Patterns (Paperback)

by Pat Cadigan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
This collection of precyberpunk short stories was originally published in 1989, with some of the selections dating back to 1983. As a result, some of the stories may seem outdated, but they brilliantly illuminate how quickly technology has advanced in one short decade.

In Pat Cadigan's tales, social issues morph into monstrous fantasy--like the what happens to Milo, the kid who's always left out, in the chilling "Eenie, Meenie, Ipsateenie." The story "Heal" will keep the likes of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker awake at night, pale and unblinking in their beds. Particularly harrowing is the tale "My Brother's Keeper," in which a girl's struggle to rescue her brother from heroin addiction uncovers something far uglier going on in the dark recesses of the inner city.

Patterns is reminiscent of Ray Bradbury's short stories, but with malevolent twists and psychotic turns that leave the reader waiting on tenterhooks for the final punch line. Fans of Cadigan's work will particularly enjoy the introductions she has written for each story. Those wanting to read her for the first time may find her novels a better introduction. --Jhana Bach

From Publishers Weekly
This disappointing collection by the author of Mindbenders contains 13 stories dating from 1982 to the present, plus a new piece, "The Power and the Passion." The latter is one of her more powerful stories; it deals with a psychopathic killer more inhuman than the vampires he is hired to destroy. As with most of Cadigan's work, its effect depends on shock; here and in other places she undercuts the surprise with otherwise uninformative, excessively breezy prefaces to the stories. The tales range from science fiction to horror to mood-piece, although the mood is almost always dark. Cadigan plays on our expectations: an apparently rosy marriage can encompass electronic slavery; a scared little boy terrorizes children as a adult; and a Good Samaritan fronts for an alien whose non-human desires redefine the term rape. Her reliance on twists is formulaic. The collection includes "Angel," nominated for Nebula, Hugo and World Fantasy awards.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (February 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312868375
• ISBN-13: 978-0312868376
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,109,177 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pat Cadigan the Queen of Cyberpunk, April 11, 1999

By A Customer

In this collection are some of the best cyberpunk stories around. It is good to see this book finally back in print. All will see why Pat Cadigan is a well respected writer of science fiction and in the sub genre cyberpunk. If you want to read good short stories with a bite, then Patterns is the book for you.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun to read, January 28, 2001

By	C. Bickford (Round Lake Beach, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I don't mean fun in the normal sense of fun, of course. Theses are not what anyone would call fun stories by any stretch of the imagination.

They resemble the works of Bradbury or Dan Simmons. Normal everyday events, somehow out of kilter a bit, or taking that half step behind the everyday to show... something else.

Not quite as brooding as Simmons, and not quite as adjective happy as Bradbury. Somewhere in the middle.

Overall, well worth reading, but they don't seem to fit in any particular genre. A little like this, a little like that. Horror maybe. But they're much too subtle to be horror. At least the conventional kind of everyday horror.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great to see this classic collection back in print!, March 16, 1999

By	Edward Alexander Gerster "miamibooks" (South Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Pat Cadigan shows her breadth of writing style in this collection. It is an amazing read, and the stories are now like old friends--rather than the shock of the new. Highly Recommended!