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The format of a Neal Stephenson book is: A great deal of content about whatever Neal Stephenson is nerding out about at the time he's writing the book that for
by mauvehaus 3y ago
The format of a Neal Stephenson book is:
A great deal of content about whatever Neal Stephenson is nerding out about at the time he's writing the book that forms the world-building (The metaverse in Snow Crash, MMORPGs in REAMDE).
There will be random digressions about other things he's nerding out about that don't amount to enough to be a major feature of the world (volcanic glass knives in Snow Crash, tuck-pointing masonry in REAMDE) that he nonetheless works into the story.
Some plot happens in this world, followed by an ending of highly variable quality. He ties Snow Crash together fairly well, as I recall. REAMDE, I was less impressed by.
For context, I've read everything of his except the Baroque Cycle up to Seveneves. He's pretty consistent in sticking to this format.
In my opinion his best writing is In The Beginning Was The Command Line[0]. I particularly like the quote "I use eMacs, which might be thought of as a thermonuclear word processor." It makes me smile despite the fact that I'm a vi person. It's also uncharacteristicly short for his work.
[0] https://smorgasborg.artlung.com/C_R_Y_P_T_O_N_O_M_I_C_O_N.shtml https://smorgasborg.artlung.com/C_R_Y_P_T_O_N_O_M_I_C_O_N.sh...
- ghaff 3y agoI found REAMDE maybe his worst book that I've read. For one thing, it was one of those books where, if a lot of things don't line up just perfectly again and again, there's really no story. I mostly liked Cryptonomicon and Anathem--but I probably wouldn't push a reader into the latter as an introduction.
- mauvehaus 3y agoYeah, REAMDE was a weird mashing together of what if things were happening in WoW and IRL and it all was somehow about the global war on terror? I concur that it's probably his worst novel that I've read. And that Anathem probably shouldn't be anyone's introduction to his work.
- xyzzy_plugh 3y agoAnathem was my introduction and I feel that it has spoiled his other works for me.
- kevindamm 3y agoCryptonomicon was my introduction and none of his other works really compare, for me.. at least, it's the only one I've felt the desire to read again.
- usrusr 3y agoREAMDE's ending with those gun-preppers orgasming over the idea of finally getting an excuse for hunting human did it for me. Stephenson nerding out about that subculture is a thing I can't unsee, now it colors my perception of even his most liberal-leaning writings.
- FrustratedMonky 3y agoIn a good or bad way? Like now you notice it more in other writings of his? There was a few pages like this in Snow Crash, and I remember breezing past it, but then re-reading it years later, could see the common thread. But all in all. His take on that culture seems accurate. Not exaggerated that much for satire.
- usrusr 3y agoIn a very bad way. I suspect that I'm really not doing him justice because he's probably not all too fond of any of the subcultures be portraits, but I can't completely shake off that change in perception.
- eitally 3y agoCryptonomicon and Anathem were what got me into Stephenson, and I loved both of those. Then I read Quicksilver and it held my attention, but I had a really hard time slogging through The Confusion and never made it to System of a World. On the other hand, Reamde was a fun story along the lines of something a popular spy fic author my write. Not high art, but easy and entertaining and something that could be easily adapted for the screen (like Snow Crash). In the Beginning... is, I believe, his best and most pure writing from a tech POV, but he's always been sort of the information technology version of what Michael Crichton is to biotech.
- chr 3y ago@mauvehaus, with your idiosyncratic spelling of emacs as "eMacs", you put Stephenson in a bad light. He knows how to spell. And edit.
- mauvehaus 3y agoAs a vi guy, I trusted whatever my iPhone said was the canonical capitalization of emacs when it autocorrected it :-) EDITED TO ADD: I just figured it out. My iPhone presumably thinks I'm taking about an obsolete Apple product. Doh. I'll let my error stand as a monument to not trusting everything a computer says. I would also note that most of what we seem to be discussing is whether his writing is good or not. Spelling, I'll give him. The opinions on editing seem to be a little more divided.
- petesergeant 3y agoBaroque Cycle is my favourite, worth giving it a shot. Dodo is such a strange book because the beginning and middle are amazing and the ending is terrible
- shermantanktop 3y agoAll his endings are weak. He builds momentum and reaches a climactic moment, and then…fizzle.
- jdeisenberg 3y agoI think the ending of Anathem is possibly one of his best; it’s an acknowledgment that it is the ending, it’s rather tender and sweet, and it fits the mood perfectly.
- WorldMaker 3y agoYeah, I think of Anathem as so far the only Reverse Stephenson book. Most of his books have killer starts and then end in a didactic "meh". Anathem starts with an incredibly didactic "meh" but then delivers a killer end.
- FredPret 3y agoYou should read the Baroque Cycle, then Cryptonomicon, then REAMDE, then Fall, Or Dodge in Hell. You can think of it as all one storyline, so the ending of each book is less critical.
- arethuza 3y agoI'd actually go with publication order myself...
- 7thaccount 3y agoI tried reading the first of the Baroque Cycle like 5 times. Could never make it more than 1/4 through it before losing steam. Anathem was the worst for me though.
- FredPret 3y agoThe Baroque Cycle made double-entry bookkeeping click for me, bizarre as that sounds. The whole cycle is a long, long read. But there are nuggets that make it well worth it.
- endtime 3y agoAnathem really picks up after the first 400-500 pages.
- kelseyfrog 3y ago
- jgrahamc 3y ago> A great deal of content about whatever Neal Stephenson is nerding out about at the time This was so true in SEVENEVES. There's a whole section about debris avoidance by a constellation of orbiting spacecraft and it was so tedious. I felt like I was reading someone describing an academic paper they'd recently read.
- throw1234651234 3y agoIt's a progression. Story, style, characterization, and science in equal measure at first. Then more and more of the latter and less of the first three. Perhaps he did peak in Diamond Age, then it's basically Asimov after - pretty hard sci-fi with no story / characters (or at least no characters / story anyone cares about). Snow Crash - most story / style / MEMORABLE characters Diamond Age - same but with a very dramatic evolution from traditional Cyberpunk Anathem / Seven Eves - virtually no memorable characters, interesting concepts and science though Cryptonomicon - I couldn't.
- jgrahamc 3y agoI think I've read every one of his books. My favourite is The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O..
- themadturk 3y agoAnd D.O.D.O was one of only three Stephenson books I started and could not finish.
- fullspectrumdev 3y agoThere’s also usually “protagonist or major character has a weird method of travel”, “protagonist or major character goes through a period of loneliness as part of their heroes journey”, and a few other bits that are common across most of his fiction work. He’s also largely absolutely shit at writing female characters. Still enjoy his work, but it’s fun to find the common threads.
- brg 3y agoI have found that folks who don’t like Snow Crash will enjoy Seveneves.