Crosstalk: A Novel

I was looking forward to this book but after reading about forty pages I gave up and sent it to the cloud. It seems to want to be a sarcastic "The Circle" or some other duplication, The dialog is incredibly silly and unbelievable and the babble went on and on and on . I could not listen any more. The somewhat futuristic idea of brain melding is not new or even interesting any more. i gave up on this book and picked up another : "A Gentleman in Moscow". What a difference beautiful writing and interesting story make.

Connie Willis is Mary Cassatt to Neal Stephenson's Edgar Degas. Her books are high energy from start to finish. She delves into relationships and I when I finally become fatigued from reading so long, I can hardly wait to recover so that I can return to her. I feel grateful to be alive at a time when I can read her writing.

Once again, Connie Willis delivers a great book. Each of her books are different, but each is well-developed, interesting, and complete within itself. The connection between neurology and social media in Crosstalk is magnificent. It reminds me a bit of the connection between near-death experiences and the Titanic in Passage. She is a very talented and creative author, and I await her next book. Highly recommended.

Disclaimer: I'm writing this review based on an advance reader copy: with only a couple of months before publication I assume that probably it's in its final state except for spelling and syntax, though honestly I think this is a "very good" book which probably could become "great" with just a little more time and refinement in editing. I came to read Crosstalk in part because I love CW's earlier book To Say Nothing of the Dog. It was the first CW book I read, and from early word of mouth I get the sense that a lot of people are going to be drawing comparisons between the two (or expecting other to). IHMO, though, that's doing a disservice to both books.

In Crosstalk the narrative begins with our protagonist, Briddey, planning to get an EED (a small speculative medical implant intended to detect and transmit emotional states to a matching EED implanted in her boyfriend). As plot devices go, it's a very clever idea, and the books starts strong. From there, we quickly come to know Briddey through her inner monologue, various supporting characters are introduced, and unintended consequences occur. I'm not going to lie - I thought it was a pretty engaging page turner, and I set aside time to read more than I do for most books.

One of the things I enjoy about CW's writing is that she clearly takes the time and effort to lay breadcrumbs throughout her text, hints that help a careful reader see where things are going or - after you've finished the book - you can think back on and say "ah, it was there all along." TSNOTD was a masterwork in that respect. Crosstalk certainly bears a family resemblance to TSNOTD, but it's a much less intricate book and the general direction the story will take is not hard to suss out. There were a couple of turnings to the plot that I didn't see coming (one at around the 150 page mark, and another at around 400 pages in), but I'm afraid that many of the other twists and reveals - including a couple of the bigger ones - were telegraphed a little too clearly, and I was anticipating them a bit too far in advance. So all in all, I'd give it a rating somewhere in the very-good-but-not excellent range, probably 3 stars for some people and 4 stars for others, but I like CW's stuff so I'll round it up to 4.

And now, for the obligatory nitpicking: (1) People don't really conduct their own interior monologue in complete sentences, though I can sympathize if CW didn't want to write a couple of hundred pages of (literal) stream of consciousness. (2) Maeve is simply too mature and precocious for a 9-year old. Thirteen, fourteen, maybe. (3) Contrary to the ad copy, Briddey didn't really seem like a "high powered exec." And based on her interior monologue, which after all is the whole focus of this book, she seldom seemed to do any work or even think about her job. (4) Good god CB mansplains to her like crazy through the whole book. I guess there's a narrative reason why he does that, but still.... (5) I think that in general, Briddey probably would've been a little more interesting if she had more agency. Less "being rescued" and "being taught" and more doing things on her own...a role which for some reason was a role which devolved onto the 9-year old girl. I don't get that.

Briddey is elated! Her boyfriend Trent has asked her to get an EED, couples surgery that enables recipients to intensify and better feel their partners’ emotions. They have to keep their plans secret from their colleagues at high-tech communications company Commspan and Briddey’s very intrusive Irish-American family to avoid gossip and interference (Good luck with that!). The surgery does take place, though, and Briddey soon begins to “hear” not just emotions but actual thoughts. The problem is that the sender isn’t Trent….
Since the plot centers on telepathy and emotional enhancement via surgery, Crosstalk will probably be shelved as science fiction, but I think it is better described as romantic comedy and can easily envision it as a big-screen summer hit, featuring your favorite romantic comedy acting duo. I noticed the store classifies it as Romance.
I enjoy Willis’ short stories and novellas in Analog/Asimov magazines and look forward to her annual Christmas stories. It seemed to me that Crosstalk had enough meat for a novella or short novel, but it had bloated into over 500 pages, and there were many times when I was thinking, “Okay, okay. Get on with it.” In addition, while it is clear that we are supposed to figure out what was going on before Briddey does, it was obvious so early that it rather spoiled the fun.
The length of the book may also have contributed to some of the aspects I found less successful. Willis is known for her quirky rather Dickensian characters. In Crosstalk Briddey is a delight, as is her precocious nine-year-old niece Maeve, who is always one step ahead of her helicopter mother’s attempts to monitor and control her life. CB, the weirdo who works in the basement of Commspan, is the hero of the book whom we all root for. One-dimensional characters like Maeve’s interfering mother, though, become downright annoying with repetition, and in 500 pages there can be a lot of repetition.
Willis has fun playing with our obsessive texting and phoning, but that joke gets stale, too.
Despite the length, Crosstalk is not exactly meticulous in its details. Unless I missed it (and I was on the lookout) the term EED is never expanded. There are some obvious questions about how the telepathy works that are never addressed. We are told that CB never went to college; then how did he get a job doing research at Commspan? Another obvious question involves the pop culture music, shows, and books telepaths use to screen out voices. This book obviously takes place in the very near future. The main characters are in their late 20s. So why are they citing songs like Teen Angel and shows like Gilligan’s Island, which went off the air in 1967? Unless there is a reason, which should be given, people like Briddey and CB would naturally use much newer references.
Readers who especially admire the light side of Connie Willis will enjoy this book; those who favor her more thoughtful writing are likely to be disappointed. If you’ve never read Willis, DO treat yourself to The Doomsday Book. To sample her more playful side, try To Say Nothing of the Dog.

There is no SF writer alive today whose books have given me more joy than Connie Willis's. If asked to list my ten all time favorite SF books both DOOMSDAY BOOK and BLACKOUT/ALL CLEAR (the latter single novel with two parts or two volumes forming the same novel or, well, same story, even if it is published in two self-bound books) make the list. The former contains one of my all time favorite lines, unspectacular on its own but in the context of the story enough to induce weeping whenever I think of it. Contemplating a man who died long ago in the Middle Ages a boy asks if he was a knight. No, he is told, "a saint." Read the novel and see if you agree. Her collection of short stories, THE BEST OF CONNIE WILLIS, reminds me of such essential collections Heinlein's THE PAST THROUGH TOMORROW or Cordwainer Smith's REDISCOVERY OF MAN or James Tiptree Jr.'s HER SMOKE GOES UP FOREVER. I believe she is the only writer to have won more major SF awards than Robert Heinlein. In short, anything that Connie Willis writes is of major interest to anyone who has ever loved SF. Heck, of anyone who has loved a good book.

