I'm not convinced it's the subject matter and/or length turning people off Cryptonomicon. For all its weird made up words and spec-fic wankery, the fact is that

I'm not convinced it's the subject matter and/or length turning people off Cryptonomicon. For all its weird made up words and spec-fic wankery, the fact is that Anathem has a pretty standard YA-esque protagonist and a relatively coherent plot that's paced well (IMO) and carries its momentum through to the end. This makes it read more like a mainstream page-turner than a lot of his other works, the most prominent of which is probably Cryptonomicon. I mentioned Reamde for the same reason, though as you say it's a lot more grounded in the world we know. It seems like at least one child of my comment agrees with me. It's interesting (and kind of neat) how much fans of Stephenson seem to disagree on the merits of his individual works.