You're a step ahead of me - it's still on my Amazon wish list.
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I'm still holding out hope i'll find it at a used book store. along with god knows how many other books. Pretty much all the sci-fi/fantasy books that are more then 15 years old and popular. I had a list somewhere but it got unwieldly.
(side note: 3 used book stores and not one ever has Terry Pratchett books. which I find odd, even as good as they are. Oh well. Buying those new.)
I waited for ever and it arrived about ten days ago. It's still staring at me and I haven't had a chance to get reading it yet.
Anyone already reading it who can offer a spoiler free review? I need to prioritize :)
It is Neal Stevenson. Read it immediately.
Director of Sales
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I read it.
It is awesome.
I am just waiting for an appropriate amount of time to go by so I can read it again.
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I'm probably going to hell for this, but Neal Stephenson's latest stuff just leaves me cold.
I loved Snow Crash unreasonably, having bought and loaned out three copies so far (note to self, need a new copy for *me,* I know from long years of experience that 'loaners' don't come back).
I liked Diamond Age, particularly the 'swinging pendulum' theme about how generations flip-flop.
Cryptonomicon and the various other Baroque Cycle books I've read from him since, none of which I can tell apart, really, even if they are set in vastly different ages, and have amusingly named characters like America Shaftoe or Half-Cocked Jack, have all kind of blurred together for me and nothing really stands out about any of them.
His style has, IMO, *hugely* changed, and I kinda liked where he started...
He's not the only writer to feel like this for me. I loved F. Paul Wilson's 'The Keep' and 'The Tomb,' but later books, especially sequels or books that reused Repairman Jack, just felt like he was trying to recapture lightning from a storm that had long-since moved on. I liked Ender's Game, but Orson Scott Card lost me with his later books, which kept dragging Ender Wiggins around like a security blanket, long after his story was played out. I loved Ray Feist's Magician, but his later books got all 'epic' and stuff and lost me, and I don't think he's ever really hit that groove again, except with the Daughter of Empire novels. Peter Hamilton, David Brin, etc. all favorites, and all seem to have gotten less good (IMO) as time went on.
Maybe I'm just hypercritical...
Cryptonomicon was my last Stephenson book. It was so bad, for me, that I wanted a refund for the hours I wasted reading it. I have not wanted to risk another of his books, because it might be as pointless and boring as Cryptonomicon.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32
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Wow - really?
I'd definitely have to say, "Don't buy any of his newer books, then."
None of them are as exciting, fast-paced and dynamic as Cryptonomicon! They are all much more measured and REALLY take the time to explain things (in the case of Anathem, there are about 30 pages of appendices to deliver in full a number of discussions people have without 'slowing down' the main story.)
Set, I agree completely, and the problem with successful writers like Stephenson is that their success bloats their egos to such an immense proportion that they begin to think that any sentence formed in their brilliant minds is worthy of putting pen to paper. Someone should donate money to Mr. Stephenson so that he can hire an editor to cut his books in half, at a minimum.
It's also a good reason not to slavishly follow one writer just because they wrote one or two brilliant books. Better to diversify your menu and pick from the dozens of other fantastic authors.
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Director of Sales
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Well...
I'm just about to finish my second reading of Anathem, and I have to say that I really like this book.
Actual spoiler:
However, I don't feel it's as good as Cryptonomicon or The Baroque Cycle. This book felt rushed. I couldn't see the world as fully as I wanted to. There where plenty of small moments of beautiful description, for example:
These small moments of extremely fine description of an idea or object are a common feature in Stephenson's writing, and they are what I keep coming back for. I call them "curlicues". Examples from his other books are: The first time we see Raven use his glass knives in Snow Crash ("like cutting the bottom off a styrofoam coffee cup"). The passage in Diamond Age where the Designer of the Primer looks in on his sleeping daughter and decides to steal a copy for her ("We are attracted to anomalies..."). The description of Randy's Capt'n Crunch ritual as a way to describe his character in Cryptonomicon. Many, many, many moments in the Baroque Cycle.
But it was missing something. It never captivated my interest as fully as the last two (I'm considering the Baroque Cycle as one work, here). I had a hard time distinguishing between some of the second tier characters (Jesry and Arsibalt... but not Lio. He nailed Lio). I also had a hard time identifying with the main character, Erasmus. I didn't really buy him as being the age he was supposed to be.
On the other hand, comparing Anathem to Cryptonomicon and the Baroque Cycle is kind of unfair. These are the top the list of my favorite works of all time. I've re-read them both at least once a year since they came out. Needless to say, I disagree with the above posters who don't like them (to each his own), but since it is written by the same author, I'm setting Anathem against the best. And it doesn't really measure up.
That being said... I would recommend Anathem. It is a very good book in it's own right (just not the best). It's a fun read with several fun and subtle puzzles for the reader to figure out.