Reviewing CROSSTALK is a bit of a trick because the plot hinges entirely on a twist. To say almost anything about the book means revealing the twist, and while I'm sure that there are a number of reviewers here who will reveal the twist, I will restrain. That doesn't mean that there aren't a number of things that I can say. First and foremost, let me say right out, this is a very good book. In tone it will remind many readers of TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG, her wonderful send up of Jerome K. Jerome's THREE MEN AND A BOAT, with the subtitle of his book providing Willis with her title. Most of her more recent novels detail adventures of historians from the Cambridge University history department. Not here and at first a had a tiny bit of regret. One of the joys of her history department time travels (the premise is that with the discovery of time travel, historians actually visit the periods they write about) is the way she immerses you in the period, where you meet someone who is not a knight, but who does indeed reveal himself to be a saint, or you experience in a way that no fiction book can, the terrors of the Battle of Britain in WW II. This novel, while being rather light in the SF elements, like the other books (and I am as far from being a Hard SF fundamentalist as exists) she has written, is more a character study. More, it is about the vagaries of human communication that persist even in an age where we possess a seemingly endless number of ways to communicate. Universal themes, wonderfully handled.

The bit of story that I am willing to talk about concerns the initial conceit of the novel. The twist,, when it comes is a bit of a McGuffin. The point of the point is to enjoy two people talking, not unlike the conversation we see in Screwball comedies of the thirties and forties. And this is as close to a Screwball SF novels as we have seen. For a variety of historical reasons, human conversation has not been highly prized in SF, which makes it all that more enjoyable here. The main character is Briddey. She works in a not very distant future at a cell phone company, where she is charged with getting the company's resident odd reclusive genius, C.B., to provide them with new aps for the company's cell phone. She is also about to undergo a medical procedure that will implant a very small device that will allow her to sense her boyfriend's emotions, the notion being that this will enhance communication between them. Both C.B., who insists that the world needs fewer aides to communication than more (he believes we are overexposed to one another), and Briddey's large and intrusive family (any scene in the book involving Briddey's family is a delight) insist that she is making a massive mistaken, though for different reasons. Her family, though they do not know him, imagine her boyfriend only up to no good, and see his motives as questionable. C.B., on the other hand, believes that the implant is a gimmick that can easily backfire or, as he puts it, have unintended consequences. And C.B. turns out to be correct. The plot of the novel can be summed up in three words: unintended consequences ensue.

To be completely honest, I found this to be a little slow going until about 50 pages in. At that point the book takes off and I couldn't find as much time as I hoped to devote to it. It is a splendid read and I really can't imagine any new book of 2016 more highly than this. By all means read this and that includes people who don't usually read SF. There is much more SF in Margaret Atwood's pass several novels than in this one. As I said, there is nothing that describes this novel better than Screwball SF. If you value good writing and delight in great dialogue, get this immediately. And for god's sake, if you haven't read her other books, do so. Willis isn't one of our most prolific SF writers, but that is, I believe, because she takes her time to write well. Try DOOMSDAY BOOK next, or the short story collection. And go one to the huge WW II novel BLACKOUT/ALL CLEAR. She could end up one of your favorite writers, as she is mine.

Term this book a "chick book" and disappointing. It is the first book by Willis I shan't finish. And, at $13.99 for the Kindle version, I am most disappointed. I tried to "return" it after two days less than 20% of the way through. No luck. I plodded on to 44% of the way and cannot keep awake while reading it. I deleted it from my device.

To prepare for reading this very hotly anticipated book, I went back and reread Willis's collection, Impossible Things. To my surprise, the stories felt oddly dated. They just hadn't aged well.

Then I read an ARC of Crosstalk and had a similar feeling--the author is doing her same schtick, done so well in Bellwether, for example, but it's just not feeling as fresh. I'm guessing it was a challenge--write a screwball comedy, a romance involving misunderstandings and miscommunications, in the age of cellphones, texting, instant communication. A fun device, but carried on here to an extreme that became farcical and really, after a while, annoying. It got to the point where I just wanted to slap the characters upside the head and tell them to quit being so stupid.

Interesting concept, especially with the introduction of the unexpected results of emotion intensifying surgery. However, the author has so diluted the story with hundreds of unnecessary side conversations (verbal and otherwise), elaborate chases, unnecessary plot deviations to explore areas that had little relevance, that it was very difficult to stay with the book. I finished the book but found that I could skip multiple pages at a time and not miss much, if anything. Where was the editing? As noted in other reviews, this book could have been half the length and would have been much better. It is especially frustrating to work your way thru half of a book wondering why the heroine is an idiot - she finally gets it going in the second half of the book but it takes far too long to get there.

Even though this screwball sci-fi romantic comedy is almost 500 pages long, the breakneck pace never lets up. Connie Willis has written dialog that’s as fast, smart and snappy as what you hear on Gilmore Girls or in one of those fast talking dame movies from the 1930’s and 1940’s.

Crosstalk isn’t like any other Willis book I’ve read, except that it’s highly entertaining. Because it’s so funny, it most resembles To Say Nothing of the Dog, but instead of being a time travel novel set in the future and past, Crosstalk takes place in an alternate present, complete with plenty of current pop culture references.

Crosstalk’s present has an augmented, nightmare level of non-stop technology-led social connection widgets--Facebook, texting, and etc are obsessive almost 24/7 activities--but people, at least some of them, crave an even more intense level of interpersonal linkage. To that end Briddey and her boyfriend Trent have opted for a surgical procedure that’s supposed to allow them to sense each other’s true emotions. But of course, the results are not what they planned.

For much of the story Briddey is a damsel in distress who needs rescuing, but she’s not without agency and doesn’t come across as weak. A light-hearted but astute satire, Crosstalk was lots of fun to read.

Connie Willis is one of my favorite authors but this particular book just didn’t do it for me. In some ways it was a readable romance, but it lacked the originality and imagination that sets her books apart and I got the feeling that she was just going through the motions of churning out her newest book.

There are several reasons that it left me feeling flat - here are a few of them:

* It seemed to be a recycled version of BELLWETHER, with the competent and popular female protagonist paired with the nerdy, rumpled and socially challenged male protagonist. Some of the dialog seems to be lifted straight out of the pages of BELLWETHER, and even though the story itself is varied a bit, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I had read this book before.

* The cast of zany, farcical characters were just too one dimensional. Everything and every one was stereotypical to the point of irritation. There was the loud, overbearing Irish family that was always barging in and interfering (cheap copy of MY BIG FAT IRISH {GREEK} WEDDING). There was the “adorable”, precocious, but bratty kid who drives everyone crazy but they love her anyway. There was the smug, “too” perfect boyfriend. There was the corporation boss who is less than ethical. There are the gossipy co-workers who seem to exist in a perpetual middle school culture of popular girls and cute guys. There is the “quack” doctor who is using people as human guinea pigs, and the second rate witch who almost gets herself killed messing with things she doesn’t understand. There is the brilliant, nerdy hero who turns out to be a (surprise, surprise) dream lover. And there is the befuddled heroine who sort of drifts through life being pulled this way and that way - with no real personality or direction of her own. Certainly not the kind of strong protagonist who is able to overcome. It was more a case of a damsel in distress who needs a hero to come to her aid.

* CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD! I found myself not really liking some of the characters that were supposed to be endearing. Something is REALLY wrong when you cannot work up any affection for the heroine of the story. And the members of her family that were supposed to be cute in a “John Ford" sort of way were actually annoying. As the story progressed, the bratty 9 year old Maeve started coming across as a person to be feared and I wondered how such a girl was going to be controlled in the coming years as she matures and gains greater power. There is a saying, “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. This child needs some discipline and by the end of the book, you start to realize that no one is going to be able to do so. This particular issue could be redeemed if the author writes a sequel following the rise and fall of little Maeve as she grows into adolescence and young womanhood. It might be interesting to see if she can be reined in, but hopefully it will be in a better written story than this one. I did like the nerdy CB, though and his selfless devotion to rescuing people who are caught in the “deluge” was touching.

