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It’s not my favorite of his books. Try Cryptonomicon (if you like history/math) or Anathem (if you like sci fi/math) or The Diamond Age (if you like sci fi).
by zeroonetwothree 2y ago
It’s not my favorite of his books. Try Cryptonomicon (if you like history/math) or Anathem (if you like sci fi/math) or The Diamond Age (if you like sci fi).
- aetherson 2y agoI think that Snow Crash is good, but those are three of his best books, too. I appear to be a little odd in liking Reamde as much as I do, but if you want something lower-concept and more thriller-like, I really enjoy Reamde.
- swells34 2y agoThose three and REAMDE (which I'm currently rereading) are just fantastic. Snow Crash was very stylized; too much for some tastes, not enough for others.
- netule 2y agoI loved REAMDE until a little more than halfway through, when it became a DNF for me.
- sangnoir 2y agoIMO, Stephenson's books are too long for the stories they tell, especially the final 25-33% - those can be a real slog. I gave up on Seveneves at about 90% or the book, reading it was no longer fun. I read a handful of his prior work to completion when I was a book completionist, so I can't tell of it says anything about the nature of the novels, or my own perseverance.
- ljlolel 2y agoI’d say the first half set up is the always the slog with his books and the best part payoff is the end.
- actionfromafar 2y agoSeveneves are very much two books. I liked the first one best.
- jorvi 2y agoDoesn't that make them quite mediocre books when viewed holistically? Imagine if movies were like that: a huge slog for 1h15, and then a twist at 1h50 at which point it actually gets interesting/entertaining. Don't get me wrong, I love a good slow burn read/watch, but "slog" is not that.
- ljlolel 2y agoAnathem payoff is worth it
- aetherson 2y agoI think that's a failure mode his worse books fall into, but I've found his better books enjoyable all the way through.
- nsxwolf 2y agoWith Cryptonomicon I had to keep stopping to look up every other word in a thesaurus. It made me feel incredibly stupid and just made the experience a slog.
- ljlolel 2y agoTake it as a relatively fun way to improve your vocabulary ! (And apparently needed)
- MattSayar 2y agoOne of the biggest pros of a reading device like a Kindle is that you don't have to interrupt the flow, just tap the word and get your definition. Same for footnotes. It was the only way I could get through Infinite Jest.
- knowaveragejoe 2y agoI'm really enjoying The Baroque Cycle.
- PretzelPirate 2y agoInterface is the best Neal Stephenson book.