S. N. Lewitt

"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.

*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.… (altro)

I have liked Shariann Lewitt ever since I met her at a signing years and years ago - she was just an AWESOME person.
Songs of Chaos is a fun, easy read - though not without its darkness. It's notable for it's colorful unusual influence - Brazilian Carnevale.
Dante McCall is a misfit on a future Earth where everyone is genetically engineered to be 'normal.' But when everyone - except him - from his halfway house dies in a suspicious fire, events lead him to escape off-planet with a plan to join the interplanetary Traders. But an encounter with the pirate/scavenger Malendros change that plan. His life saved by the girl Fatima - a misfit among her own people - he's adopted into this space tribe: the descendants of Brazilian samba students (?) who are seemingly obsessed with nothing but their preparations for their festive parties and Parades, and, oddly, the colorful parrots that have free rein on their spaceship. But there may be more going on here than meets the eye...

The book is short, and not that 'deep' - there were several elements that could have been more thought out, delved into, or just expounded on further... but overall, this was a very entertaining book.… (altro)

A sci-fi adventure, a political drama, and a love story.
The colony of Maya has few habitable areas; and two distinct groups of
settlers. One group is "Changed" - genetically enhanced, confident in
their superiority. They live in a mountain complex, served by
technology that gives them every luxury. The other group, down below,
are more what we would see as "normal" humans - they live in a
crowded, poverty-stricken, but often joyous and life-filled community
called Babelion, that, due to its Hindu background, we might see as
bearing some resemblance to urban living in India today.
In a token nod to 'fairness,' the young people of both communities are
tested for ability together - if they can communicate with the
artificial intelligence than runs the mountain community, they are
allowed to live there. Of course, none of the young people from
Babelion ever pass the test. But the test provides an opportunity for
a young 'changed' woman, Della, to meet a boy from the other side of
the tracks - and her tryst results in her bearing a son, Anselm.
Unwelcome among his mother's people, Anselm grows up to become a
political leader and revolutionary firebrand in Babelion, agitating
for equal rights.
But more may be going on than just this local struggle, as a larger
drama is gradually revealed, involving the rulers of a galactic empire
which the forsaken people of Maya had entirely forgotten....
A rich and complex book - and a very enjoyable one. Shariann Lewitt is
definitely an under-recognized author.… (altro)