4 ms·

I stand corrected on the latest one, which I haven't read. I've picked it up in the bookstore a few times but the combination of a thousand pages of thickness a

I stand corrected on the latest one, which I haven't read. I've picked it up in the bookstore a few times but the combination of a thousand pages of thickness and a less-than--compelling blurb on the back (wasn't this a Michael Douglas movie?) have failed to convince me. Thanks for the anti-recommendation... a thousand-page book is a serious time commitment and there's a lot of other things I want to read. To be honest Cryptonomicon is the only NS book which I really and wholeheartedly recommend. Diamond Age and Anathem are definitely interesting and I'm glad I read them but they have their flaws, Snow Crash comes across as juvenile, and the Baroque Cycle is approximately five hundred pages of a fantastic book bound at random with twelve hundred pages of boring.

excuse-me 14y ago
Diamond age is interesting, he almost gets to write actual characters. Snow Crash is an 80s heavy metal album made into a book. Cryptomincon is excellent. The Baroque cycle - you have to like Baroque. All those gold filigrees and cherubs of a Baroque opera house don't compare to the elegant lines of a Gothic cathedral and these three books aren't a lean story. Anathem - I have to read again to decide if it's simply too long or if there is a point. Readme - I can only assume he got a massive tax bill or is channeling the spirit of Michael Chrichton on a bad day. The only thing that raises it above Tom Clancy is that his editor managed to cut out 1000pages of weapons specifications.
adriand 14y ago
> To be honest Cryptonomicon is the only NS book which I really and wholeheartedly recommend. We're on the same page then, I agree with you. I really enjoyed Cryptonomicon. Diamond Age was interesting but tended to read like the script for an over-the-top sci-fi movie.
lukejduncan 14y ago
Oh man, The Diamond Age is my all time favorite and the book that drew me to Stephenson in the first place
- excuse-me 14y ago
  It's not fiction BUT if you like NS on a good day you must read his history of telegraph cables (it's free online) http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.12/ffglass_pr.html http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.12/ffglass_pr.html

excuse-me 14y ago

Diamond age is interesting, he almost gets to write actual characters. Snow Crash is an 80s heavy metal album made into a book. Cryptomincon is excellent. The Baroque cycle - you have to like Baroque. All those gold filigrees and cherubs of a Baroque opera house don't compare to the elegant lines of a Gothic cathedral and these three books aren't a lean story. Anathem - I have to read again to decide if it's simply too long or if there is a point. Readme - I can only assume he got a massive tax bill or is channeling the spirit of Michael Chrichton on a bad day. The only thing that raises it above Tom Clancy is that his editor managed to cut out 1000pages of weapons specifications.

adriand 14y ago

> To be honest Cryptonomicon is the only NS book which I really and wholeheartedly recommend. We're on the same page then, I agree with you. I really enjoyed Cryptonomicon. Diamond Age was interesting but tended to read like the script for an over-the-top sci-fi movie.

lukejduncan 14y ago

Oh man, The Diamond Age is my all time favorite and the book that drew me to Stephenson in the first place

excuse-me 14y ago
It's not fiction BUT if you like NS on a good day you must read his history of telegraph cables (it's free online) http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.12/ffglass_pr.html http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.12/ffglass_pr.html