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Reminds me of how Stephenson describes Los Angeles in Snow Crash "Los Angeles is no longer part of the United States, as the federal government of the United S
by jotto 8y ago
Reminds me of how Stephenson describes Los Angeles in Snow Crash
"Los Angeles is no longer part of the United States, as the federal government of the United States has ceded most of its power and territory to private organizations and entrepreneurs"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash
- iamjaredwalters 8y agoOff topic, I only recently found out about this book and it might be my favorite read in recent memory. Love seeing it mentioned in the wild.
- Jaruzel 8y agoIf you liked Snow Crash, give The Diamond Age a go.
- peatmoss 8y agoI can’t second this enough. Snow Crash and Diamond Age were fun page-turners. I slogged through Cryptonomicon, but beyond that I haven’t been able to finish anything else. I’ve heard good things about Seveneves, but I’m a little hesitant to pick it up given that it’s huge and there are thousands of other books to read.
- samatman 8y agoPick up Anathem before trying Seveneves. Anathem might be his strongest novel, and it's the only one that holds up to Snow Crash and Diamond Age in my estimation. I adore Zodiac as well but am in a decided minority in that regard.
- bstamour 8y ago> I adore Zodiac as well but am in a decided minority in that regard. We're in the same camp, friend. Zodiac was my favourite novel of his.
- jfoutz 8y agoI even liked _The Big U_. Pre Cryptonomicon Stephenson was weird and full of wacky ideas barely held together with a thin veneer of a story. I think he's a much better storyteller now, but the books aren't quite as dense with weird, magic and crazy ideas.
- dwater 8y agoI loved Snow Crash and The Diamond Age. I've read Anathem twice and loved it. And even though it clocks in at around 3,000 pages, The Baroque Cycle trilogy is so good I've read it 3 or 4 times and I'll probably read it again.
- Tyr42 8y agoI'd recommend reading it. Pretty fun book.
- aaronbrethorst 8y agoThe first 2/3s of Seveneves were pretty good. I think you can reasonably skip the last 1/3 of the novel. Anathem is definitely his best written work. Don't bother with REAMDE.
- njarboe 8y agoREAMDE was interesting to read when it came out as it had many ideas about the very-near-future that had yet to come about but are now true. One was how malware will grow dramatically in frequency and sophistication once there is an anonymous way to pay the criminals online. Written before criminals started using Bitcoin. I would agree it is now not worth reading unless one just wants to read everything by Stephenson.
- DanHulton 8y agoYeah, agree. You'll reach a point where you very obviously know you can stop. I sometimes don't mind his "explain every little detail of the physics of how things work" style of writing, but when that's the majority of what you're reading over several pages of being introduced to new characters, it's a bit much.
- iamjaredwalters 8y agoAwesome, will check this out definitely. Thanks!
- moorhosj 8y agoWas in a similar position. The world building in Snow Crash (first 150ish pages) is one of my favorites in the genre. Unfortunately, the plot kind of lost me towards the end and I came out slightly disappointed.
- RubenSandwich 8y agoI know it's polular to predict a dystopia future that resembles 1984; but I'm much more inclined to believe we are more heading into a Cyberpunk future where corporations hold the real power and nation states are more puppets for their will.
- craftyguy 8y ago> we are more heading into a Cyberpunk future where corporations hold the real power I believe we're more heading into an Idiocracy future where corporations also hold the real power (e.g. "Carl's Jr machine: Your kids are starving. Carl's Jr. believes no child should go hungry. You are an unfit mother.")
- setquk 8y agoI agree. They already sell Smartwater. Because it has got electrolytes.
- code_duck 8y agoI think that comparison is a little fuzzy.
- jessaustin 8y agoThat's what plants crave!
- berbec 8y agoNo, plants crave Mountain Dew
- kipchak 8y agoUnrelated aside: 1L Smartwater bottles are rather light and durable for reuse in backpacking.
- ahtu123 8y ago
- JustSomeNobody 8y agoIdiocracy where everything is sponsored by corporations.