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June 07, 2005
And speaking of books
It looks like Neal Stephenson has a new book out, Interface. I gotta admit, I bogged down halfway through The Confusion while my father-in-law was finishing The System of the World. The books are good, very well-written and packed with odd bits of knowledge, but I just couldn't find a compelling reason to finish the trilogy. Maybe someday.
The new book is co-written with someone named J. Frederick George. I can't find anything about him but I did just discover that not only is Interface now out, but so is The Cobweb, another joint venture between the two authors. Seriously, WTF? That's over 1100 pages of trade paperback since the Baroque Trilogy was finished.
Here's the jacket blurb from The Interface:
There's no way William A. Cozzano can lose the upcoming presidential election. He's a likable midwestern governor with one insidious advantage—an advantage provided by a shadowy group of backers. A biochip implanted in his head hardwires him to a computerized polling system. The mood of the electorate is channeled directly into his brain. Forget issues. Forget policy. Cozzano is more than the perfect candidate. He's a special effect.
and from The Cobweb:
When a foreign exchange student is found murdered at an Iowa University, Deputy Sheriff Clyde Banks finds that his investigation extends far beyond the small college town—all the way to the Middle East. Shady events at the school reveal that a powerful department is using federal grant money for highly dubious research. And what it’s producing is a very nasty bug.
Navigating a plot that leads from his own backyard to Washington, D.C., to the Gulf, where his Army Reservist wife has been called to duty, Banks realizes he may be the only person who can stop the wholesale slaughtering of thousands of Americans. It’s a lesson in foreign policy he’ll never forget.
Sounds like a couple of real conspiracy-laden, Dickian potboilers to me. Has anyone out there read either of these yet?
Posted by Half-Cocked at June 7, 2005 08:56 PM