Interface

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Sci-Fi, filled with commentary...
Review: ...about today's society and the American political system. Although this will not compare to the titles at the epitome of science fiction literature, it IS a good read. The question of authors aside, the author DOES create quite a page-turner, leading the reader through a maze of characters, whose lives converge in a huge scandal that seems not-so-far-fetched. It's not Thomas Paine, granted, but it does ask the obvious questions about the political system, and illustrates them with wonderful "What-ifs" in only the way science fiction can. I'll recommend this for someone looking for good, light-hearted sci-fi reading. Great for a free weekend or road-trip.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but...
Review: ...silly and implausable.

Rating:
Summary: Stephen Bury ain't no Neal Stephenson
Review: A few weeks back, a reviewer suggested we might see the hand of Neal Stephenson in Bury's "Interface". Almost everyone knows by know that Bury is a pseudonym of the "collaberation" between Stephenson and his uncle. But no one who as read the intensely poetic "Snow Crash" or the sardonically funny "Zodiac:the Eco-Thriller" could mistake the clunky, amateurish "Interface" for a work by Neal Stephenson. The plotting, while well-paced, seems pieced together from one of those Author Help computer programs. The characters are cut completely from cardboard and hammered into upright positions with coathanger frames. Neal Stephenson at his best reminds us of the young William Gibson, etching his name with a hybrid SciFi-Adventure-Poem called Neuromancer. Not a paragraph goes by without causing us to shake our heads in disbelief that one book could contain so many dead-on passages. Stephen Bury at his best recalls Stephen King when the rent is due, idly cranking out another forgettable work with precious few clever observations and fewer interesting moments. If Neal Stephenson has truly offered his uncle a hand in co-authoring this book, he must have written the page numbers, because I found them the most interesting part I counted down the number of pages to the end.

Rating:
Summary: Not his best work but a good read all the same.
Review: A good book, especialy in election year. Good plot development, good characters but somehow Bury's writing style doesn't inspire like he (using other names) did with Cryptomincon or Snow Crash. IMHO the style is a little like 'Zodiak - the Eco thriller' but I just didn't find it as riveting.

Rating:
Summary: Some Clarity...
Review: According to an interview with Neal Stephenson which I read, he *does* co-author both "Interface" and "Cobweb" with his uncle. OK...I agree with other reviewers that the style of this book is *not* what we're used to from Stephenson - it doesn't have the same flourishes of linguistic prowess or the fantastic metaphors of his solo writing - however, you can see his hand in the twists and turns of the plotline and, to a certain extent, the character development. I almost got the feeling that Neal outlined the story and his uncle filled it in. Maybe I'm being too critical. I would have to say that this is one of the best political thrillers I've read in a long time. If you like this one, I'd recommend "Cobweb" too.

Rating:
Summary: Some Clarity...
Review: According to an interview with Neal Stephenson which I read, he *does* co-author both "Interface" and "Cobweb" with his uncle. OK...I agree with other reviewers that the style of this book is *not* what we're used to from Stephenson - it doesn't have the same flourishes of linguistic prowess or the fantastic metaphors of his solo writing - however, you can see his hand in the twists and turns of the plotline and, to a certain extent, the character development. I almost got the feeling that Neal outlined the story and his uncle filled it in. Maybe I'm being too critical. I would have to say that this is one of the best political thrillers I've read in a long time. If you like this one, I'd recommend "Cobweb" too.

Rating:
Summary: incredible. couldn't put it down.
Review: amazing book. written in a style similar to stephenson's snow crash, but with a little less technological nonsense and more political nature. great character development with a very interesting plot that keeps you interested on a variety of levels. I've already passed this around to my family and coworkers. buy this book, gibson's neuromancer, stephenson's snow crash, etc. Cobweb wasn't as good, but was still worth reading. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Thinking man's politician becomes thinking machine.
Review: Anyone who wondered how Bill Clinton manages to say the right things, to the right audience, at the right moment, need look no farther than "Interface." This cautionary tale is a political nightmare-come-true story for the 21st Century, because if it hasn't happened yet, folks, it surely will. A society that turns out Dick Morrises and Joe Waldholzes in continuous series certainly can incubate the characters who run William Cozzano's "interface." Forget "Primary Colors II." This is THE political novel of the 1996 campaign. That it is largely unknown is the reading public's misfortune

Rating:
Summary: A good politcal thiller from the best of authors
Review: As many have said before, most who purchase this book are most likely to be those who have read most of Stephanson's other, incredible, novels, and are desperate to get their hands on any more of the juciy morsels that fly from his pen. I am one of these people.

I must say first of all that I usually have a track record of not enjoying politcal thillers much at all. With that being said, let me say that I blew through this novel at an unprecedented pace, even putting off studying (or shall I say, not studying) for midterm exams to finish the book as fast as possible. While I do agree with other reviewers in the fact that this book is not thickly laced with clever Stephanson metaphors and sarcasm, it certainly has its fair share. From my point of view, it seems to me that whoever his co-author was (his uncle, as many have suggested), this person was the driving force behind the politcal intrigue of the book, while Stephanson himself provided most (if not all) of the writing prowess and technological/futuristic elements to the novel.


That being said, I gave this book 4 stars despite the fact that I could not put it down simply because I was hoping for more of a Stephansonian dystopian novel (which the novel most certainley turns into, much to my surprise and delight) than what the novel is - basically a political thriller. However, the last fifth of the book most defintely will have your eyes glued to the page if you are a Stephanson fan, as the plot finally materilazes and becomes suddenley very interesting.


In conclusion, I say to those who are simply looking for another Stephanson romp into the future: this may not be your book. However, if you enjoy his irrevenet, dark, sarcastic and utterly genius style of writing, and are willing to plod through some pretty heavy political jargon and plot, this is most defintely the book for you. Oh, and by the way: if you are really interested in the particular plot line of the biochip and get turned off near the middle of the book because it seems to have disappeared from the story, hang on until the end, you will most defintely be satisfied. All in all, another great outing from Stephanson, as always seems to be the case.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Read
Review: At first you might think that this is a little farfetched. A chip in a governor's brain that is controlled by Cy in the eye? While the stretch might be in coordinating all of these global efforts, the technology to do so is in its infancy. A great find it would be, until the network can take you over. The book gave an exciting description of the whole scene. The weakest link in the book was the end. It just ended to quickly. I lived in Seattle, worked in Old Town (ghetto where one of them lives), and now live in Roslyn. Bury gave details that were numerous and exact. Then he tries to close it all up in one chapter. I was disappointed by that. My other complaint is the lone gravy eating loose cannon out to correct the controlling forces of the network. This just did not work for me. It would have been better if one of the network drones gave him a shot of something. I think the network wanted the vice-president to be the president. When she meets with the lady in charge of the network, she spills the whole story and tells her how she will be the leader. I wonder if this is what they always wanted? Regardless I enjoyed this book.