Editing Interface (novel)

{{Short description|1994 novel by Neal Stephenson and J. Frederick George}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name          = Interface 
| title_orig    = 
| translator    = 
| image         = StephenBury Interface.jpg
| caption       = First edition cover<br/>credited to Stephen Bury
| author        = [[Neal Stephenson]] and [[George Jewsbury]]
| cover_artist  = [[Bruce Jensen]]
| country       = United States
| language      = English
| series        = 
| genre         = [[Science fiction]]
| publisher     = [[Bantam Books|Bantam]]
| release_date  = 1 April 1994
| media_type    = Print ([[Paperback]])
| pages         = 
| isbn = 0-553-37230-0
| isbn_note = (first edition, paperback)
| dewey= 813/.54 20
| congress= PS3552.U788 I58 1994
| oclc= 28148075
| preceded_by   = 
| followed_by   = 
}}

'''''Interface''''' is a 1994 [[novel]] by [[Neal Stephenson]] and J. Frederick George (a pseudonym of [[George Jewsbury]]) and originally published under the joint [[pseudonym]] [[Neal Stephenson|Stephen Bury]]. Reprints of the novel have credited the work to Stephenson and George.<ref>{{cite book
| last1                 = Stephenson
| first1                = Neal
| authorlink1           = Neal Stephenson
| last2                 = George 
| first2                = J. Frederick
| title                 = Interface
| edition               = 
| year                  = 2005
| origyear              = 1994
| publisher             = Bantam Spectra
| isbn                  = 9780553383430 
}}</ref> It is a thriller, set in the then-future year of 1996 when a shadowy coalition bent on controlling the world economy attempts to manipulate a candidate for president of the United States through the use of a computer biochip brain implant. It was described by writer [[Cory Doctorow]] in 2007 as an "underappreciated masterpiece".<ref name="Doctorow">{{cite web |date=December 10, 2007 |author=Cory Doctorow |author-link=Cory Doctorow |title=Interface: Neal Stephenson's underappreciated masterpiece |work=BoingBoing.net | url = http://www.boingboing.net/2007/12/10/interface-neal-steph.html }}</ref>

==Story==
[[Illinois]] governor William Cozzano suffers a [[stroke]]. Meanwhile, in a separate subplot, [[African-American]] Eleanor Richmond, unemployed and living in a trailer park, discovers that her husband has committed suicide in their repossessed former home. An underground business coalition called the Network arranges for Cozzano to have a biochip implanted and for him to run for [[President of the United States]]. The Network is made up of a number of large fictional companies, with parallels in real business entities. The chip is connected to public opinion polls, allowing them to change what Cozzano says or does based on what the public wants.

Richmond, after verbally humiliating a local racist [[CATV|cable TV]] [[Public-access television]] talk show personality who was running for Senate, has since found herself working in the offices of a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Colorado]] senator. After an event where she accused the citizens of Colorado of being [[welfare queen]]s, she finds herself in the public eye as a candidate for Cozzano's running mate.

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:NealStephenson Interface.jpg|140px|left|thumb|Reissue cover, credited differently]] -->
The Network's ability to perceive public opinion, skewed on the night of the vice presidential debate by a twist of fate, makes them select Richmond as vice presidential candidate. Their canny act of [[public relations]] work enables Cozzano to save his Presidential campaign. President-elect Cozzano is shot at his inauguration by a psychotic former factory worker who has learned of almost the entirety of the Network's plans. He dies almost instantly. Richmond becomes the first black and the first female President of the United States.

==Characters==
* Eleanor Richmond, unemployed, protagonist
* William Cozzano, governor of Illinois
* Mary Catherine Cozzano, his daughter and a [[neurologist]]
* Cy Ogle, campaign manager
* Dr. Radhakrishnan, [[neurosurgeon]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{NealStephensonBooks}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Interface (Novel)}}
[[Category:1994 American novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Neal Stephenson]]
[[Category:American science fiction novels]]
[[Category:American thriller novels]]
[[Category:Collaborative novels]]
[[Category:Works published under a pseudonym]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1996]]