tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134316.post4704098801366222844..comments2023-10-20T10:57:03.816+01:00Comments on Peculiar Times: The Adventure of the Anagrammatic AlgebraistPhiliphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08870980082684845846noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134316.post-22805634623652301692011-02-07T19:02:18.411+00:002011-02-07T19:02:18.411+00:00Sorry to be late to the discussion, but I did want...Sorry to be late to the discussion, but I did want to point out a little more evidence for Win Pollard being the Old Man. Near the end of Zero History, Gareth is on the phone, and we can only "hear" one side of the conversation. However, one of the responses he gives is simply the word "Win". And as I recall, both Win Pollard and the Old Man are described as wearing a "Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134316.post-4720056918119704922011-01-19T00:59:02.638+00:002011-01-19T00:59:02.638+00:00Then I shall pat myself on the back for having not...Then I shall pat myself on the back for having noticed it, and stop obsessing about it!Helennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134316.post-91817386885700983952011-01-18T10:53:06.984+00:002011-01-18T10:53:06.984+00:00Well, it turns out you're right -- photos of t...Well, it turns out you're right -- photos of the younger Win are described as looking like Burroughs in <i>Pattern Recognition</i> chapter 21. The old man is described as looking like the older Burroughs in both <i>Spook Country</i> (chapter 68, tellingly entitled "Snap") and <i>Zero History</i> (er... don't remember the chapter reference for that, but it's about halfway Philiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08870980082684845846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134316.post-14581033423936181132011-01-17T08:48:55.529+00:002011-01-17T08:48:55.529+00:00Ah. That's interesting. I did notice the des...Ah. That's interesting. I did notice the description of the old man resembling Burroughs in <i>Zero History</i> (though as I recall that's only a phone caller image, so in theory it could be someone else). I don't remember that description of Win, but as I say it's been a while. I'll try to have a quick flick through <i>Pattern Recognition</i> and see if I can spot it. <Philiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08870980082684845846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134316.post-27885767660854957842011-01-17T00:16:26.074+00:002011-01-17T00:16:26.074+00:00According to teh interwebs, Win Pollard is describ...According to teh interwebs, Win Pollard is described as looking like a younger "William S. Burroughs" in 'Pattern Recognition': then in one of the other two the old man is described as looking like "William S. Burroughs". Haven't checked this because I can't.<br /><br />And now I think I am beginning to get obsessive about this, so I shall go and do something Helennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134316.post-30604247747022897032011-01-16T23:47:07.644+00:002011-01-16T23:47:07.644+00:00"rounding out that third set of three books&q..."rounding out that third set of three books"<br /><br />Hmm. <br /><br />And yes, I think the old man is Win Pollard. I want to re-read Pattern Recognition to see if there's anything more in that which supports the idea through hindsight, but unfortunately my copy is somewhere (I think) in the UK.<br /><br />If there's no more to come in this series then perhaps the Win Pollard Helennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134316.post-6836861053879378282011-01-16T22:37:45.934+00:002011-01-16T22:37:45.934+00:00Gibson says in his blog that Zero History is "...Gibson says in <a href="http://blog.williamgibsonbooks.com/2010/05/" rel="nofollow">his blog</a> that <i>Zero History</i> is "rounding out that third set of three books". And since his other solo stuff comes in trilogies (there are even three Sprawl short stories) I can see why people are assuming it -- although it would be clever to play on that to prove them wrong. <br /><br />I Philiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08870980082684845846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134316.post-86754991332402837392011-01-16T18:21:22.528+00:002011-01-16T18:21:22.528+00:00Oh, and the McGuffin really is bloody awful, isn&#...Oh, and the McGuffin really is bloody awful, isn't it?Helennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6134316.post-50143003461508013982011-01-16T18:14:26.454+00:002011-01-16T18:14:26.454+00:00I agree with your reviews of both the Banks and th...I agree with your reviews of both the Banks and the Gibson, with the exception of the fact that I'm not certain that 'Zero History' *is* the conclusion to the, uh, 'Bigend triligy'. Does Gibson himself refer to it as such? I did some digging around online a few weeks ago, and all I could find was lots of banal chat room commentary and a few snippets of interviews in which Helennoreply@blogger.com