I'm gonna have to weigh in here and vehemently disagree with Krypter (specifically). I am nearing the end of Anathem, a 900-page book, and I find myself getting upset that it isn't longer. I really enjoy Stephenson's easygoing, conversational writing style, whether it be describing dynamic action scenes or deeply in-depth explanations of technology or philosophy. Obviously, YMMV and you are entitled to your opinion. But accusing the author of 'egotistical bloat' is unfair. Some of his fans really appreciate the direction his writing has gone. Just because you don't like it doesn't make it objectively 'bad'.
Sure, I thought some of his earlier books were brilliant (who here hasn't read Snow Crash like five times?) but I don't try to compare his new stuff to them. I like the new works for different reasons. Think of it as you would your favorite band. The new album (compared to their debut album) is longer, more technically complicated, and has more mature themes. Maybe it will seem stale or flat compared to the raw emotion of their debut album, but not all fans will see it that way. Some fans will like the new stuff even more, and recognize that an artist will inevitably grow over time, and that their style will change (sometimes drastically).
Just think - you're a fly-bat-worm thing.
Only made it 50 pages before giving up. While reading a 900 page book that is cryptic beyond reason might be fun in the effort taken to figure it out, it's just not for me. Whomever is next in line at the library will be happy to get it back early from me.
An example from page 35: Kefedokhles: A fid from the Halls of Orithena who survived the eruption of Ecba to become one of the Forty Lesser Peregrines.
Fid? Halls of Orithena? Ecba? Lesser Peregrines? The book explains none of what those are. If you're intrigued by that and want to puzzle out what all those things are, this is a book for you.
I read it.
It is awesome.
I am just waiting for an appropriate amount of time to go by so I can read it again.
** spoiler omitted **
I am curious about something. Did hearing the author's voice reading his work change the overall experience for you? I was at a reading given by William Gibson once. He has a very pronounced Kentucky-type accent. The inner voice you hear when you read is now forever changed when I read one of his books!!! :)
Also, would you say the book is more along the lines of Diamond Age or Cryptononicom ?
(side note: 3 used book stores and not one ever has Terry Pratchett books. which I find odd, even as good as they are. Oh well. Buying those new.)
Dude. Who gets rid of their Discworld books?
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32
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An example from page 35: Kefedokhles: A fid from the Halls of Orithena who survived the eruption of Ecba to become one of the Forty Lesser Peregrines.
The weird thing is I now know exactly what that all means with the same familiarity as if I'd learned it in school :)
It's up to you to decide if that's a good thing or not. It got me grinning like a loon, in any case.
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Senior Software Developer
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I just spent the last two snowbound days reading this book. I enjoyed it immensely.
I bought it a couple weeks ago when it was on sale for half off, and left it for a week to savor the idea that I had a new Neal Stephenson book to read. Then I picked it up, skipped the "if you like figuring things out, skip this part" part. (I try not to even read dustjacket blurbs if I trust the author.) And read three pages, and put it down. Most authors will throw a new term at you every page or so. This book jumps right in and throws three new terms at you every sentence. Daunting.
After finishing it I went back and re-read the first few pages, which now made perfect sense. I want to read it again but will wait to do so.
If the windpocalypse hits and the power goes out, I may re-read the Baroque Cycle by candlelight....
I'm probably going to hell for this, but Neal Stephenson's latest stuff just leaves me cold.
I loved Snow Crash unreasonably, having bought and loaned out three copies so far (note to self, need a new copy for *me,* I know from long years of experience that 'loaners' don't come back).
I liked Diamond Age, particularly the 'swinging pendulum' theme about how generations flip-flop.
Cryptonomicon and the various other Baroque Cycle books I've read from him since, none of which I can tell apart, really, even if they are set in vastly different ages, and have amusingly named characters like America Shaftoe or Half-Cocked Jack, have all kind of blurred together for me and nothing really stands out about any of them.
His style has, IMO, *hugely* changed, and I kinda liked where he started...
He's not the only writer to feel like this for me. I loved F. Paul Wilson's 'The Keep' and 'The Tomb,' but later books, especially sequels or books that reused Repairman Jack, just felt like he was trying to recapture lightning from a storm that had long-since moved on. I liked Ender's Game, but Orson Scott Card lost me with his later books, which kept dragging Ender Wiggins around like a security blanket, long after his story was played out. I loved Ray Feist's Magician, but his later books got all 'epic' and stuff and lost me, and I don't think he's ever really hit that groove again, except with the Daughter of Empire novels. Peter Hamilton, David Brin, etc. all favorites, and all seem to have gotten less good (IMO) as time went on.
Maybe I'm just hypercritical...
I know what you mean. Orson Scott Card is an amazingly talented writer - as long as he's not writing Ender books. The first and the second where phenomenal and nothing has even come close since in terms of the Ender stuff. He does some pretty good work in other books however so its not that he is a one hit wonder.
I agree with you with regards to Stephenson's work as well. Its perfectly passable but I was really just blown away by The Diamond Age and I keep wanting his other books to rival that. I doubt it'll happen.