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I'm reading Neal Stephenson's Anathem now. I feel like it's a book that will stay relevant in the future, partly because of how cultural persistence is an eleme
by zengid 10y ago
I'm reading Neal Stephenson's Anathem now. I feel like it's a book that will stay relevant in the future, partly because of how cultural persistence is an element of the story.
edit: I spelled the title incorrectly.
- Ar-Curunir 10y agoAnathem was Stephenson's first book that I read; I was absolutely mind blown. It's a slow burn (like most of his books), but the ending is more than worth it. Later I picked up Cryptonomicon, and it's a big reason why I'm doing a PhD in crypto now.
- andars 10y agoDoes Anathem have an ending or just sort of ends like the rest of Stephenson's books? Just curious.
- zengid 10y agoStephenson seems to think it does: https://youtu.be/lnq-2BJwatE?t=10m53s https://youtu.be/lnq-2BJwatE?t=10m53s
- waterphone 10y agoIts ending is a bit more traditional, as well as explicitly making fun of the fact that people criticize him for his endings.
- triplesec 10y agoIt's the least bad of his endings, and quite big. Worth going to the end.
- rojobuffalo 10y agoAs someone who has read several dozen sci-fi books, that one stands out as one of the absolute best. It's definitely an inspiration for the startup I'm working on now.
- triplesec 10y agoWhat kind of a startup is that? !
- rojobuffalo 10y agoIt was only from a minor plot line, but I really liked the idea that they grew all their own food and baked bread. The app is for community farming--it's called terrafarm (terrafarm.io).
- sapphireblue 10y agoI liked Anathem, but it is more of a philosophical work. Personally I think The Diamond Age is Stephenson's hard sci-fi masterpiece.
- zengid 10y agoI agree, The Diamond Age is my favorite book from Stephenson so far (I have the baroque cycle and pre-snowcrash books left to read), but something about Anathem makes me feel like it has staying power. Just my opinion though.