* This book seemed to have a lot more offensive “Language” than Connie Willis’s previous books, and the moral tone left me a bit down. This might not bother some folks but I didn’t like it. There was too much dependence on offensive language in order to make this story seem “hip”. A really well told tale doesn’t need the hero to use bad words in order to keep the reader awake. While her other books sometimes had people using vulgar words and profanities here and there, this is the first time I felt that it was being used as a crutch to bolster a story that didn’t have much reality or substance. It was almost like she was having writer’s block and so she injected some shock language to beef it up a little. I would have liked the characters better if they had simply been communicative rather that peppering their speech in this way. AND while the “romance” scenes weren’t explicit, traditional morality was definitely not acknowledged here. And I really hate the idea the teenagers reading stuff that reinforces the idea that sleeping with your “significant other” is normal and that it is OK to get tired of a relationship and move on to the next person to sleep with. Nothing explicit, but still not a healthy message to send. Not suitable for children or adults who don’t want to read that sort of thing.

* Finally, Ms. Willis seems to be out of her depth in handling the subject matter. I don’t know if she did any real research on this topic but I got the feeling that she didn’t understand the phenomenon of telepathy at all. A lot of people have the ability to hear in the spirit realm and most of them lead normal lives without ending up insane. There isn’t anything special about it. And what was all that blather about it being an “Irish ONLY” thing? There were numerous contradictions and stuff that didn’t make any sense at all. Nothing felt real and the subject matter merely served as a vehicle for her romance - with the final absurd message that in order to have a true, loving and passionate romantic relationship, you MUST be gifted with telepathy - after all the normal, boring means of getting to know another human being is simply too cumbersome! It is ironic because the hallmark of the romance in CROSSTALK is that the two main characters have a relationship that is fraught with annoying presuppositions, misunderstandings and mishaps. Their communication skills are dismal, and I think I would have burned the book if I had read ONE more instance of a piece of lame dialog like this:

“Oh (*word deleted*)!!!”
“What, what???”,
“Nothing, I’ll tell you later!”

Pretty bad for people who can “read minds”! LOL!

Ms. Willis has written some awesome stories in the past, but CROSSTALK seemed warmed over material from prior books without the genuine spark that made the others special. I hope she does better next time.

I agree with other reviewers who call this lightweight fun. I won't belabor what others have already mentioned, but will instead go straight to the point I want to make, and that is that I felt disoriented a few times while reading the novel, thinking that I was reading Passage. There are many similarities, especially Maeve and Maisie. Their names are remarkably close, and if I recall correctly, both are nine years old. They both have helicopter moms. Both novels spend a lot of time in neurological mazes of doors opening into unexpected places. The tone of both novels is set by the main characters' attempts to avoid some characters and pursue others, and the stairs and hallways of a hospital are important to both. Too-easy electronic access to others is one of the banes of modern living in both novels. And when, in Crosstalk, the Titanic was brought up, I experienced disorientation bordering on vertigo! I'm sure there are other points of comparison and I'd love to be reminded of some more of them, if anyone would kindly leave them in comments.

I found Passage to be a life-changer, especially since I've struggled through the stages of grief over the past 20 months. It was mystical and beautiful. It's almost as if Willis wanted to work some of the same themes into a much more lighthearted and happy novel. I loved Passage passionately; I really enjoyed and liked Crosstalk. There's room for both reading experiences.

Crosstalk was borrowed from the Greater Phoenix Digital Library. I am so grateful to be able to read wonderful writing (and even the ahem occasional romantic trash) using my free membership.

Imagine a world where everyone is telepathic and able to read the thoughts of everyone else. In "Crosstalk," Connie Willis demonstrates that this is not just a bad idea, it is insanity. Doing what she does better than any other modern author, Willis takes us deep into a potentially feasible technology and then moves that technology just one step further. The result is an absorbing, and fascinating story, with a large dose of humor.

Beautiful Briddey works at a technology company that makes smartphones. She has a big, loving, and very intrusive, Irish family, which includes Aunt Oona who always claims in a strong (but fake) Irish brogue that she has the “sight.” Briddey’s paramour, Trent, an executive at her company, insists that the two of them partake of the latest fad and undergo EED brain surgery, which is all the rage in Hollywood. This surgery, as explained to Briddey, is "a simple medical procedure so that we can sense each other’s feelings and communicate better as a couple.” Although her family, and her co-employee, techno-geek C.B., try to discourage her from doing it, Briddey ignores them. Her EED surgery, of course, causes unintended consequences. Briddey discovers that, because of her Irish heritage, the EED has given her unwanted telepathy. As her life veers off in a direction she never expected, Briddey discovers that true friendship and true love are not the by-products of technology.

As Willis did in "Passage," with near death experiences, and the "Doomsday Book" with time travel, in "Crosstalk," she uses technology to take us on a wonderful journey into unimaginable realms. I absolutely adored this book and I could not put it down.

(In return for an honest review, I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.)

Entertaining and Valuable Thoughts Even If You Aren't an Irish Woman

This novel is light, breezy and highly entertaining -- but nevertheless raises very serious and important issues we should all be thinking about more.

If you check my other reviews, you will see that I give more five stars than you'd expect -- but that's not grade inflation; it's because I feel I owe reviews especially to books where I owe real thanks to the author, and where it's worth your time. Most books I read I never submit reviews on. This one really deserves it, even though I don't come out exactly where she does on some of the very important questions she raises.

Willis in general is a high-bandwidth person. Keeping it light and easy and flowing WHILE managing a huge flow on information is a difficult art, and she manages it here more than ever before, maybe more than even the best of other sci fi. She succeeds in part by focusing on the antics of her Irish family, which reminded me at times of the old "I love Lucy" series (not my favorite) which many readers would enjoy more than I do, but it reminded me if my own mother and the huge Irish family there. GIven her immense intelligence, and consistent ability to probe into deep issues of real importance along the way (here but maybe more in her other novels), my first reaction in the first few pages was "Hey, I would have instantly wanted to marry this woman when I was younger, but that Porsche was a clear signal to stay away." But that was actually a set up, and in the end I feel she might have gone too far in the opposite direction for me.

The relation between deep human talents (the example of telepathy here) and the rise of the internet of things taking over the world is one of the most important issues we need to work on on this planet today. Right at the top of my list of "must read" science fiction is Dan Simmon's Hyperion series, which ultimately argues that we need more of an all-out effort to develop HUMAN talents to their utmost, to avoid realistic scenarios like Terminators or The Matrix. But Willis's book seems to represent an intense recoil from anything like that. (In fact her literature review, while impressive as always for her, shows less balance, less energy than before in digging into details.) It reminds me of the important article by Greeley and McReady, "Are we a nation of mystics?", and the pervasive issue of reactive thinking in general in our world today. We are ever so often like deer in the headlights!

I did follow up to check on "where is this set?", and found that she did name a real name ( not a real library) and a real haplotype. And it seems... that I should not mix up the "yin" people (common in maternal haplotypes of Ireland) and "yang" people. (That "flight of the nobles" was really serious.) That was a good thing for me to understand better,....

One of my favorite Connie Willis books is her satirical 1996 novel "Bellwether," which takes the form of a light romantic comedy, skewers fads in corporate management (along with fads in general), and incorporates some decent insights into social influence. The science-y gimmick that made certain it showed up on sci-fi bookshelves was chaos theory. "Crosstalk" isn't as pointed or as fun as "Bellwether," but like the earlier book it focuses on workplace romance, features quite a bit of silliness and hi-jinks, and has a good heart. Where fads in management and fashion were highlighted in "Bellwether," in "Crosstalk" it's trends in telecommunication that are in Willis' crosshairs.

