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Currently re-reading the Diamond Age.
Very Cooll Ideas, but the book is somewhat challenging. There seems to be almost a divergent story line (Hackworth and his daughter) that I can remember getting frustrated over the first time I read it.
I really like the scope and characterisation used, but other elements of the style leave me cold for some reason... Oh well, still really enjoying the read - will move on to Crypto soon (again)
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'Nuff said!
mTh
Neal Stephenson
#62 Guest_Falco_*
Posted 14 November 2003 - 10:50 PM
Having previously read 'Snow Crash' and never really gotten into that novel, I approached 'The Diamond Age' with no small amount of trepidation. Fortunately for me, it completely blew me away. This was an awesome SF novel, one that never let go after getting its hooks into me. It needs to be read twice or thrice for someone to appreciate the levels of symbolism and irony inherent in it. Now I can see why Stephenson is lauded as he is- he truly is a genius, and this has got to be his masterwork.
'Cryptonomicon' has just been elevated to my must-read list, and I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on that book.
Essentially: Read 'The Diamond Age'. Now!
*shrugs*
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Finished end of school exams. Now looking to attain a perpetual state of drunkeness.
'Cryptonomicon' has just been elevated to my must-read list, and I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on that book.
Essentially: Read 'The Diamond Age'. Now!
*shrugs*
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Finished end of school exams. Now looking to attain a perpetual state of drunkeness.
#63 Guest_Edge_*
Posted 12 May 2003 - 10:05 AM
I've read Snow Crash and The Diamond Age but my favourite would have to be Cryptonomicon.
Great book!
Onrack shrugged in a clatter of bones. 'More than my kin,perhaps, the edge of my irritation with humankind remains jagged.
Great book!
Onrack shrugged in a clatter of bones. 'More than my kin,perhaps, the edge of my irritation with humankind remains jagged.
#64 Guest_Dark Daze_*
Posted 04 September 2003 - 05:45 PM
The Diamond Age goes from intellectual discussions of social order and the psychological exploration of domestic abuse and resolves it with queen of the mouse army???It's like resolving a Philip K Dick book with a Terry Brook style ending.
Yet Stephenson has a great sense of humor and can write a gripping story (well, 2/3 of one.)
Yet Stephenson has a great sense of humor and can write a gripping story (well, 2/3 of one.)
#65
stone monkey 
- I'm the baddest man alive and I don't plan to die...
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Posted 02 October 2003 - 06:31 AM
Bought Quicksilver last night. Not read much, but the Newton/Leibniz stuff is promising.
Neal's due to do a reading in Manchester next week some time so I'll hear what he's got to say and try and get my copy signed.
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This little piggy went to market
This little piggy stayed home
This little piggy had roast beef
This little piggy had none
And this little piggy cried all the way home...
...And this little piggy...
Neal's due to do a reading in Manchester next week some time so I'll hear what he's got to say and try and get my copy signed.
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This little piggy went to market
This little piggy stayed home
This little piggy had roast beef
This little piggy had none
And this little piggy cried all the way home...
...And this little piggy...
If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason for thinking as you do. If some one maintains that two and two are five, or that Iceland is on the equator, you feel pity rather than anger, unless you know so little of arithmetic or geography that his opinion shakes your own contrary conviction. … So whenever you find yourself getting angry about a difference of opinion, be on your guard; you will probably find, on examination, that your belief is going beyond what the evidence warrants. Bertrand Russell
#66 Guest_Sprout_*
Posted 03 March 2003 - 05:23 AM
#67 Guest_Duiker_*
Posted 04 September 2003 - 06:26 AM
Neal Stephenson is great. Read first Snow Crash and thought it was a fantastic rollercoaster, just crying to be made into a movie (allthoug, if it would be made into a movie nowadays, stupid people would probably call it a Matrix-rip off, grrr). It wasn't really up to the hype generated to the blurp-packed back cover and front page, but still good. I think Diamond Age was even more awesome. Especially ending with the big siege and all was terrific. The pseudo-Dickensian headings at the beginning of the chapter were a great addition.
