Customer Reviews

The Veiled Web

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Although Asaro has a following in both Science Fiction and Romance, "The Veiled Web", is first a romance; the Science Fiction content is secondary. Asaro's reoccurring theme of emerging machine intelligence serves as a driver for much of the action in the novel, but story focuses on odd and unlikely meeting and marriage of Lucia del Mar, a ballerina bearing a striking resemblance to (dare I say it?), the good doctor, and a Moroccan software designer. Oh, and we must include his son, Zaki, an electronic "tourist guide", who resents being shutdown. With this nicely paced, well written romance, Asaro forges a link between the romance novel and the international espionage genera. Well met!

A terrific read, in a very different way than her "Skolian Saga" books. The characters were well-defined and real. The author did her homework on Islam and AI. In particular, she accurately conveyed a sense of how some Muslims practice Islam without resorting to the usual stereotypes, an approach I found most refreshing.

An American ballerina and a Moroccan computer scientist enter into a marriage of convenience to escape from kidnappers. She learns about him, his family and his culture while he learns about her and tries to learn who is after them. Meanwhile, the AI entity he's created learns about everything, as they try to prevent anyone from learning about it. The AI proves his true nature in a tear-jerking climax, while the strength of the hero and heroine's love for each other must prove sufficient to overcome their own natures and social conditioning.

In a fresh and exciting turn from her more familiar science fiction epics, Asaro sets The Veiled Web in the near future (2010) on a very recognizable Earth. The book draws on Asaro's experience as a ballet dancer to present a realistic portrait of a dancer's life, without ever becoming weighed down by the details of individual dance steps or procedures. Similarly, just the right level of detail is given about Moroccan culture and architecture, rather than turning into a lecture on Islam or Moroccan history. The level of detail provided for the computer segments suffers slightly from the fast pace of change in that field, but once the basics are covered, Asaro dips into the more advanced AI concepts with the same light finesse she gave ballet and Moroccan culture.

Personally, I found the AI concepts riveting and thoroughly engrossing. The science is explained clearly, but the details can be passed over as more colorful phrases in a foreign language, without impacting the romantic suspense that is the heart of the story.

Most authors would be satisfied with a single rich backdrop, or one weighty set of issues. Not Asaro. It's a tribute to her storytelling skills that she manages to seamlessly weave together three elaborately detailed settings (the world of ballet, Morocco, and cyberspace) and two sets of neatly meshing yet distinct issues (the clash of cultures and religions, and the nature of thought and spirit). Each reader will probably find a different mix of setting and issues of primary interest. But no matter what your background, this book will give you something to think about, and people for which to care.

Catherine Asaro's bio at the back of this novel informs the reader that she has a background in chemical physics, physics, chemistry and ballet, all of which are reflected here. With prima ballerina Lucia del Mar and computer genius Rashid al-Jazari as her protagonists, Ms. Asaro offers us truly fascinating glimpses into the possibilities of the internet, artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Written in assured and elegant prose.

The attraction/repulsion of Hispanic-American Lucia and Moroccan-Islamic Rashid receives an intelligent, subtle and tender treatment. Both are shy people who are made even more vunerable by their cultural differences, but they love each other too much and are willing to compromise (which is resolved credibly).

'The Veiled Web' is told from Lucia's point of view and in my opinion she's a sympathetic and strong heroine. Although shy she's certainly no wimp and stands her ground. Lucia's shyness shows in the earlier scenes with Rashid and later with his family (though they're portrayed with respect and depth). But this story lacks Rashid's perspective. I would have enjoyed seeing things also through him (he's too often shipped off to corporation meetings). Nevertheless Lucia remains a worthy narrative vehicle.

Then, there's Zaki the A.I. created by Rashid and indeed aptly called his son. He's a wonderful character: witty, vunerable, poignant and tender. Zaki absolutely shines in every scene. Lucia's interactions with Zaki truly sparkle, I loved it when she took him out on the web. With Zaki Lucia is completely at ease, their chemistry is simply excellent! I grieved with Lucia for Zaki's eventual tragic fate.

My praise also in regard with Lucia's passion for dance and the web. The dance scenes were very well done since the author could draw on her own experience. The reader really got an idea what dancing means to Lucia.

Catherine Asaro's ability to weave science with fiction remains unequaled. The writing is supurb, and I like they way, particularly with the world situation as it is, that she integrates principles of Islam into the plot. I lived in Sicily and have been to Taoromina, and it is exactly as she describes it.

The problem is the plot. No one would believe that the heroine got married and spent that long as a virgin. No one would believe that her newly-wedded husband would trot off to another North African country and leave his wife with a group of strangers with whom she cannot communicate, flying in periodically on his private jet--staying the night, and the happy couple do not engage in marital relations--for weeks. Very little happened in the middle of the book. The beginning is supurb. The action at the end and the kidnapping scenarios are great, but the entire middle is flat, except with Lucia's involvement with the computer, which is wonderful. The other rich descriptions (from a ballet fan) are the dance scenes, and the first chapter of the book is especially effective.