It's not exactly news that in today's world of cell phones and social media, we are (or can be) in near-constant contact with -- and under constant surveillance by -- our family and friends and nosy neighbors. It is in this contemporary environment that central character Briddey Flanagan agrees to get a surgical implant that will create a permanent channel between her and her lover Trent. Briddey and Trent work for a struggling cell phone manufacturer alongside basement-dwelling C. B. Schwartz, the company's nerdly genius who warns Briddey in dire and desperate terms not to go through with the surgery. Predictably, she goes through with the procedure, and disaster (and a variety of shenanigans) ensue. (This being in the romantic comedy genre, predictability is not necessarily a flaw. Fortunately, it is not *entirely* predictable.) The first part of the disaster is a near-fatal case of TMI (too much information, that is, not transient myocardial ischemia), as Briddey's surgery unleashes an overwhelming flood of "crosstalk", and everything else follows from there. Without getting too deep into details, let's just say that the "t-word" (telepathy) rears its probably non-existent head, and people who think that commercializing the t-word would improve their competitive position vis-a-vis Apple suspect that Briddey might have something they can use.

Bottom line: While not a sharp piece of social commentary, "Crosstalk" successfully weaves together quite a few contemporary concerns about social connection, privacy, romance, and the often too-fine line between life and work, and does so in an amusing and readable fashion. It's not a classic, but Willis fans and people looking for vacation reading could certainly do worse.

Few writers have the fluidity of Connie Willis, and it is on great display here.

Basically this is a would be old school RomCom with a telepathic element added to its extremely 2016 contemporary setting.

Briddey is a gorgeous red head, a little on the shallow side, with a ridiculously Irish family, our story opens with her overly connected life and the latest development in her whirlwind courtship with the handsome Trent, they are getting some sort of empath connection surgery, but at Briddey's office, or rather deep in its bowels is CB a boffin who warns her off.

Basically Briddey is stuck between Ray Milland and Jimmy Stewart, yet foor about 150 pages it feels like Jimmy Stewart is gaslighting her, there is a very delightful two hundred pages and then a rush finish that turns our girl Briddey back into a bit of an idiot again, but kiss me you fool, she recovers in the last scene. Oh and it has an adorable moppet, who only becomes annoying in the final reel. It IS a lot of fun and some of its conceits, the magic power of Victorian novels and the wittier varieties of show tunes for example, are dead on.

Connie Willis is a gifted writer, but also a bit old fashioned. Her young people work to the extent that all 20 somethings are the same and have been since radio was invented, but fail to the extent the world has moved along. I can't believe I am saying this but she should try some steampunk, she would be that genre's queen with just a novella. And it would free her from havong to keep up with the kids today.

While this is hardly Willis's best book, she is a bang up writer, nobody can write this sort of thing better and she is probably the best in the business still working, though oh how I miss the late Kage Baker. You would be an idiot to not pick this up. It reads itself and 495 pages fly by and you resent it ending on you.

In the near future couples hoping to prove their love for one another, and wanting to increase the emotional bond between each other, can have a simple medical procedure that increases the empathy between partners. Good-looking billionaire Trent Worth has insisted that he and the lovely Briddey Flannigan (hey work for a mobile phone manufacturer and they are currently working on a new model to finally rival the giant Apple) have the procedure to prove to one another how much they care about each other.

But something seems to go wrong. Trent and Briddey don't show any signs of being better able to understand one another's feelings, but Briddey begins to pick up people's' thoughts and the one that comes through loudest and clearest belongs to the IT tech nerd guy at the office. More voices continue to come through, making life difficult for Briddey to concentrate and the only one who can help her through it is C.B. - the tech nerd she could never fall for. Or could she? He's kind, helpful, and gives her his full attention, unlike the handsome business-running tycoon Trent. Still...just look at them!

But C.B., despite a very Jewish sounding last name, happens to be Irish, just like the red-haired Briddey Flannigan, and there's something in the Irish gene pool that predisposes them to having the ability to read minds. (I KNEW my wife was too good at knowing what I was thinking!) But it's also possible that the new phone Trent was planning to release would enhance that mind-reading capability. Suddenly Briddey doesn't think it's such a good idea.

I've never read a book by Connie Willis before, though I've seen her name around on the bookstore shelves for some time, and this struck me as an interesting premise and worth reading.

I definitely had a lot of fun here and it was a quick read - much quicker than I was expecting, given its page count. So quick, in fact, that at the end of Chapter 2 I made a note in my book: 'I'm exhausted!'

This is a beach read sort of book. There's nothing that will make you sit back and reflect on what you've read. It doesn't open any new doors of thought or adventure, but it's light fun, even if a little ridiculous at times and heavy-handed at others (with lines such as: "He's gorgeous, he's willing to commit, and he's romantic! Do you know how rare that is?" you get a pretty good idea of what you're going in to).

We spend waaaaay too much time learning that C.B. is Irish - practically an entire chapter. Of course we learn later why that's important, but we don't know why he's spent so much time covering up the fact.

We also, later, spend too much time in a library - a nice, quiet space for someone who is being bombarded with people's thoughts, but by the end of the chapter, I didn't understand why we'd spent as much time, and as much secret time, as we did.

All in all, a fun read, and if someone asked for a recommendation of a fantasy romance for reading at the beach, I'd suggest this title.

Looking for a good book? <em>Crosstalk</em> by Connie Willis is a light, entertaining fantasy/romance read that moves along much quicker than the 500 pages might suggest.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Although the story of boy likes girl, girl is engaged to another guy and doesn't like boy, girl doesn't listen to boy that likes her and needs to be rescued and falls for him is an old story, this book is full of surprises. The premise in itself is quite out there. Briddey is willing to submit to brain surgery to prove her love connection to her fiancé Trent. She is strongly advised against it by the nerdy guy that works on the basement, who talks about unintended consequences as if they were a curse. Of course the consequences materialize and all hell breaks loose.
The narration is steady and has flow, the book is quite long, almost too long. The author places the characters amidst a world of incessant communication, where privacy doesn't exist and culminates in telepathy. Yeah, telepathy. It's not as bad as it sounds since the plot develops gradually and it feels believable in the setting. The characters are well developed and they cope with the situation convincingly although we know from the first few pages who is going to end up with whom.
It's an easy and fun read, but like I said it could be shorter, specially since the ending feels sort of hurried. The author might have gotten lost in the story and went on too long about some of the same occurrences. That said, she did a good job in portraying the overwhelming intrusion of communication in our daily lives and the loss of privacy.

Book's destiny: This book will be adapted into a rom-com movie starring Amy Adams...

Last week I finished Crosstalk by Connie Willis, a novel about the future of technology and communication, and the consequences of abusing them. The story starts when Briddey is asked by her fiancé to undergo a certain medical procedure before getting married. He wants her to get an 'EED', a minor surgery that, when done in couples, enhances the ability to send and receive emotions. So, basically, all the rich couples are getting EED's to make sure when their partners feel love or hate or disgust, or any other strong emotion towards them. Briddey is sure that getting an EED will strengthen her relationship and can't wait to feel all the love that her handsome, rich, perfect Porsche-driving boyfriend will telepathically send her. The only problem is that one of her coworkers won't stop bothering her about the dangers of the EED and too much communication. And it seems he will do anything to mess with Briddey's perfect plan.

WHAT I LIKED

* Fun Social Criticism. I love reading books that make me question my way of life and society in general. In Crosstalk, the not-so-distant future seems incredibly realistic. With people and companies doing everything they can to enhance communication and being connected all the time, the author makes fun of those who can't be out of loop, who need to share every bit of their life in social networks and that have apparently forgotten about privacy. The novel, of course, takes everything to an extreme, but in a fun parody way.

* Fun Settings and Characters. I don't know why I like office settings so much. I find T.V. series like The Office, Parks and Recreation and movies like Office Space incredibly fun and relatable because I've worked in different offices and they all have so much in common. The morning coffee, long and boring meetings, all the gossip and old chatty people are part of Crosstalk too. And I found it really entertaining!

