- An Irish proverb wrote:
- There's nothing so bad that it couldn't be worse.
The first story in "Edward Bryant's Sphere of Influence" was by Connie Willis, and in the little author bios following each story Connie's new(-ish, 2016) book "Crosstalk" is mentioned. It's a comic novel about EEDs, a device celebrities are having implanted in their necks which allow them to share feelings directly with their wives or husbands. The lead character in "Crosstalk," Briddey Flannagan, gets one with her fiancé Trent so they can connect at a deeper level.
It doesn't work out, of course. All sorts of "unintended consequences" pop up, and Briddey is thrown into a whole new world of psychic phenomena.
Willis has done her research. Although the premise is flat balderdash her explanations of brain chemistry and telepathy and Joan of Arc hearing voices are solidly grounded. The implications of bypassing -- willingly or unwittingly -- the filters we all erect around our communication are humorously explored.
Although nearly 500 pages, the novel flows like water and it's one of those rare novels that seeps under your skin as you're reading it, coloring everything you see or hear for the duration. Willis remains one of my favorite authors.
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