Spook Country

By: William Gibson

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Tito is in his early 20s. Born in Cuba, he speaks fluent Russian, lives in one room in a NoLita warehouse, and does delicate jobs involving information transfer.

Hollis Henry is an investigative journalist, on assignment from a magazine called Node. Node doesn't exist yet, which is fine; she's used to that. But it seems to be actively blocking the kind of buzz that magazines normally cultivate before they start up. Really actively blocking it. It's odd, even a little scary, if Hollis lets herself think about it much - which she doesn't. She can't afford to.

Milgrim is a junkie. A high-end junkie, hooked on prescription antianxiety drugs. Milgrim figures he wouldn't survive 24 hours if Brown, the mystery man who saved him from a misunderstanding with his dealer, ever stopped supplying those little bubble packs. What exactly Brown is up to Milgrim can't say, but it seems to be military in nature. At least, Milgrim's very nuanced Russian would seem to be a big part of it, as would breaking into locked rooms.

Bobby Chombo is a "producer" and an enigma. In his day job, Bobby is a troubleshooter for manufacturers of military navigation equipment. He refuses to sleep in the same place twice. He meets no one. Hollis Henry has been told to find him.

©2007 William Gibson (P)2007 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc. and Books on Tape. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Part thriller, part spy novel, part speculative fiction, Gibson’s provocative work is like nothing you have ever read before.” (Library Journal)

"Set in the same high-tech present day as Pattern Recognition, Gibson’s fine ninth novel offers startling insights into our paranoid and often fragmented postmodern world....Compelling characters and crisp action sequences, plus the author’s trademark metaphoric language, help make this one of Gibson’s best.” (Publishers Weekly [starred review])

"Gibson excels as usual in creating an off-kilter atmosphere of vague menace.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Modern Thriller

Gibson, well known as the founder of cyberpunk style of science fiction writing and as the person who coined the term "cyberspace" now is writing novels set in the present. As with Pattern Recognition, Spook Country is set in the present, with New York, London, Los Angeles, and Vancouver as locations. I liked the book for its use of very current language. For example, a character says to another something like, "I read your Wikipedia entry and googled you before I came to see you." Or, when the main character, Hollis Henry, turns on turns on her PowerBook, she gets a screen that says, "None of your trusted wireless networks can be found."

The war in Iraq plays a role in the background of this book, and even Vice Presidents accidentally shooting friends while quail hunting is mentioned.

The book involves three different stories that come together in the last third of the book. All of the novel's characters are trying to locate a certain shipping container, the contents of which are unknown to the listener and many of the characters until near the end of the book.

The narration is competent and unassuming.

I recommend Spook Country

Very enjoyable listen

I write very few reviews, but felt compelled to do so on this book. I really enjoy Gibson's writing, even if this work is not as "out there" as some of his earlier cyberpunk.

Always worth another listen

Great narrator and a story I have listened to multiple times, one of my favorites from Gibson. The story is difficult to describe but I would easily recommend to anyone.

miscast voice actor

Story is great, voice actor struggles with female, feminine and accented characters due to a very deep voice.

Great book; so-so reader

This is the Gibson of Pattern Recognition, not Neuromancer. A contemporary novel about intrigue, but with passing reference to cutting-edge technology. The book itself I'd give 4 stars to- I liked the multiple story threads, and felt Gibson tied them together well at the end. The ideas behind the story itself are brilliant. But I never felt as engaged with Hollis Henry, the protagonist (of sorts) as I did with Cayce Pollard in Pattern Recognition. The other leading characters, too, were not entirely fleshed out. As for the reader, he does an OK job. Characters each have their own voice. Unfortunately he does not do accents well, so many of the characters who I'm sure would have unique accents only have a variation on an American voice.

Moody & Wonderful

Loved it. Gibson's book two of the latest trilogy is a little slow to start up, but then once it kicks in it's a great story. The characters are fantastic, and there's a good use of NYC, LA and Vancouver - the locations are very evocative.

Not Gibson's best

I'm generally a fan of Gibson's work, but this story just didn't grab me. The various plot threads were completely separate for much of the book, the ways in which they finally intersected weren't terribly compelling, and the resolution felt unfinished. Some great lines and scenes still, but nothing I would reread.

subtle and smart

Far more is communicated in this through context than exposition compared to any other of his books I've read. It felt slow at first but the mystery gnawed at me and the conclusion is worth it as all of the things you didn't understand before start making sense and you see things you missed completely that were clever foreshadowing of the plot.

The Future is Marketing

GREAT, GREAT, GREAT. This book follows on to Pattern Recognition, and while it is not a direct sequel, it shares the same future (present?). Gibson has captured perfectly the future, which happens to be today. The narrative reads just like a science fiction thriller, but the science fiction devices are all things from our current world. Most importantly, everything is touched by marketing. This, of course, is why I love Gibson's recent work so much. The flavor is like PKD, there is a lot of cynicism here, with a much more consistent style. Gibson's big advantage is that he takes marketing as a key part of who everyone interprets the reality around them. Not a critical analysis of it, but a reality check--the future has arrived, and it is all about consumption.

I especially loved the dead-pan delivery of Robertson Dean, which captures Gibson prose very well.

Loved it

I listened to this on a trip to Seattle and back. I think the mood of the story goes nicely with air travel and staying in big hotels downtown in cities.
It's so moody (this is Gibson after all) and so... disconnected. In a very good way, since he pulls you into his world.
The characters will stick with you long after the story is done, even though it really gets off to a slow start. You'll end this and want to grab Zero History, which continues the story, right away.