WHAT I DISLIKED

* Weird Romance. I do have fun with romantic comedies, but I'm so repelled by abusive relationships, cheating, lying and stalkers. It's a shame that so many comedies rely on one or more of these to create their main obstacle. What bothered me with Crosstalk's romance were the many times Briddey's love interest lied to her, concealed information and misinformed her. Even if I thought they made a cute couple and rooted for them during half of the book, they guy's behavior turned incredibly creepy towards the end. The main topic of this novel is the danger of sharing too much, but I think hiding information from someone who trusts you is equally bad.

* Incredibly Long Conversations. This book is 512 pages long. And I bet half of that were just conversations between the main characters about breakfast, books and hating on their coworkers. Too many conversations when on and on, adding nothing to the plot nor developing the characters. Some of them were fun and some completely unrelatable. (For some reason the author references a lot of things from the 80's and 90's - in a novel with young protagonists living in the future).

WHO SHOULD READ IT

People who love romantic comedies and want to add a Sci-Fi twist.
People who for some reason love stories inside office settings.
People who can overlook a pinch of creepy behavior from the main love interest.
People who like to people-watch and wonder about their thoughts and feelings.

Connie Willis has written some of the most vital work in science fiction today. Her novels Bellwether, Passages, Lincoln's Dreams and Crosstalk are all inspired and thought-provoking.

How would you like to be more closely linked to your partner or spouse? To FEEL what she/he feels? To sometimes hear their thoughts? To be as intimate with them as you are with yourself?

What if there were a medical procedure which would accomplish this? Would you sign up?

Crosstalk examines what happens to a young woman who undergoes such a procedure with her fiance. Only the procedure goes awry; badly awry. What if you find yourself linked, not to your partner, but to someone else entirely?

This is a powerful book. If you like SF, do yourself a favor and order it now.

What is presented as a "screwball" "genre-busting" book by a well-known science fiction writer is actually a romance book, not that there's anything wrong with that. The publishers aren't calling it a romance because they want to widen the market for the book. There's no science fiction here - two main characters become telepathically linked and hilarity ensues. It is written as straight romance with loads of annoying over-analysis on the part of the main female character that is making at least some readers put the book down without finishing. The girl wingeing on and on was almost too much for me, and giant shark-jumping HEA at the end made me regret sticking it out. Not my cuppa.

Mind you, if you LIKE a nice romance then you'll like this. You may even love it. If you don't, you probably won't, simple as that. The book is being deceptively promoted, that's all.

“Life moves pretty fast,” Matthew Broderick told movie audiences back in 1986. “If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” And that, ladies and gentlemen, was 30 years ago, in an era when computers had huge monitors with monochrome displays, when cell phones were rare and exotic items, when text messages and smartphones and tablet computers and online book reviews were things only dimly imagined, at that. Life was already plenty fast in 1986 (especially if, like Ferris Bueller, you had access to a classic Ferrari); it is exponentially faster, more complex and so much more distracting than it ever was.

Distraction is so much a part of Connie Willis’ CROSSTALK that one is tempted to say that it should be considered a supporting character on its own. If the actual main character, Briddey Flannigan, was any more distracted, she would be in her very own Brian De Palma movie. Everything is hitting Briddey all at once --- her job at a smartphone company locked in a desperate struggle to get ahead of Apple in the technology game, her improbably nosy and intrusive co-workers, and her impossibly nosy and intrusive Irish family. The one island of stability that she should have is her boyfriend, and he introduces just as much distraction and chaos as anyone. Briddey’s life is lived at a pace that would reduce most people to a quivering, twitching mess. However, the most amazing thing about this is not that she has largely adapted to it, but that she seems to be under the impression that this is normal, the way things ought to be.

You might think that some things, even in a hyper-connected world, ought to take some time. You would be right, and romance would definitely be one of them. But in Briddey’s universe, romance can be sped up through a revolutionary brain implant that allows a couple in love to communicate their feelings directly, electronically, instead of using boring old flowers and chocolate and Hallmark cards. The technology is described in the most positive, glowing terms possible, so you know immediately that something is up, whatever that may be. (As I am writing this review, a Dallas Cowboys wide receiver just dropped a sure-thing touchdown pass; suffice it to say that I wouldn’t want to communicate my very own personal thoughts and feelings at this moment to anyone, much less my significant other.)

It would be cheating to say, specifically, what happens to poor Briddey Flannigan, except to say that she does in fact end up a twitching mess on the floor at one point, as you’d expect. The plot of CROSSTALK is just as twisty as its language, and the structure is choppy; this is a book that demands that you pay attention to what is going on. And Willis’ readers --- especially those who remember the iconic "Bishop's bird stump" from TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG --- know that she does not have any issues preventing her from hiding the ball from the reader for most of the story.

There are a few small places in CROSSTALK where the narrative slows a little bit, and the reader is allowed to catch her breath, but not many. The book reads at times like it was meant to be read in text-message format, with little bursts of emotion, plot and dialogue coming at the reader every few seconds. This is almost certainly deliberate, with Willis adopting a breathless, choppy style to emulate the disorienting nature of modern life and where she thinks that it is going (that is to say, nowhere good). Just as the plot demands the reader’s attention, the relentlessness of the prose style threatens to deflect it away. It is a testament to Willis’ strengths as an author that the book still manages to be engaging, and funny, despite its undeniably frenetic and manic nature.

Many of Willis’ books begin in the not-too-distant near future of the 21st century, and then drop back into the past. CROSSTALK (subtracting a goodly amount of historical factoids and what seems to be Willis’ encyclopedic knowledge of 20th-century show tunes) takes place entirely in the near-now, and as such is a product of real-world anxiety about where our technologies are leading us. Anyone who shares that anxiety will find this novel to be a welcome read, if not always a congenial one.

Reviewed by Curtis Edmonds

Crosstalk by Connie Willis combines social satire, science fiction, and romantic comedy in a very highly recommended novel.

Set in the near future, a new procedure called the EED has been developed. It is touted as minor brain surgery, an "enhancement procedure" that creates a neural pathway which makes partners more receptive to each other's feelings, resulting in a deeper emotional connection. Briddey Flannigan and her boyfriend, Trent Worth, both work at Commspan, a small communications technology company. Trent is pushing hard for the EED. He implies that he will propose after the EED is done and he and Briddey have achieved the perfect relationship with complete empathy and understanding that should result.

Briddey's very connected and outspoken Irish American family opposes the procedure, as does her coworker C.B. Schwartz. She is used to her family being too involved and intrusive in her life, but she is surprised by C.B.'s insistence that it is a bad idea. When Trent somehow manages to get them in for the operation in a few days rather than spending months on the waiting list, Briddey goes ahead with the EED. What is shocking is that when Briddey finds herself connecting to someone it isn't Trent. She's hearing C.B.'s voice in her head, and the connection is telepathic.

To read a novel by Connie Willis is to know you are in the hands of a master. She is an incredible, awarding winning writer who know how to handle dialogue, character development, and plot advancement, all while mixing social commentary on our ever increasing need to be connected with a romantic comedy. I was actually surprised to see the number of pages in Crosstalk because they just flew by effortlessly in this engaging, fast-paced story. The way that Willis addresses our addiction to smart phones, social media, and an increasing amount of information in an intelligent, funny plot that is a little sci-fi and a little romance, is brilliant.

Now there are parts that go over the top, like Briddey's over-involved family, but don't be too quick to dismiss or judge the novel based on their boundary issues. Step back, after you're done with it, and consider the novel as a whole. As someone who can easily (and happily) turn off their cell phone and doesn't always have to be connected, I can see that I'm the odd one out in the current trend to be more and more connected and how all this information and over-sharing on social media is, perhaps, not heading in a healthy direction. Willis captures these extremes in an astute, and inventive way in this social satire.