I am really itchy to get into Cryptonomicon, but Alas! first I have to finish the Erikson MBotF (currently halfway through DHG).
Ride, ride for ruin and the worlds ending!
I am really itchy to get into Cryptonomicon, but Alas!
first I have to finish the Erikson MBotF (currently halfway through DHG).Ride, ride for ruin and the worlds ending!
#68 Guest_Drake Labatt_*
Posted 14 March 2004 - 11:13 AM
Bobby Shaftoe has the funniest hallucinations.
Cryptonomicon rocks. Great book. Although I sensed that Neal was running out of steam in the final 100 pages or so, and some plotlines never get resolved.
Alas, as an engineer, I feel that I must comment on something that stuck out like a sore thumb - all of that WWII engineering and mathematics and equation-solving and other junk, and not a slide rule to be found anywhere!
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Living on a lighted stage, approaches the unreal,
for those who think and feel, in touch with some reality beyond the gilded
cage.
Rush - "Limelight"
Cryptonomicon rocks. Great book. Although I sensed that Neal was running out of steam in the final 100 pages or so, and some plotlines never get resolved.
Alas, as an engineer, I feel that I must comment on something that stuck out like a sore thumb - all of that WWII engineering and mathematics and equation-solving and other junk, and not a slide rule to be found anywhere!
======
Living on a lighted stage, approaches the unreal,
for those who think and feel, in touch with some reality beyond the gilded
cage.
Rush - "Limelight"
#69 Guest_DrBloodmoney1_*
Posted 18 September 2003 - 10:51 AM
There is a new interview, albeit a short one, with an overview of the Baroque series in this month's edition of Pages on the book stand. Quicksilver is going to weigh in at 900+ pages. It is 3 chapters of a 8 or 9 chapter saga that will be contained within the 3 books. I was also struck at the rapidity that the 3 books are slated to come out. 9/2003, 4/2004, and 11/2004. That's fantastic!
#72
Shinrei
- charin charin
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Posted 11 May 2003 - 09:22 PM
Heh.
Yeah, you get the impression that NS does some of his beefing about life in his books.
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Being evil by moonlight. In the ground by daylight. Always causing lots of real fights. He is the one who'll crush your balls.
Yeah, you get the impression that NS does some of his beefing about life in his books.
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Being evil by moonlight. In the ground by daylight. Always causing lots of real fights. He is the one who'll crush your balls.
You’ve never heard of the Silanda? … It’s the ship that made the Warren of Telas run in less than 12 parsecs.
#73 Guest_Pale Remnants_*
Posted 28 February 2003 - 03:15 AM
I've read "Cryptonomicon", and enjoyed its breadth,scope and ambition. Although, the modern day story line dragged.I much preferred the Bletchly Park World War two sections.
Is "Snow Crash" along similar themes and structure ?
The Green Man has returned as the living face of the whole earth .
Is "Snow Crash" along similar themes and structure ?
The Green Man has returned as the living face of the whole earth .
#74 Guest_egt_*
Posted 20 January 2004 - 02:07 AM
Finished Cryptonomicon some weeks ago, must say that even though I like the book it bothered me that there were things in it that just felt like bad research. Most notably the Swedish part, why not use swedish names instead of something that the author thinks sound like a swedish name. Other things like the cryptology thingies were good. And my overall impression is that it's a good book that could have been made shorter without any real loss (he and Jordan should get new editors)
#75
Devore
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Posted 01 March 2003 - 03:37 AM
I like an older and (I think) not so well known book from Stephenson. It's Zodiac from 1988. No sci-fi/cyber theme there. It is about an "environmental agent" in Boston catching eco-crooks. A lot of humour. Some parts are hilarious.
Stephenson show signs of comedian brilliance in some of his works. I like the mafia security guys in Snow Crash wearing jackets with MAFIA branded in bold yellow letters on the backs.
