious. There are lessons of social responsibility and environmental friendliness, but much like the movie Godzilla, these lessons are delivered through monsters and the eternal struggle against the evils of men, bureaucrats, and apathy.

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

I've decided that I prefer to hear David Sedaris rather than read him. This latest collection of essays is funny, but for the most part I found myself distracted by Sedaris' complaints about his family. It sounds funny when he reads on NPR. It just sounds whiney here.

The Christmas essay is hilarious, as are other moments when he decides to detail his exploits in the real world working odd jobs (accidental erotic cleaning service) or giving directions while trying not to look like a serial killer. These are the moments that make the book great. There's something that just feels dirty about all of the quirks of his family. We're only seeing themn through one lens, and it's as if Sedaris is trying to say "of course I'm crazy, look where I came from!".

Rogue Warrior: Option Delta by Richard Marcinko & John Weisman

Another testosterone-fueled adventure from Demo Dick the Sharkman. It's your standard, B-Movie USA vs. the baddies plot, but Marcinko always makes it fun. This time, he's up against an international cabal of terrorists bent on resurrecting Aryan dominance in Europe. Option Delta gets back to the roots of the series, moving away from too much techo-geekery, and getting down n' dirty as Marcinko takes you step-by-step through several different invade and conquer scenarios. He always keeps his wit and his combat knife razor sharp. If you don't like foul-mouthed, ass-kicking, egotistical, knuckle-dragging, beer-swilling, patriotic, nationalistic, in-your-face bravado, perhaps this series isn't for you. If you know the man and like the books, this one starts raising the bar again...