The title is perfect in more than one way:
crosstalk (‘krostok) noun 1. a disturbance in a communication device’s (radio, telephone, etc.) transmission caused by a second device’s transmission, resulting in crossover, intermingling, and confusion; the presence of unwanted signals and/or interference due to accidental coupling 2. incidental, off-topic conversation during a meeting 3. witty, fast-paced repartee; banter

Disclosure: My advanced reading copy was courtesy of the publisher/author.

I’ve enjoyed most of the books by Connie Willis that I’ve read, with To Say Nothing of the Dog being my favorite. I’m happy to say that I really liked her latest book, too.

After a whirlwind romance, Briddey and her love, Trent, are about to have an operation implanting devices that will allow them to share their emotions with each other. However, as they prepare to share this very special form of communication, Briddey is desperately trying NOT to communicate with other people, hiding her plans for surgery from both her coworkers and her meddling family. That seems to be almost an impossibility in the hyper-connected world of smartphones and social media, but Briddey does manage to pull off having the surgery without interference. There are unexpected consequences, though—rather than connecting emotionally with Trent, she starts hearing the thoughts of the last person she would have expected. Now she has a new secret to keep, especially from Trent, who luckily is very distracted by their company’s plans to launch a new smartphone that will revolutionize the way people communicate. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be going very smoothly, either . . .

This book really is all about communication. It takes a look at our society, examining the current expectation of being instantly able to communicate whatever you want to anyone, at any time, using technology. Willis just takes it a step further by writing about the ultimate form of communication, telepathy. But would being able to share thoughts be a blessing or a curse? What if you couldn’t turn it off? Could you stand to hear what everyone thinks, all the time, or would you long to disconnect?

One thing I’ve noticed about Willis’s books is that there is often a lot of running around, with the main characters trying to find or elude others. That’s certainly the case here as well, as Briddey and her telepathic partner try to avoid Trent and others who would question their relationship. That keeps the pace of the book very quick; it certainly didn’t feel like 500 pages to me. It also distracted me from my doubts that any technology developed in the near future would allow people to communicate with each other without words. I was willing to wave that all away to get on with the fun of the story.

There’s also a strong strain of romance in this book. I liked both of the main characters, and I loved the relationship that developed between them. I think that might really be my favorite part of this novel.

Fans of Connie Willis’s other books should definitely read this one. Anyone who enjoys speculative fiction and is looking for a relatively fast, light read with some romance thrown in should also give it a try.

An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Crosstalk
Author: Connie Willis
Publisher: Del Ray: An imprint of Random House, Oct 2016 (ARC - Uncorrected Proof)
Genre: Science Fiction

**I received this copy on NetGalley free from the Publisher and Author in exchange for an honest review**

You can find this review on my Blog @ teacherofya dot Wordpress dot com

My Review:

It's been hard to wait to post this, and I didn't even put up a "Currently Reading for Review" post. This read has been going on ever since I received the copy and, in a major push, I finished it this morning. I got to a point in the book where I just COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I have never read anything by Connie Willis, but I can see why she's a multi-award-winning author. This book took my breath away with its ingenuity and unbelievably humorous and heart-wrenching plot line. I laughed out loud and I was frustrated by people and I panicked and I felt every emotion of the protagonist. This was a great read for me, and I wish I could push rewind and do it all over again. It was just that good.

Briddey Flannigan is trying to keep a secret: she and her boyfriend, Trent Worth, are having an EED, a procedure that will allow them to feel each other's emotions. All the celebrities have had one: Kim Kardashian swears by hers. Trent promises that once they connect emotionally, they'll get engaged. And who wouldn't want to be engaged to the most eligible man at Commspan? Briddey and Trent both work there, and to waylay any gossip, he's sworn Briddey to secrecy. 

But C.B. Schwartz, the eccentric genius who works in a basement lab at Commspan, has found out, and he warns Briddey there might be UICs (unintended consequences) to having brain surgery. She may think it's a minor procedure, but who knows what could happen? While Commspan is trying to beat Apple in the phone wars by pushing MORE communication, C.B. keeps inventing ways to prevent it. Briddey ignores C.B.'s warnings and has the procedure. She wants to feel closer to Trent...she loves him, and he loves her, right?

But when Briddey starts experiencing the first UIC of the procedure, she realizes she CANNOT tell Trent. Because the truth is, she has connected...but not in the way he thought. And not to him.

That's all I can say without getting into spoilers, but it is hilarious what happens and how Briddey reacts. And her crazy family makes having any personal boundaries seem like a pipe dream. Her poor niece Maeve can't watch Princess movies without her mother (Briddey's sister Mary Clare) worrying about the values warping her young daughter's mind. She puts spyware on her computer to make sure she's not talking to terrorists online. Briddey's Aunt Oona insists she has "the sight" and can tell when trouble is coming. And Kathleen, Briddey's other sister, keeps dating losers and falls in love after a single date. The whole family is a circus while Briddey tries to keep her surgery, and the consequences of it, under wraps.

Is It Classroom-Appropriate?

Yes. Since I normally focus on YA on the blog, that would be what I would recommend sticking with, but I can still see younger people reading this book. It doesn't have anything inappropriate, and a higher level reader would enjoy this novel. I would love to include this in a college English class, because the science is really believable, and it is a warning to all of us that feel we aren't close enough with the current level of communication. Yes, it seems tempting to want to know how people feel and what they think, but as C.B. so clearly reminds us, "It's a cesspool in there." I think it warns all of us that a little privacy isn't such a bad thing. Especially when it comes to how what we think and feel can change so suddenly.

Age Range:

While this is labeled Adult, and not YA, it's usually supposed to be for readers that are older. However, I found nothing offensive in it to suggest that younger readers wouldn't enjoy this. I would have loved this at 16 or 60. It's a contemporary story with science fiction elements. I think it all comes down to the proficiency of the reader, as there are some advanced concepts. I was able to read it, and I was never bored like with other "adult" books. I would really like to read more by Willis.

End Result:

Oh, ★★★★★ easily. I would recommend this to everybody. Briddey will drive you a little crazy sometimes, but you can't blame her with the events that transpire. I think all my YA aficionados should reach beyond the genre for one minute just to read this book. I never doubted for a minute that I would enjoy this as I read it, and I'm glad I did. I'm personally requesting that when it comes out, you all give it a chance, because I think you'll find it fresh and funny and sweet. I did, and you know I won't steer you wrong. And Willis <i>has </i>won numerous awards, so I think I might check out some of her other stories.

**Thank you again to Del Ray for the advanced copy of this book! I would never have known about it if not for NetGalley, and I know this is a book that I'll read again, because I'll never get sick of Briddey, Aunt Oona, Maeve, and C.B. I will seriously miss C.B. and his ever-present Doctor Who t-shirt!**

Ahoy there me mateys! I received this science fiction eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here are me honest musings . . .

I had only read one novel thus far by this author. It was the doomsday book and it was seriously one of the best books I have ever read. If ye haven’t read it, ye should. So when I saw that she had a new book out on NetGalley with an interesting premise, I wanted to read it. Luckily, I was approved. Yay!

And, overall, I highly enjoyed this book. The standout of this novel is the ideas behind social media and the need for our society to be connected at all times. The main character, Briddey, is supposed to get a procedure called an EDD with her partner Trent which will allow them to experience a “deeper” connection by feeling each other’s emotions. Only when the procedure has been completed, the results have unintended consequences like nothing Briddey could have imagined.

