Interface

by Scott Britz-Cunningham

 
THE FUTURE IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK.
 
Only weeks ago, Elon Musk's Neuralink made headlines with the first successful chip implant into a living human brain. A paralyzed man can now communicate with his loved ones, and can even play chess, by controlling a computer with his thoughts alone. 
 
Right behind Neuralink an entire industry is springing up, with more than half a dozen competitors racing to enter the field.
 
First efforts are aimed at repairing damaged brains. But the wider vision is to expand normal brain functions by merging the human mind with artificial intelligence. 
 
As Musk says, "We're going to have the choice of either being left behind and being effectively useless or like a pet—you know, like a house cat or something—or eventually figuring out some way to be symbiotic and merge with AI." 
 
He predicts that within five to ten years, human speech itself will be superfluous, and we will all be essentially telepathic. 
 
Keep in mind that this is the man behind SpaceX, Starlink, Solar City, and, of course, Tesla. He's no idle dreamer.
 
The British Royal Society takes him at his word. "Not only thoughts, but sensory experiences, [will] be communicated from brain to brain. Someone on holiday could beam a 'neural postcard' of what they are seeing, hearing or tasting into the mind of a friend back home." 
 
 
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?
 
Dr. Britz-Cunningham's visionary novel, INTERFACE, zeroes in on that question. 
 
It describes a world in which social media and communication technology have expanded to almost limitless power through the INTERFACE, a network of brain implants that link the entire human race. It offers a warning about how such advances can change human nature. It takes on such hot-button issues as technological addiction, the right to govern one's own body, government compulsion in the name of public good, and, not least of all, the tyranny of public opinion. For good measure, it plays out against the background of a panic-inducing viral outbreak.
 
But INTERFACE is more than a SOCIAL PROPHECY. It's a WHITE-KNUCKLE THRILLER, one of those books that shouldn't be read on the subway—not unless you don't mind missing a stop or two.
 
The action begins when Taiki Graf, the genius inventor of the INTERFACE, turns against his own creation, seeing it as a threat to mankind's future. He devises a horrifying plot to frighten the whole world into getting rid of their implants. He stands alone—one man against the government, the police, the media, and the vast economic power invested in the INTERFACE. He is ready to sacrifice his life to reset the course of human history.
 
His most formidable adversary is Yara Avril, a captain with the NYPD, who was once Taiki's lover, who loves him still, and is determined to save him—and the world—from his dark obsession before it's too late.
 
Will Yara succeed—or will Taiki? As the body count rises, one must ask, HOW MANY LIVES ARE WORTH SACRIFICING TO SAVE MANKIND'S SOUL?
 
Don't be blindsided! Start reading INTERFACE today and be one of the first in your crowd to get a glimpse of a future we'd better get ready for—before it lands on top of us.
 
And if you'd like to learn more, please join Dr.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

436 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2022

About the author

SCOTT BRITZ-CUNNINGHAM was born and raised in the Chicago area. An MD and a PhD, he works as a staff radiologist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and is an assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Britz-Cunningham lives in Quincy, Massachusetts, with his artist wife, Evelyn, and his son, Alexander.

Reviews

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This was a solid science fiction novel that explored some near future technology in a nauced manner. From the premise, I was initially worried this would be another over simplified take on "the evils of government and technology" but instead I was pleasantly impressed by the complexity of the plot and themes.

I would not necessarily call this one a thriller, since it did not have the pageturner quality O was expecting. I didn't find the narrative and characters as engaging as I would like. However, the tradeoff was a story with depth.

