Pattern Seeker

Pattern Seeker is the first volume in the Random Happenings series of novels by L Keith Wheeler.

Set in the near future, Pattern Seeker follows the privileged life of Jason Armond who possesses the rare talent of being able to see patterns where others just see chaos. This talent has led him to a secret that involves every major government, corporation and organization on Earth. Jason ends up on the run and acquires help from an unexpected source. His flight takes him from Earth to Mars where he takes temporary shelter in a mining colony before continuing on to the outer reaches of our solar system to examine a construct apparently of alien origin. What he finds there will alter not only his destiny but that of the entire human race.

Pattern Seeker is a novel of scope and imagination, with some very interesting ideas and some nice future tech. The near future setting gives the book a good solid reality to it and the technology in use isn't too far advanced as to appear unbelievable. The back story is quite comprehensive - told in an easy to read style and the pace is fairly gentle through the majority of the novel. It's quite a hefty book, weighing in at 624 pages in large format paperback.

The novel is very descriptive, sometimes a little too much, do we really need to know what the principle protagonist had for breakfast and how the food tasted? Nonetheless this is an accepted style that's pursued by many acclaimed authors but for me it does slow down the overall pace and sometimes seems a little unnecessary.

The story itself is told in a nice easy to read style and is pretty big in scope with a few unexpected twists and turns, it is a great story while the technology in use is clearly defined and very plausible. The characters that make up the story are well fleshed out and quite easy to create a bond with. The fact that is the first in a series is made quite clear with the cliff hanger style ending.

Pattern Seeker is an intelligent and thought provoking novel that raises some interesting questions on the whole big brother / Illuminati conspiracy theories and offers conjecture of what could happen in a future society where everyone is linked to the evolution of the internet.