The results of Briddey’s EDD and how it ends up “working” were really what made me continue to read. A lot of books that deal with connected minds tend to showcase only positives. This novel deals with the negative ideas of being connected at all times, and I thought it did a fantastic job of showing how horribly things could go. Not that all consequences were bad in the novel. Technology has the power for both good and evil. I love the internet, my mobile, and GPS tracking. I wouldn’t want to give them up. I love being able to get in touch with the planet when I want to. However, I do try to maintain a good balance between reading about life and experiencing it.

This novel, for me at least, had fantastic concepts, silly banter, twists in the plot, and some truly loveable characters. I adored the character Maeve because she was inquisitive, intelligent, precocious, and just plain fun. I loved C.B.’s steadiness and how the viewpoint of him changes with time. I did however have some problems with the main character of Briddey. Despite her portrayal in the beginning of being smart and strong, she was the weak link of the book for me. She seems to always need saving, be more than two steps behind at all times, have no idea of what she wants, and she lets other people always dictate her life. Now while I sympathized with her situation, I wanted her to take charge at some point and be her own person. She never really seemed to get there. I mean sometimes while reading I would think “Seriously Briddey how dense are you?” But her flaws did not ruin the book for me because I loved the concepts and did have to know how it ended.

I am glad I got to read this novel and definitely would recommend this to any of me crew who likes books that delve into the effects of technology and the “what ifs” of the future. But if I ever have to the choice to get an EDD, I will pass!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Orion Publishing Group!

I think I'm in love! "Crosstalk" is an incredible sci-fi, comedy, and (clean) romance. All three in one and so well done? Not possible, you say? That was the same thing I said about telepathy, and Willis got me to believe it, hook, line, and sinker. This is brilliantly composed and described in the book. While EEDs sound totally fake, the way things are explained in the book make all of this technology sound completely plausible. Let's be clear, I'm no engineer, so I can't state from that perspective, but from the layperson point-of-view, somehow, Willis has created an incredibly believable world in the not-so-distant future where people have expanded their desire to connect constantly into getting brain implants to feel their significant other's emotions.

I may be babbling too incoherently to write a clear review, but I cannot even begin to describe how incredible this book was! It begins with Briddey, an Irish American with an incredible intrusive and involved family. Briddey has had a whirlwind romance with Trent, a higher up in her company which is competing with apple for phone-related technologies. Trent asks her to get an EED so that they can get connected emotionally before he plans to propose. Briddey's family and the brilliant but odd engineer at her company C.B. warn Briddey that this is a terrible idea (despite all the crazy celebs who already have and love them). Briddey does it anyway, but instead of being connected with Trent, she finds herself communicating with C.B.- not with emotions, but with voices.

Despite the potential for this book to get really crazy and out-there, Willis has done an incredible job of focusing on the issues at hand and building up carefully what it would be like to become telepathic and how the rest of the world (depicted by certain individuals) would react to such a finding. It's clever and funny and oh-so-romantic, and I loved every second of Briddey's journey.

The book is written in such a way that the reader feels what Briddey feels- when she is overwhelmed, the reader feels overwhelmed (e.g. with her family's intrusions at the beginning that are distracting and annoying) and when she is happy, the reader is happy (Oh, C.B.). When she didn't like C.B., I admit that I also didn't like him, and as her opinions changed, so did mine; I felt that I was with Briddey every step of the way. This is, simply put, masterful.

I'll definitely be trying to get my hands on more from this talented author. Please note that I received this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

When talk of superpowers comes up, telepathy is often at the top of the list of things that people tend to want, but is it actually a good thing? Crosstalk by Connie Willis delves into the pros and cons behind telepathic abilities.

Briddey is an executive at a communications company that rivals Apple. Everything in her life is going well–she’s dating a fellow executive, Trent, and she thinks that he’s going to commit to her after six joyous weeks and they’ll have a happy life…away from her overly intrusive family members. When Trent proposes that they get an EED to be able to experience each others feelings, Briddey is excited to go along with it, but is determined to keep it a secret from the gossip mill at work and her family. After getting the procedure done, Briddey experiences more than just feelings, she can hear thoughts. But they’re not Trent’s thoughts, they’re her co-worker C.B.’s thoughts and he can hear hers, too. Briddey seeks to understand what’s going on and for her chance at lasting love, with the unexpected assistance of C.B.

I enjoyed the story and the writing was pretty strong, but much of the narrative was a rather contrived, which made much of the plot heavily predictable. I also was a little disoriented with how C.B. was initially presented (more of a Doc Brown thing going on) versus how he later was presented (more of a Dr. Spencer Reid thing going on)–an argument could be made that Briddey’s perception of him changed over time, but I wouldn’t buy that because the shift happened before she spent too much time with him; alternately, maybe I missed some cue in the text that helped to clarify his appearance/age from the outset.

Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

When Briddey Flannigan is asked by her boyfriend Trent to take part in the latest neurosurgical craze, the EED operation that allows couples to feel more empathy with each other, she is thrilled; but when the operation’s results go awry and she finds herself connected to another person entirely, she begins to realize the laws of unintended consequences. And that’s only the beginning of her troubles, as her extended, exuberant and mixed-up Irish family assert their demands while she tries to navigate a whole new universe of communication, and she can’t seem to turn her cell phone off!.... Connie Willis is a treasure; she writes very serious and deep science fiction, and sometimes very madcap and screwball speculative stuff; this is one of the latter in her impressive oeuvre. I adored Briddey from Page 1, loved C.B. very soon after and given that one of my favourite cats is called Medb but usually spelled Maeve, that character was utterly endearing from beginning to end. Not to mention the fact that the book, beyond its hilarity, is quite a serious look at the unintended consequences of the 24/7 connected world of today; it’s kind of amazing that we’re still human (well, some of us are, anyway). A total hoot to send off this horrid year of 2016; highly recommended!

Connie Willis has done it again.

She has taken the elderly SF trope of telepathy, turned it inside out - exactly what it might feel like, encountered in a high tech, skeptical/materialist environment.

All Willis characters are vivid, have individual "voices" (the best Heinlein dialog but most directly rooted in the character, not a cardboard idea lecturing) and grow on you. Profoundly decent people try very hard to cope with trying or even amusingly limited people who still drive you crazy (if you are too respectful to flame, walk away or just cold cock them). The huge plot points and working with your large family, each of whom ignores every ordinary boundary, interweave so smoothly you turn pages quickly - except when you flip back to enjoy again a great line made greater by plot development.

This novel reveals most of the family members who seemed most infuriating, as the lovely narrator scrambles, are in fact part of a larger community with telepathic skills, so their more irritating traits turn out understated, spot on wisdom. The true romance is foreshadowed but still vivid, suspenseful and flat-out charming - if you thought you were a stalwart, old school he-man girl-haters club person, after a few Willis novels you may start looking at the genre.

Not sure yet, but Crosstalk may rival Doomsday Book for haunting, pop into your mind fascination over many, many years. Bridget Flanagan is so personally charming that Kivren may have a right-hand BFF.

A thoroughly enjoyable romp filled with unexpected twists and turns. At first it feels like an Irish Neil Simon play. The pace is frenetic, it's funny, the characters are ethnically true, and they're endearing, some of them anyway.

Willis does an impressive job maintaining the tempo, and the story actually gets better in the second half. Reading this book is sometimes exhausting; I can only imagine how much energy she burned writing it.

I might have rated it five stars, except for my disappointment with some of the characters and the way their fates were resolved. The main protagonist, Bridget Flannagan (Briddey), spends a lot of time confused, and has a very difficult time making decisions. That's not entirely unreasonable, and it often adds to the madcap fun of the story, but in the end I expected more from Briddey.

