5 ms·

I agree, I don't think diamond age gets enough interest. It's one of my favorite books and the ending is unsatisfying but at least upbeat. Seveneves is also ton

by JZL003 4y ago

I agree, I don't think diamond age gets enough interest. It's one of my favorite books and the ending is unsatisfying but at least upbeat. Seveneves is also tons of fun. And if you know anyone who likes history, his older Baroque Cycle is pretty great I haven't heard this in an interview or anything but I think now Stephenson is older and successful enough, he just writes the books exactly how he likes. Diamond age feels like he was agonizing over every word to keep everything so short. But Fall, and his newest book Termination Shock (which I also didn't like most of) ,just feels like an author who likes writing. Both have these amazing moments, which reminds me like a jazz musician, where it's almost effortlessly insightful and funny. But with no editing or second thoughts

JZL003 4y ago
Also for anyone who likes weird scifi, read Cory Doctorow's Rapture of the nerds, it has an amazing audiobook and is just fun and clever
- cl42 4y ago
  Spoiler Alert The idea that rich people have access to more compute power in the cloud, and can experience more compute cycles per minute (and thus have more experiences in a metaverse!), is exactly how I see a dystopian universe based on cloud computing developing. When I read that part in the book, it blew my mind.
  - uptime 4y ago
    You might like Greg Egan’s Permutation City too.
    - cl42 4y ago
      This looks so good! Will definitely read it. Thank you!
the__alchemist 4y ago
Probably my favorite, edging the others out slightly... as you might guess.
notahacker 4y ago
The thing about the Diamond Age is the first half is a brilliant book full of great ideas that seems to be set for a complex and enthralling finale, and the second half is an absolute mess that ruins the first half. Only book I can think of comparable in that respect is Stranger in a Strange Land (note to sci-fi authors: don't think you can tie the plot of your killer high-concept idea together with the first thing that comes to mind, especially not if the first thing that comes to mind is the need to come up with creative reasons for your characters to have orgies)
- jamestimmins 4y ago
  I accidentally purchased the "uncut" version of Stranger in a Strange Land, which included 85,000 more words that were edited out of the original release. If ever there was a book that didn't need an extra 85,000 words...
  - number6 4y ago
    I read Stranger in a Strange Land in my youth and it was mind-blowing. The unnecessary Lewdness was nice in puberty but looking back today it's more like a thing of its time thing...
    - stevenwoo 4y ago
      I, too, read it when younger and thought there was a lot of sex in Stranger in a Strange Land until I read Dahlgren where there is a lot less thinking and talking about it and more just step by step descriptions of every act, and that book came about fifteen years later.
- cainxinth 4y ago
  I sorta agree, but I also think one of the reasons that the first part is stronger has something to do with the protagonist’s age. When she’s just an innocent little girl, you feel incredible tension every time she is threatened. As she gets older and more capable, the danger doesn’t connect as viscerally to the reader (in my case anyway). But, warts and all, still one of my favorite novels ever.
mordymoop 4y ago
Diamond Age is the one I keep going back to and getting more out of over the years.
- turtleyacht 4y ago
  Same here. What I'm drawn to is Nell and Harv's relationship. As short as it is, it has an earnest, bittersweet authenticity. I appreciate Stephenson circling back to it. Starting off the reader with it and closing the loop is one of my favorite, sentimental moments.
bergenty 4y ago
Seveneves is all women protagonists, cannot get behind that though I tried.
- turtleyacht 4y ago
  It felt like Stephenson had a committee of editors, and they told him certain things would make the book sell better, and they promised to fund his VR sword game. One of the men sacrificing his life is described in a way to tick off a diversity checkbox, for example. I stuck around because the cosmological ramblings reminded me of Anathem, and while the ending became Animorphs, I couldn't follow him into REAMDE. I just keep Anathem and Diamond Age in mind when folks discuss Stephenson. Those have my favorite moments. Someday, I may venture into his past works.

by JZL003 4y ago

JZL003 4y ago

Also for anyone who likes weird scifi, read Cory Doctorow's Rapture of the nerds, it has an amazing audiobook and is just fun and clever

cl42 4y ago
Spoiler Alert The idea that rich people have access to more compute power in the cloud, and can experience more compute cycles per minute (and thus have more experiences in a metaverse!), is exactly how I see a dystopian universe based on cloud computing developing. When I read that part in the book, it blew my mind.
- uptime 4y ago
  You might like Greg Egan’s Permutation City too.
  - cl42 4y ago
    This looks so good! Will definitely read it. Thank you!

the__alchemist 4y ago

Probably my favorite, edging the others out slightly... as you might guess.

notahacker 4y ago

The thing about the Diamond Age is the first half is a brilliant book full of great ideas that seems to be set for a complex and enthralling finale, and the second half is an absolute mess that ruins the first half. Only book I can think of comparable in that respect is Stranger in a Strange Land (note to sci-fi authors: don't think you can tie the plot of your killer high-concept idea together with the first thing that comes to mind, especially not if the first thing that comes to mind is the need to come up with creative reasons for your characters to have orgies)

jamestimmins 4y ago
I accidentally purchased the "uncut" version of Stranger in a Strange Land, which included 85,000 more words that were edited out of the original release. If ever there was a book that didn't need an extra 85,000 words...
- number6 4y ago
  I read Stranger in a Strange Land in my youth and it was mind-blowing. The unnecessary Lewdness was nice in puberty but looking back today it's more like a thing of its time thing...
  - stevenwoo 4y ago
    I, too, read it when younger and thought there was a lot of sex in Stranger in a Strange Land until I read Dahlgren where there is a lot less thinking and talking about it and more just step by step descriptions of every act, and that book came about fifteen years later.
cainxinth 4y ago
I sorta agree, but I also think one of the reasons that the first part is stronger has something to do with the protagonist’s age. When she’s just an innocent little girl, you feel incredible tension every time she is threatened. As she gets older and more capable, the danger doesn’t connect as viscerally to the reader (in my case anyway). But, warts and all, still one of my favorite novels ever.

mordymoop 4y ago

Diamond Age is the one I keep going back to and getting more out of over the years.

turtleyacht 4y ago
Same here. What I'm drawn to is Nell and Harv's relationship. As short as it is, it has an earnest, bittersweet authenticity. I appreciate Stephenson circling back to it. Starting off the reader with it and closing the loop is one of my favorite, sentimental moments.

bergenty 4y ago

Seveneves is all women protagonists, cannot get behind that though I tried.

turtleyacht 4y ago
It felt like Stephenson had a committee of editors, and they told him certain things would make the book sell better, and they promised to fund his VR sword game. One of the men sacrificing his life is described in a way to tick off a diversity checkbox, for example. I stuck around because the cosmological ramblings reminded me of Anathem, and while the ending became Animorphs, I couldn't follow him into REAMDE. I just keep Anathem and Diamond Age in mind when folks discuss Stephenson. Those have my favorite moments. Someday, I may venture into his past works.