Interface

By: Neal Stephenson, J. Frederick George

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Length: 25 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

From his triumphant debut with Snow Crash to the stunning success of his latest novel, Quicksilver, Neal Stephenson has quickly become the voice of a generation.

In this now-classic thriller, he and fellow author J. Frederick George tell a shocking tale with an all-too plausible premise. 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.

©2005 Neal Stephenson & J. Frederick George (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic Reviews

• Audie Award Nominee - Best Thriller/Suspense Audiobook, 2011

"As he deftly conveys the authors' chilling dramatization of the national political process, Wyman's voice sounds fresh and contemporary but seasoned with enough maturity to render him a believable newscaster. The authors' and narrator's storytelling skills mesh perfectly in a thriller of the sort that keeps one sitting in the driveway long after arriving home." ( AudioFile)

Interface

I confess I am biased, because I do like long and detailed books and I am happy to say that I think I have just found a new author to add to my list of favourites, this being my first Stephenson read. I found this book an absolutely ripper read, a good rollicking conspiracy yarn cleverly punctuated with wry humour, unpretentious but not inelegant use of vernacular in amusing asides to the reader. Some lovely quirky characters and even the baddies are amusing, the goodies not too sickly sweet! Now, which Stephenson to read next...? Oh, and an important addition, the narrator was excellent, none of the voices jarred, his timing,pacing and savouring of the language of the book perfect!

35 of 35 people found this review helpful

Interface

An excellent read. Incredibly detailed which would usually be boring for me. These authors are masters at painting pictures. All the details were relevant and added depth to characters or scenes. A great test for any read is the chapter change. If you don't want to move on to another chapter purely because you just want to know (right now!) whats going to happen next in the current scene, well: it's a really good sign that you've been drawn right in. Stephenson and George manage to make the bizarre and incredible, well - credible and feasible. Sure, I had a couple of moments where I thought 'Come on, guys - too far!' But then they'd just keep going and justify the entire premise. A very long piece of work that I didn't want to end. Great sense of comedic timing and irony. Unusual for a thriller/drama. Thanks guys. I'll be listening to Cobweb next.

26 of 26 people found this review helpful

Best narrator ever

Even if "Interface" didn't provide such a good story, Oliver Wyman's narration would justify the purchase. I don't think that any other actor has such a wide range of voices -- from soft feminine to gravely gruff -- and such a wide range of accents -- from west Texas to East Indian. He gives such a good narration of this book that I am considering buying other novels that he has performed, site-unseen, so-to-speak. The story itself satisfies, as well. Even though it was published 'way back in 1994, it does not feel too dated ... which says a lot for the plot concept. I am just discovering Neal Stephenson -- thanks to Audible -- and now I'm wondering how I missed him all these years. He writes intelligent thrillers -- kind of like Michael Crichton used to do -- and seems to know a lot about a plethora of topics and places, interweaving them all together into an exhilarating fabric. "Interface" postulates a somewhat scary hypothesis about manipulating politicians through electronic brain implants. The technology involved to do so certainly exists now, making the reader wonder if this kind of conspiracy may actually be happening .... I don't think that any thriller-lover would regret purchasing this audiobook.

14 of 14 people found this review helpful

A Great Read

I am ever a Neil Stephenson fan and this book didn't fail me. It is fast-paced, high-energy and mind-bending in its scope and complexity. There is the quentisential Stephenson mix of humor, science, and excitement tied together by an amazing focus on characters. The only things holding this book back from a fifth star are the minor quibbles about the voices (the attempts at mid-west/southern, old man voices just don't quite hit home) and less scientific explanation than Stephenson usually adds to his stories (you can decide if that is good or bad in your own preferences. I felt left wanting more depth in the explanations, but overall it is most certainly worth the listen!

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Political intrigue from Neal Stephenson

Neal Stephenson does not disappoint. Even thought is is one of his first books the plot and character development are very well done. This is a very long book and I think the editing could have been a bit tighter. It could have been trimmed by a few hundred pages and been an even better book.

The story is about a fictional 1996 presidential election. Mysterious forces referred to as the Network have decided that leaving the selection of the president to the whims of the American public and the existing political parties is no longer a viable method of choosing the president. The network needs a method of ensuring they can elect whomever they want and then have complete control over the president (and government).

What I enjoyed most about the book was seeing how the technology that Stephenson saw as science fiction in 1995 is now almost common place and is certainly available, although not being used in the manner he imagined.

This was the first book I have heard narrated by Oliver Wyman. He did a great job! This book has a huge cast of characters and Mr Wyman was able to give each one a unique voice (even the women) and consistent emotional tone. I will look for other books he has narrated.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Should have been much shorter

Would you try another book from Neal Stephenson and J. Frederick George and/or Oliver Wyman?

I like much of Stephenson's work. His style tends to be long and overly bogged down in details at times. The imaginative plot often makes up for it, but this was too much. There was an interesting story buried in a seemingly endless sea of tedium. I would try other Stephenson titles based on my previous reads (Anathem, Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon were great). I'm not familiar with Frederick George... i would possibly consider giving another of his works a shot.Wyman's narration was good. Good voice acting for different characters even if his regular reading voice is not the most inviting.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The underlaying story about technology and a deep conspiracy were great. There was just sooooooo much detail given in the most trivial passages that it was torture to get through at times. An Abridged version might be great. I was also disappointed with the ending but others may disagree.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

I think this title could make a decent movie.... it wouldn't get me out to the theatre (few movies do) but i would definitely watch it on bluray.

