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• Spook Country
William Gibson

Berkley Trade, 2008 - 384 pages

average customer review:based on 141 reviews
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Reminiscent of Cold War spy novels but with a decidedly contemporary voice

Hollis Henry is trying to make a living as a freelance journalist. Have failed as a dot-com investor and not making enough in royalties from her influential but now-defunct indie band, The Curfew, writing seems like a safe and interesting career. She has landed a big assignment from the magazine Node about locative art, but things are not going as smoothly as she had hoped.

Locative art is computer-generated images, relying on GPS technology, that is usually staged in public, although you need the right equipment to view it. Hollis finds it strange and a bit creepy but becomes increasingly worried when she learns that Node doesn't even exist, and she may have been hired to find out something that has nothing to do with locative art at all. And so readers are drawn into the techo-noir world of SPOOK COUNTRY, William Gibson's latest novel.

While Hollis thinks she's entering the world of locative art, she in fact is entering a world of espionage and secret missions, international intrigue and money laundering, mysterious booty and even more mysterious figures. The man behind Node is Huberus Bigend. He sends Hollis to Los Angeles to find a locative art visionary, Bobby Chombo, but it seems that the neurotic and paranoid Chombo is actually at work on a much larger project.

Paralleling the story of Hollis Henry, and then interlacing with it, are the stories of Milgrim and Tito. Milgrim is a prescription pill junkie who happens to speak Russian. Because of his linguistic skill, he's been taken prisoner by Brown, a man who may or may not work for the government and who is on the trail of a network of operatives from Cuba who may be Chinese but speak Russian. That network is actually Tito's family. Tito's whole life is connected to the work his family does, although he rarely knows any of the details. He simply obeys the "protocol" for how to complete assignments. A major assignment has now been given to him --- so big, in fact, that he will have to leave his home afterwards, start a new life somewhere and possibly never see his family again. This secret and dangerous assignment brings him into contact with Hollis Henry.

All the mysterious plot lines converge in the Pacific Northwest as a ship sails into port carrying a special container. It's the container Chombo has been tracking, and it's the container's contents that everyone else is interested in. As Hollis finds herself getting deeper and deeper into the action, she starts to put the pieces of the puzzle together. But it's not until the very end that she (along with the reader) discovers what Tito's family, money laundering, the war in Iraq and the ship's container are all about.

SPOOK COUNTRY is a complex story filled with shadowy characters and both solved and unsolved mysteries. Gibson's tale is neither a straight spy novel nor a traditional mystery, although it has elements of both of these genres. It mixes them along with a post-modern, pared-down writing style, adding touches of satire and more than a bit of socio-political commentary for a unique and thought-provoking look at America in the age of "the war on terror." Gibson seems to suggest that there is profit to be made and power to be gained by exploiting the fears of citizens and the weaknesses of other nations.

Reminiscent of Cold War spy novels but with a decidedly contemporary voice, SPOOK COUNTRY requires patience and concentration, but in the end, like Hollis Henry, readers will find the adventure well worth it.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman


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Enjoyable Read

My only complaint is that, where I grew up, anything blue is of Yemaya. Of Oshun are honey, cinammon, amber, copper and gold... or just yellow.
Since I am an anti-fidelist, exiled Cuban, although not of Asian stock, I am a biased reader, because of the reference to Oshun. Also, I loved the beauty of Gibson's prose.
I think Patern Recognition is much more interesting, but Spook Country is easier to read. I enjoyed it.










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An okay read, but not a great book

I picked this book up for two wholly disconnected thoughts: one, I read Pattern Recognition a few years ago and thought it was pretty good, and this one seemed reminiscent of it. Two, I forgot that Mr. Gibson is no longer writing science fiction as most fans define it.

The characters in the book were difficult to relate to, but in time they settle into a readable cadence. The chapters, however, are short and choppy, and the 3 disparate storylines are enough to lend considerable confusion to the initial half of the book. The conclusion is somewhat interesting, but not groundbreaking.

If you enjoy Gibson's writing style and don't have anything else to read, this might be a good buy. If you're looking for A+ fiction, you might let this one go. Not a bad airport paperback or library rental, however.


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plodding and predictable

In "Spook Country", Gibson retreads a path that is already well-worn by himself, not to mention numerous Gibson-wannabes. It feels like an attempt at dystopia, but it's ultimately too anemic to manage it.

The story alternates between three storylines, and it is painfully obvious how they are going to tie together from very early in the novel. In one thread, we have Tito, a Cuban-Chinese man who is part of an extensive crime family and is in the service of his family. In one thread, we have Hollis, an ex-alterna-rocker who is now trying to make it as a journalist. In the final thread, we have Milgrim, an addict who is being held captive by a spook for his ability to translate Tito's family's Russian messages.

I loved "Pattern Recognition", so I have been looking forward to reading this book. Sadly, it didn't live up to expectation. It was plodding and predictable. It was still enjoyable, but there was very little question where the story was going and how it would get there. There are so many other Gibson novels out there that I would recommend before this. Try those, and save "Spook Country" for when you've decided that you like his work.


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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, page 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16



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