The Veiled Web

THE VEILED WEB: Catherine Asaro: Bantam Books: 1999: Sci-Fi: 355 pages

In July 2010, Web-surfing prima ballerina Lucia del Mar briefly meets Rashid al-Jazari, the Moroccan inventor of a cutting-edge artificial intelligence system after performing at the White House. In Italy in August for a ballet performance, they meet again and are kidnapped by international terrorists who covet Rashid’s invention. They manage to foil the abductors, but in order to keep Lucia safe when they land in Morocco, Rashid arranges a hasty marriage. Cloistered in Rashid's traditional Islamic home, Catholic Lucia overcomes her loneliness by befriending Zaki, the uncannily human computer program Rashid has designed. When the terrorists strike again, Rashid's AI system is destroyed, but the unlikely marriage survives with hopes for a more tolerant future. Although full of the technical aspects of AI (which you can pretty much skip over), the book's strengths are the sensuous and respectful evocation of Islamic culture and how Lucia adapts to the culture, and the creation of Zaki, the artificial intelligence who comes to life as the tale's most quirky and moving character. Mostly clean and quite interesting for a sci fi!

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