Any additional comments?

This was one of the least satisfying Stephenson titles i've listened to... second only to Diamond Age and perhaps some parts of the Baroque Cycle. If you enjoy tech and sci-fi, his better offerings include (as listed above) : Anathem, Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon. Don't know anything about J. Frederick George

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Back to what we love

The last Stephenson I listened to was disappointing, but this was not. A relatively early novel, it shows all the promise that the author has since delivered in titles such as the Baroque Cycle and Cryptomnicon. True it is co-written with Stephenson's uncle (a historian and teacher of history, albeit under a pseudonym), but the detail and the thought that is apparent in the narrative and the plot is pure Stephenson, as we now know him.
The plot is complex and clever. Having just returned from India, I found the Institute's trials particularly ominous, conscious as I am of how easily this could occur (if it has not already). Similarly the main plot line - how easily might this occur? Having just read Chris Mooney's, "Republican Brain", the GOP - Democratic nuance was entertaining, too.
Most of all I loved the characterisation. With a book this long there is no excuse for bad character development and you will not find this one wanting. William A Cozzano is a terrific character (he appeared in my mind's eye as a benevolent incarnation of the Commodore from Boardwalk Empire), as is Ffloyd Wayne Vishniak. Despite his status (as a Jedi of the Dark Force), I like Cy Ogle, too.
As to the performance, Oliver Wyman is an inspired choice. Besides the incidental double meaning his name brings to a well know management consulting house (not without significance in the context of Ogle's operations), his voices were spot on; entertaining, comic or sinister, as the need dictated.
I thoroughly enjoyed the returned to this genre. If you are a Stephenson fan, I think you will too. If you haven't read him, this is a good place to start.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

This is a great read

Fans of Neal Stephenson will be enthralled by this roving story that takes a hard look at many important topics in today's world.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

be prepared for political intrigue

This reveiw will be biased as I am not a fan of Neal Stephenson. I know he writes well and has done his reaearch most thoroughly but I do find his books very long and take ages to actually get to the point. I tried to see if listening to it would be better and I am afraid that it still takes a long time to get anywhere. However, its a roller coaster ride and the characters are interesting and the humour very tongue-in-cheek and it is delivered expertly by the narrator, Oliver Wyman. If you like Stephensons books then you will certainly like this. He does write good adventureous stories even when based on political shenannigans. He also always has a point and it makes you think about it long after the book is finished. Which really is the point.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Average Techno-Thriller Effort

The second book in my run up to Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle (& Cryptonomicon) was to listen to this older work. I liked this much more than D.O.D.O. Interface is a fairly straight thriller. There is a bit of an SF element in it, the technology of the brain implant, but this is no Science fiction book. I enjoyed the characterization and the foreshadowed plot. But I must say that the ending was not expected.

The Oliver Wyman narration was very good. Mr. Wyman made an extra effort to vocalize the more oddball characters, making the experience more fun.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Not Stephenson's best & poor choice of narrator.

First, the book itself: 
I’m a big fan of Stephenson’s work; he might not have a clue how to tie up and conclude a story properly but the characters, love of obscure detail and continuing fascination with themes such as cryptography make him hugely pleasing for any reader or listener who takes to his idiosyncrasies. With a few notable exceptions, his plots are not hugely complex and that’s perfectly OK most of the time; his books are big old romps which are pleasingly bad influences when it comes to choosing between a new chapter and doing the laundry. Hence the pleasure of a well-read audiobook to keep you company while you get on with some tedious real-world task. The problem with Interface is that it’s neither particularly well-written nor narrated. 

Sooner or later any book which hasn’t somehow achieved Timelessness will either come to be seen as of its time or just dated. Sadly, Interface is the latter, though not necessarily through any fault of its own. Published in 1994 in a pre-internet age, it is frozen by much of the tech it describes (though not, of course, The Interface itself) in a very particular era, which lends the story the same feeling one gets watching an old re-run on Netflix. Lines like, “the kind of thirty-nine-inch Trinitron that rich people would own” come across as almost quaint today. As to the plot, another reviewer here summarised it perfectly: “Meh.”



Now to the narration: 
For the first few paragraphs, I heard Oliver Wyman’s voice and thought, “this is going to be really great.” However, by the end of the chapter, it was more like, “this really grates.” More than once I found myself muttering, “just get on with it, would you?” I’m sure he might be ideal for some material but his cadence was almost always too slow for the material, even during action sequences, killing the pacing and reducing some parts to a bit of a chore to be got through before something better came along. I got the distinct impression that the narrator had not actually read the book or done any basic research before sitting down in front of the microphone; place names and proper nouns were inconsistently mispronounced and the occasional hint that he is capable of deviating from his medium-paced drawl only coming long after a sequence of the plot demanded it. I’m going to try to be generous and consider this a simple case of bad choice of narrator and hope I just caught him off-form. It will, though, be the only piece read by Wyman I’ll ever purchase. 



For an example of how to do it brilliantly, I’d advise listeners to avoid Interface and choose Quicksilver - the first book of Stephenson’s “Baroque Cycle”. The narration by Simon Prebble is a masterpiece. As an avid reader who had hugely enjoyed Quicksilver on paper, I honestly think it works better in audio form and, in grand contrast to Interface, it’s about as good as an audiobook can be.