I wouldn't recommend this novel to science fiction readers looking for a solid near future story.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

[Menion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5 stars, it's better than 4 stars, but not quite to the pure dynamite level of 5. Okay, the plot? Read the book blurb if you want that, too many reviews on this site read like third grade book reports. Here's what works and what doesn't:
1. The plot is damn good, and shades of it are already all too real, remember that bone-headed invention called Google Glass? The author has just taken the concept a step or two further by using implants in the brain. There is some scientific jargon in the book, but thankfully, it's always explained to the characters in the book in dummy terms, so the rest of us who aren't whiz kids can understand. There's not really that much, this isn't like trying to decipher Neil Stephenson.
2. The writing is very good, this story goes quick, and doesn't waste time on any fluff. Hey, if I polished it off in two days (over 400 pages) it's gotta be a pretty good story! Good characters too, some are straight good or evil, but the main players are well done in shades of gray.
3. This book is a thriller, but there are some pretty profound passages in it spouted by the characters concerning the nature of social networking. They are good enough that I actually had to take a highlighter to the book five or six times, it'll really make you think about where we are headed as a people chained to our cell phones and pointless media/social feeds. There was some serious though put into the dialogue in the important parts of the book.
4. What doesn't work? Well, um, nothing. No real flaws to point out in this book.
Overall, a good thriller that will activate your brain and make you think after you turn the final page. What more can you ask for? When this gets released in November, it'll be worth the price.

[cece · Rating 2 out of 5]

bruh. I wasted so much time on this book for no reason. I started reading it and it was pretty good. I liked the prose because it was fast and established the environment quickly. But then things started going downhill. The characters were bland and two-dimensional. Yara especially was so difficult to like. At first, she was just a b*tch. And then she was so incredibly love-struck with a man that she fell into total despair and could not move on and her whole character at one point was just about Taiki.
The number of extraneous passages grew. I got frustrated by the weird way the characters talked.

What officially made me put the book down was Rox. Such a random choice to include her. And if the author did want to include her- why did he give her the most stereotypical mannerisms and way of speaking? It just rubbed me the wrong way. Rox wasn't the first character that had ~interesting~ descriptions that appeared to be heavily rooted in racial stereotypes.

Overall, I picked up this book because I thought it would give me food for thought on how technologies- specifically implants- would change our society. In some ways it did but for a 400+ page book it should have done more.

[Lori L (She Treads Softly) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interface by Scott Britz-Cunningham is a highly recommended science fiction investigative mystery.

In the future the governments around the world require everyone at age 14 to be linked by a brain implant called the Interface. It replaces cell phones and computers and has become something everyone depends upon for everyday life. All the information you need is immediately available and you can connect to anyone at any time. It is also illegal to not have the Interface, upon penalty of death.

Taikai Graf invented the Interface and has been presumed dead for years. His half-brother Egon is head of the USA's FATA, Federal Anti-Terrorist Authority, and he wields his power as a draconian threat. NYPD captain Yara Avril was married to Egon, but loved Taikai. Yara starts investigating a case of a man that has went on a bizarre rampage, when Egon and the FATA inexplicably take it over. It becomes clear that much more is going on and Yara fights to continue her own investigation which leads her to question the presumed death of Taikai and the wisdom of the implants.

Brain implants are an interesting premise for a novel, but the real focus is the investigation into where Taikai is and why he is taking his current course of action. There are a few scenes, however, that could have easily been edited out to keep the focus on the actual plot but these can easily be skipped over. The medical information provided to back up the Interface is realistic due to the author's background, but the actual plot requires some suspension of disbelief.

The writing is to the point and the plot, the investigation, is compelling. The characters aren't fully realized, but the real reason to read the novel is to find out why Taikai is on his present course of action, what is his end game, and, ultimately, to consider our current addiction to always being plugged in and what this could mean in our near future.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Keylight Books via Edelweiss.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2022/1...

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure: the author is a personal friend of mine and the copy I read is a gifted copy. That doesn't mean that my review and rating are biased . . . maybe a little. I would've given it a five-star rating, but folks would probably accuse me of pressing down on the scales.

If you're a fan of dystopian fiction, then you'll likely enjoy this story. It's Black Mirror, Alex Jones, The Walking Dead, Superintelligence, and Brave New World all wrapped up into one.

It not only tells a great story but, like so much great dystopian fiction, it turns the view back on the reader: what are we really doing with all that we have developed and discovered in our modern era? Do we really know what's good for us, and what tradeoffs are we willing to accept? It's not a moralistic story, but it is a story with a moral, but not one that's black and white. And, it's well-written, fast-moving, and easy to follow.