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mpho3's review against another edition
3.0
"Masking meant that Venetians could remain themselves beneath the masks instead of pretending they were barefaced and honest. When in truth everyone masked and those who learned to do it with their faces showing to the world were merely creating another mask, a more dangerous one."
Twenty-plus years ago, when this book was published, the Internet was a very different creature than it is now. Lewitt's imaginings are amazingly prescient (the fight for net neutrality, the ubiquity of online shopping, the dangers of Internet fraud, savvy applications of virtual reality, the preference for some of avatars rather than engaging with "the meat world"), and while we don't have information guilds as such, Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple are perfect stand ins.
As a story of intrigue, Interface Masque mostly satisfies and as sci fi, it's mostly successful (although I agree with some other readers that aliens* as ghosts in the machine is a little much). The things that worked for me: I really enjoyed the Venetian setting, the idea of and ideas around the role of masks and music, and as a jazz fan I was ... jazzed by her descriptions of that genre's ability to spark creativity. Where the book misses: small details such as more than one reference to "ice cream" rather than gelato, given the Italian setting; the ways in which some storylines aren't fully developed; and the ending isn't particularly rewarding.
All in all though, this was a fun read. I don't regret the time spent reading it. 3.5 stars
*Getting back to the aliens, her conception of an alien mind is intriguing, but I just didn't feel it needed to be part of this story, which already had a lot going on.
Twenty-plus years ago, when this book was published, the Internet was a very different creature than it is now. Lewitt's imaginings are amazingly prescient (the fight for net neutrality, the ubiquity of online shopping, the dangers of Internet fraud, savvy applications of virtual reality, the preference for some of avatars rather than engaging with "the meat world"), and while we don't have information guilds as such, Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple are perfect stand ins.
As a story of intrigue, Interface Masque mostly satisfies and as sci fi, it's mostly successful (although I agree with some other readers that aliens* as ghosts in the machine is a little much). The things that worked for me: I really enjoyed the Venetian setting, the idea of and ideas around the role of masks and music, and as a jazz fan I was ... jazzed by her descriptions of that genre's ability to spark creativity. Where the book misses: small details such as more than one reference to "ice cream" rather than gelato, given the Italian setting; the ways in which some storylines aren't fully developed; and the ending isn't particularly rewarding.
All in all though, this was a fun read. I don't regret the time spent reading it. 3.5 stars
*Getting back to the aliens, her conception of an alien mind is intriguing, but I just didn't feel it needed to be part of this story, which already had a lot going on.
pelevolcana's review against another edition
4.0
I got to read this book because I'm a friend of the author and she needed people to read the books for free. I'm a martyr at heart so I volunteered.
The book is fun and interesting. Cecille finds more than she can handle when she goes through her final exams for her Sept. The Sept is up to things she would have never dreamed they'd do, and now she has to decide what she's going to do about it.
The treatment of music in the book is interesting, and the way it affects people. Choirs sing background music to keep people productive. But underground there are musicians who break out from the accepted music, and play dirty, anarchist, jazz.
I'd recommend the book to anyone who is interested in the 'speculative' part of sci fi that deals with social dynamics.
The book is fun and interesting. Cecille finds more than she can handle when she goes through her final exams for her Sept. The Sept is up to things she would have never dreamed they'd do, and now she has to decide what she's going to do about it.
The treatment of music in the book is interesting, and the way it affects people. Choirs sing background music to keep people productive. But underground there are musicians who break out from the accepted music, and play dirty, anarchist, jazz.
I'd recommend the book to anyone who is interested in the 'speculative' part of sci fi that deals with social dynamics.
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