@Pale: Regarding Snow Crash, let's say that Stephenson does not envision a bright future for the US. Great book. Read it
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"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former"
Stephenson show signs of comedian brilliance in some of his works. I like the mafia security guys in Snow Crash wearing jackets with MAFIA branded in bold yellow letters on the backs.
@Pale: Regarding Snow Crash, let's say that Stephenson does not envision a bright future for the US. Great book. Read it
---
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former"
#76
Shinrei
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Posted 02 March 2003 - 06:17 PM
Hey, just curious (and not offended either). And your previous post wasn't stupid in the least, it pointed out NS's humor, which is a good point about his books. 
I'll show you fear in a handful of dust.
I'll show you fear in a handful of dust.
You’ve never heard of the Silanda? … It’s the ship that made the Warren of Telas run in less than 12 parsecs.
#77 Guest_Duiker_*
Posted 04 September 2003 - 04:52 PM
Yeah, other people (on the net) complained about the `anti-climactic` ending of The Diamond Age. Okay, it leaves a few loose end, but come on, the action and ending were foreshadowed throughout the book. It would have been anti-climactic NOT to include it.
Ride, ride for ruin and the worlds ending!
Ride, ride for ruin and the worlds ending!
#78
Mort
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Posted 01 April 2003 - 04:49 PM
Umm, I loved Snow Crash and Diamond Age, then picked up a signed copy of Crypto and just couldn't finish. Been meaning to pick itup for ages, based on how much I enjoyed NS' work in the other two, but haven't managed it just yet...
After reading it maybe it's time to give it another go.
"Once more into the breach my friends..."
Tallyho
There we always sat/ Alone in all our petty dreams/ Staring down the sun...
mTh
After reading it maybe it's time to give it another go.
"Once more into the breach my friends..."
Tallyho
There we always sat/ Alone in all our petty dreams/ Staring down the sun...
mTh
#79 Guest_Duiker_*
Posted 16 October 2003 - 11:40 AM
Finished Crytonomicon just like five minutes ago and am now absolutely convinced op NSs brilliance (if I wasn't already). He really does some fine and humorous observations, then effortlessly shifts into scientifically sound explanations of cryptostuff before launching an entertaining action sequence. Anyone who can do these things in the span of one book and all the while keep it together deserves praise. Can't wait to delve into Quicksilver which luckily is already in my posession.
**POSSIBLE SPOILER**
I am only stuck figuring out one thing: the gold in the Bischoffs U-Boat, V-Million, is not valuable because it is gold but because it has hole punched in its sheets, supposedly a means to convey information. Hackleber so much as says so much as that he will transfer it (the vlaue of the gold) via wire at the end of the book, at the same time as revealing the gold belonged to Reichsmarschall Goering. Well, what the heck is the info? When Randy & bunch recover the gold, they notice the holes, but still they cart it over to the Crypt as if its nothing. Is this to be revealed in the Baroque Cycle (which seems unlikely because that story takes place a couple of centuries earlier) or have I missed some detail?
Ride, ride for ruin and the worlds ending!
**POSSIBLE SPOILER**
I am only stuck figuring out one thing: the gold in the Bischoffs U-Boat, V-Million, is not valuable because it is gold but because it has hole punched in its sheets, supposedly a means to convey information. Hackleber so much as says so much as that he will transfer it (the vlaue of the gold) via wire at the end of the book, at the same time as revealing the gold belonged to Reichsmarschall Goering. Well, what the heck is the info? When Randy & bunch recover the gold, they notice the holes, but still they cart it over to the Crypt as if its nothing. Is this to be revealed in the Baroque Cycle (which seems unlikely because that story takes place a couple of centuries earlier) or have I missed some detail?
Ride, ride for ruin and the worlds ending!
#80
fortyseven
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Posted 22 October 2003 - 08:11 AM
I've read Cryptonomicon. I loved it. On amazon.com Quicksilver has a average of 3 stars but most ppl give it either one or 5 stars. Quicksilver is the introduction to the Baroque Cycle so that's why it seems plodding, plot is thinnish. That's what I think from reading the reviews. I plan on reading Quicksilver and Snow Crash, maybe others too.