Some reviews here state that this is more a romance novel than science fiction. I can't agree. It's too flat and too slow. The only element that the book would need is more action throughout. The Skolian novels are much better examples of what Asaro can do with plot.

Susan

Just finished reading Catherine Asaro's THE VEILED WEB. Couldn't put it down; she combines depth of characterization with superb action. Both Lucia and Rashid come alive for me, as well as several of the other characters.

As a person with interests in both ballet and computers, and with many friends in intercultural marriages, the total effect on me was much more than the sum of its parts.

I hope to see more of Rashid and Lucia, and their offspring, in the very near future.

Catherine Asaro has created a crossroads for romance and science fiction fans to feast on with her extraordinary new novel, A VEILED WEB. She not only tells a tale involving American ballet star, Lucia del Mar, and a vastly intelligent Moroccan businessman, Rashid al-Jazari, who created a computer system that is revolutionary in scope but shows up the differences in their cultures.

This is a truly fascinating book that will thrill you with edge of your seat adventure as Lucia and Rashid are kidnapped and thrown into a quandary as how to escape their captors. Rashid comes up with a solution and takes Lucia to his home in Morocco as his wife. Here she encounters Rashid's work on artificial intelligence as well as his family and the challenges she has to overcome with being Rashid's wife. Immersed in all this is Lucia's growing attraction for a man not of her culture, her love of dance, which is her life, and her compelling need to talk with Zaki in the Jarizi Suit. This book snags you and doesn't let go for a minute.

This is a book you want to read more than once. To me this is a "Golden Keeper!"

When a friend told me about this book I was amazed. Cyberculture? Ballet? Romance? A clash of Western and Islamic culture? Could one author possibly make all these diverse elements work?

But in THE VEILED WEB, Catherine Asaro has managed to take these seemingly disparate elements and weave them into a story that is utterly engrossing. Lucia and Rashid are vibrant characters, who find love despite all the odds.

Read it for the romance. Read it for the adventure. Or simply read it to see what the near future might be like. I know you will enjoy this story.

Highly recommended.

Once again, this author explores the intrigue in mixing man and machine, this time in a more familiar time setting (the near future) and on this planet. More romance than pure sci-fi this novel also does a fair job of exploring the differences and similarities between Christianity and Islamic religions and does it with a clear eye. Enjoyable, quick read.

Fearing that she was becoming too immersed in her dancing, Lucia del Mar's parents introduced her to computers and, by extension, to the world of the Internet. Now the net has become a necessary outlet in her regimented life, and she follows its developments closely. When she meets a handsome Moroccan businessman at a White House reception, and realizes that he is the creator of a remarkable new technology, she is intrigued and attracted, but nothing prepares her for the storm of intrigue that rips her away from her world and throws her into his, bringing her virtually face-to-face with a technological advance so important that there are people willing to kill for it.

Cyberspace, virtual reality and artificial intelligence are all hot items in the Science Fiction community right now. As the world moves deeper and deeper into the information age, the questions posed by Asaro and other authors become more pertinent: What are the limits of cyberspace? What is reality? Can a machine be self-aware? And how does humanity fit into this brave new world? Neal Stephenson and William Gibson are exploring this territory with a good deal of vigor and inventiveness, in dense, quirky narratives which push the limits of reader as well as writer. In that company, Asaro is something of a lightweight. Even Zaki, the computer which, or perhaps more properly, who seems even more self-aware in many ways than his creator, pales by comparison to Mike from Robert Heinlein's great 1966 novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Ultimately Veiled Web is an uneven mix of science fiction and romance. Asaro has all the credentials, and her previous titles have been well-received in the SF community so I can only assume that the problem lies with the subject matter, that the sub-genre that's come to be known as "Cyber Punk" is simply not one which mixes well with other genres.

Because Asaro is a good, competent writer, this is especially unfortunate. She knows how to tell a story, but it seems that her story works against her here. Her hero is ostensibly Rashid al-Jazari, but in fact, the real hero of the book appears to be the computer, Zaki, who is far more interesting, likeable and appealingly vulnerable than his maker. Because of that, and because of the romance between Rashid and Lucia, Zaki's fate is pretty much a given, and both storylines are shortchanged. I don't honestly know if anyone is capable of doing a much better job balancing such disparate elements, and I give Asaro points for trying. She has a real feel for the culture of the Internet and writes with authority about computers and dance. The only weakness I can find here is that her characterization is not as deft as it could be, and that does contribute to the unevenness of the narrative.

If you're a fan of Cyber Punk, don't bother with this one, but if you're looking for a romance with some good, solid science fiction elements, then give this a try.