Then there's the issue of the (relative) villains. While everyone seems to get what he or she deserves in the end, Willis does this in a very gentle way, which is "nice", but viscerally unsatisfying. Some people just need to be punched out, but that's not in Willis' nature. There are definitely worse flaws than nonviolence.

While the opening chapters were an overwhelming cacophony, I quickly became intrigued by the story I knew had to be happening in the middle of the chaos. I was right! This story charmed me with its quirky humor and banter, even when some of the sort-of science blew right over my head. I wasn't prepared to become so enamored with the lead male character, but he is definitely a keeper. I really enjoyed the way the book poked gentle but thoughtful fun at the way society, technology, and communication are running wild in our modern lives. That being said, I did get impatient with the pacing at times - this is a slow burn of a romance frequently interrupted by secondary characters and their seemingly irrelevant issues, but the author ultimately ties it all up nicely in a way that feels like serendipity in the end. While this is less grim than The Doomsday Book, it is also less nonsensical than some of Connie Willis other books, so it might be the right balance for readers who have enjoyed other romantic comedies like Rainbow Rowell's Attachments. I certainly enjoyed it. Language and situations are appropriate for all ages, but interest level is going to be adult. I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

What would happen if you became telepathic and couldn't shut out the voices?

In typical Connie Willis form, we start with British humor, where the world is insane, and the protagonist is subjected to events/people that are out of control. Briddey Flannigan has no boundaries and is surrounded by people who don't respect boundaries. Then she undergoes an operation to increase the empathy between herself and her boyfriend, causing her to become telepathic. This is the ultimate lack of boundaries, because she can't shut the voices out. Fortunately a co-worker is also telepathic, and he teaches her to put up defenses.

From there, the story is about Briddey's personal journey to grow up. She's forced into learning who she is and what she wants. She learns how to set boundaries and deal with the people in her life.

Willis' writing is good, the story unfolds into unexpected directions, and I became invested in the characters. There is, however, a bit of a deus ex machina at the very end, which is annoying.

This is a read that will stick with you.

This book had a really fun premise. It was almost exhausting to read, because her family was so intrusive. She was constantly answering emails, text messages, and phone calls from family and coworkers. It was an interesting look at the age of information we're living in right now. I only had two problems with the book. First, it was too long. I think the story would have been so much better if it had been shortened by a good 75 pages. The second thing was the bad language. The book doesn't have any swearing until about a quarter of the way through, and then there's a period where you're just bombarded with it. It was extremely distasteful and really distracted from the story.

This sci-fi book started out so promising! I loved the gossipy office and trying to figure out exactly what an EED was -- but then my joy left as the book went on and on and on with the same thing over and over. Briddey hiding the truth from her boyfriend, getting mad at C.B. and making up with him, her annoying meddlesome family. and the droning on and on about the history of telepathy. This book was way too long and too repetitive and I was happy to finally be done with it.

Connie Willis has been putting out top-notch science-fiction work for years and pretty much gone under the radar. She should be a household name and hopefully CROSSTALK will help in that effort.

This lengthy novel includes elements of romantic comedy with sci-fi for an interesting mix. In the near future a process is created to increase empathy between outpatients and their romantic partners. Unfortunately, when Briddey Flannigan undergoes the procedure it fails to help her out with her fiancee. Instead, Briddey begins to hear every thought of one of her strange co-workers. As other side effects begin to rear their ugly head Briddey realizes she will do anything to get back to the way she was before the procedure.

Biting humor and a nice expose of modern medicine and the obsession with personal perfection.

I first came across Connie Willis many years ago when I read and loved 'Doomsday Book' so I was really delighted to find that she had a new book out.

Crosstalk shows a world in the very near future when Smartphomes and mass instant communication is getting more out of control than it is now. Briddey works for a communications company and when her soon to be fiance (and high up in the company) asks her to undergo a procedure to help link their brains together emotionally she agrees in spite of being told it's a really bad idea!

Needless to say things don't go as planned!! I loved Briddey's crazy Irish family and the frantic madness of the story. I can see this wouldn't be a book for everyone but I loved it to bits & can't thank Netgalley enough for giving me a chance to read it!

OMG. Connie Willis has so many fine books but this is a wonderful addition to the archive. Communication is beginning to become overwhelming- imagine telepathy. Involuntarily sharing all of your thoughts with some random person: or worse yet with someone you know.

Despite the size, the book was a very quick read. There is a lot of action and romance, and I just wanted to read one more page. You know how it goes.

There is not much science fiction in the book, and the science was not explained. The story is set almost in our time and place, where the characters work for a cell phone company and struggle to make a new phone that will overshadow new iPhone, and they have one single thing that is different from our time - they do a brain surgery to make pairs connect on emotional level. And it goes wrong.

I liked the writing, I liked the story line, and I liked the main character. The story was predictable at times, and there were some surprises on the way, too. I expected more science fiction and less romance from the author, though.

After loving both Blackout and All Clear, I had high hopes for Crosstalk - but Willis's latest is more of a very long and predictable piece of fantasy instead of the page-turning work of speculative fiction I had anticipated. Perhaps others will enjoy the pop culture name drops, the love triangle, and the "unanticipated consequences" of Briddey's empathy-enhancing outpatient procedure - but not this girl. Time to dive into Willis's Oxford Time Travel series instead.

I loved this book. It reminded me of the romantic comedies I watched with my mom and sister growing up. The characters were all excellently written. The humor was great, I laughed out loud at several parts.

I can relate to Briddey’d family. I know what it’s like to love them but wish they’d just go away sometimes. C.B. is awesome. I’m a geek myself so my heart immediately went out to him.

The telepathy part is very interesting. I never thought about it, but it would be a hard gift to have. And C.B.’s right, the human mind is a cesspool.

It’s a fun ride, but not too deep. Don’t expect a great philosophical story. It’s entertaining and thrilling, but not life altering. The ending is a deus ex machina, but one I was glad for.

If you want something fun, humorous, and gripping, this is the book for you.

Briddey and her fiancé, Trent work for a telephone company in the 21st century. He decides they should get an EED so that they may always be in contact with one another.
This is a book that will confirm the philosophy that some of us have that there is too much technology or is it something else.

Briddey instead winds up instead talking in her head to the scientific guy in the tech department. Of course there is Briddey’s Irish family that seems to run amok too. A niece whose mother wants her absolutely controlled – no vampire movies or anything else.
Quite frankly the story is about 100 to 200 pages too long and just seems to go on with some technological or even telepathy and emotional development and definitely not the way people talk or think.

I've read and enjoyed many of Connie Willis' books, but this one was not as up to par as I had hoped. The story is cute and funny in many parts. It also makes some interesting points about our information-overloaded and cell-phone addicted society. However, a shorter version may have been better.

As a librarian, I enjoyed the library scenes the most. I also loved the references to old songs, ballads, Lucky Charms cereal, and, of course, books. Not being Irish, I couldn't identify much with Briddey and her family, and I found it hard to believe her neice, Maeve, was only nine.

Recommended for those who enjoy a light but long romantic comedy with a touch of technology.

Connie Willis strikes again, with a light-hearted romantic comedy that spins a simple concept out into an extended reason to root for the heroine for 500 pages. She's clearly made an effort to write a novel set in the present day, instead of leaning on historical research and nostalgia, and it's largely successful, making this book quite approachable. If you've read All Clear or To Say Nothing of the Dog, you know exactly where the plot is going, and the protagonist is basically the worst employee at her tech firm and the least perceptive member of her large family so that the other characters can step in to bail her out of the many scrapes in which she lands, but it's all done with such love and breathless plotting that I never minded.

Special mention to the cover on this 1st edition, which is so good and so eye catching I had three people ask to borrow the book before I'd read fifty pages.