Editing Pattern Recognition (novel) (section)

{{original research|date=April 2025}}
{{short description|2003 novel by William Gibson}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book | <!--See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels-->
| name = Pattern Recognition
| image = Pattern recognition (book cover).jpg
| caption = Original first edition cover
| author = [[William Gibson]]
| cover_artist =
| country = United States
| language = English
| series = [[Hubertus Bigend|Bigend cycle]]
| genre = [[Science fiction]]
| published = February 3, 2003 ([[G. P. Putnam's Sons]])
| media_type = Print ([[hardcover]] and [[paperback]]), [[audiobook]]
| pages = 368 pp (hardcover)
| isbn = 0-399-14986-4
| dewey= 813/.54 21
| congress= PS3557.I2264 P38 2003
| oclc= 49894062
| preceded_by = <!-- As this is the first work the author set in this fictional universe, it has no predecessor -->
| followed_by = [[Spook Country]]
}}

'''''Pattern Recognition''''' is a novel by [[science fiction]] writer [[William Gibson]] published in 2003. Set in August and September 2002, the story follows [[Cayce Pollard]], a 32-year-old marketing consultant who has a psychological sensitivity to corporate symbols. The action takes place in [[London]], [[Tokyo]], and [[Moscow]] as Cayce judges the effectiveness of a proposed corporate symbol and is hired to seek the creators of film clips anonymously posted to the internet.

The novel's central theme involves the examination of the human desire to detect patterns or meaning and the risks of finding patterns in meaningless data. Other themes include methods of interpretation of history, cultural familiarity with brand names, and tensions between art and commercialization. The [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] are used as a motif representing the transition to the new century. Critics identify influences in ''Pattern Recognition'' from [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s postmodern detective story ''[[The Crying of Lot 49]]''.

''Pattern Recognition'' is Gibson's eighth novel and his first one to be set in the contemporary world.  Like his previous work, it has been classified as a science fiction and [[Postmodern literature|postmodern]] novel, with the action unfolding along a [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]] plot line. Critics approved of the writing but found the plot unoriginal and some of the language distracting. The book peaked at number four on the [[New York Times Best Seller list|''New York Times'' Best Seller list]], was nominated for the 2003 [[BSFA award|British Science Fiction Association Award]], and was shortlisted for the 2004 [[Arthur C. Clarke Award]] and [[Locus Award|Locus]] Awards.