25

I'm looking for a near future (I'm pretty sure) Sci Fi book that may have more than one protagonist, but has at least this one female lead. I heard a passage from the book somewhere (possibly a podcast with some audio book endorsement) that was very memorable. It referenced a main trait of this character being that she took all the labels/logos off of her clothing and apparel. She was extremely design centric and even came up with a word (possibly containing a 'verbed' form of her own name) to describe the action or aesthetic of doing this to her stuff. I remember the name being short and direct and unique, but I could be wrong about that.

I believe that this was a recent title, and possibly by a rather prolific author. I hope this helps, this is kind of driving me nuts.

Thank you.

Improve this question
4
  • 4
    What about Jennifer Government? The protagonist in that novel would have good reason not to wear a logo.
    – Adamant
    May 13, 2016 at 4:13
  • As much as I appreciate the help, that doesn't seem to be it, the character naming format is way too memorable for me to not recognize them.
    – Dennis
    May 13, 2016 at 4:18
  • 1
    Well, it was worth a try.
    – Adamant
    May 13, 2016 at 4:18
  • 2
    And it's worth reading, even if that's not the book you were thinking of.
    – Mason Wheeler
    May 13, 2016 at 19:28

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
44

Is it Pattern Recognition by William Gibson? The main character is described in the wikipedia article like this:

Cayce Pollard – A 32-year-old woman who lives in New York City. She pronounces her given name "Case" although her parents named her after Edgar Cayce. She uses her interest in marketing trends and fads, and her psychological sensitivity to logos and advertising, in her work as an advertising consultant. Her sensitivity becomes a phobia towards older corporate mascots, especially the Michelin Man. She wears only black, gray or white, usually Fruit of the Loom shrunken cotton T-shirts (all tags removed) with Levis jeans (with the trademarks filed off the buttons) or skirts, tights, boots, as well as a Buzz Rickson MA-1 bomber jacket.

Improve this answer
9
  • 2
    I had read it a while ago, I don't remember too many details but I enjoyed it at the time. And from what I remember it's not actually science fiction but set in the present day--I think Gibson sort of writes the present as if it were a science fiction novel, though.
    – Hypnosifl
    May 13, 2016 at 4:41
  • 2
    @Dennis I'm guessing they found it the same way I would've - by reading the phrase "female protagonist who doesn't wear logos" and immediately remembering Cayce :) I think it's a very good book - Gibson's recent novels have been very much about analyzing modern trends in media, commerce, politics, and so on. If you like the idea of how Cayce manages her wardrobe and life, you'll probably like her, and enjoy the plot concepts as well.
    – recognizer
    May 13, 2016 at 4:43
  • 3
    The specific genre is technically cyberpunk which is a sub-genre of science fiction. So it is science fiction. Note that SF hasn't always been about future tech. Some of the original SF works like Mary Shelly's Frankenstein and HG Well's The Time Machine took place roughly at the same time they were written (now our past). Of course, movies like Back to the Future which are traditionally considered SF also took place at the time they were filmed.
    – slebetman
    May 13, 2016 at 10:21
  • 6
    @slebetman Although Gibson is famous for practically inventing cyberpunk, Pattern Recognition is not cyberpunk. Nor is it sci-fi (contrary to the OP) because none of the science is fiction. :) It's not even really "near-future", because he's explicitly set it at the time of writing (2002-2003). Some aspects of it (online groups obsessively analysing anonymously-posted videos) became mainstream in the years afterwards, but Gibson was very much constructing a plot around existing technology and existing online communities.
    – Graham
    May 13, 2016 at 10:50
  • 3
    @Graham Pattern Recognition is actually set in a alternate universe in which Inverness Street is called Aberdeen Street and therefore is rightly categorised with all our other sci-fi favourites ;)
    – curiousdannii
    May 13, 2016 at 15:03

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.