This book is category defying. Stephenson is sold in the Sci-fi section of bookshops, but the book is more technically-literate historic fiction. This is a thriller saga set across the period from the start of WW2 to the current period loosely linking different generations of families involved in codes and code-breaking. Good story, incredibly diverse facts and informative, but occasionally self indulgent. Why aren't there more books like this? Read June 2009. ( )

Neal Stephenson likes to throw weird shit together and see if it sticks. The more recent his book, the more likely it is to resemble a schizophrenic's curio cabinet. Your average Phillip Pullman will add a little wacky trepanning to his fantasy trilogy for that refined edge of esoteria.

Meanwhile, Stephenson will have an exiled member of Italian royalty who works in 'demolition real estate' and knows Escrima thanks to an intense trepanning session with Horace Walpole, Duke Orford. Wh...more Neal Stephenson likes to throw weird shit together and see if it sticks. The more recent his book, the more likely it is to resemble a schizophrenic's curio cabinet. Your average Phillip Pullman will add a little wacky trepanning to his fantasy trilogy for that refined edge of esoteria.

Meanwhile, Stephenson will have an exiled member of Italian royalty who works in 'demolition real estate' and knows Escrima thanks to an intense trepanning session with Horace Walpole, Duke Orford. Which I believe is an accurate summary of the next William Gibson book.

One man's premise is another man's plot.

I liked it better when Stephenson used the bizarre as a spice to flavor a driven, exciting story. Though spices may make a dish delectable, they aren't palatable on their own; you need some meat. I guess what I'm saying is: who the fuck wrote Snowcrash and when will he write something else? ( )

I kept passing by this title at the bookstore and I finally gave in and picked it up. At first I was tearing through the book, unable to put it down. The story was great and Stephenson's language and descriptions were unique and often humorous. Then around the 700 page mark, the language which was earlier so refreshing started to grate. This coupled with the present time line story arc feeling less flushed out, and more of an outline or the bare skeleton of the story led me to wrestle with deciding to continue on or drop the book for something else.

I kept with it, and I'm glad I did because the storyline did manage to pick up again (mostly through the past time line story arc), and the crypto system was truly interesting. That being said, the language continued to grate and detract from instead of enhancing the story. That, coupled with the book taking on a "small world" experience where everyone's grandchildren ended up doing the same as their grandparents and reuniting to finish what was started, and the abrupt ending made the book seem hastily put together at the end (for a 1000+ page book that's saying something) and somewhat contrived. ( )

Absolutely wonderful book. It might be a little long for some readers. ( )

http://pixxiefishbooks.blogspot.com/2...

Well, the third time's a charm. I first started to try to read this a number of years ago, while still a grad student, and quickly put it aside. Too big, too much. Then I tried again this past Christmas, while on vacation in Bali, but having just finished Simon Winchester's lengthy, though fascinating, book on the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, it was again quickly put aside, again, too big, too much.

But as my time in Japan was winding down, I tried once more. And this time, I couldn't stop reading. In the classic 'just one more chapter' routine, I stayed up quite late, night after night, reading on and on, wanting to know and see and hear and experience more and more.

In a nutshell, it's a fascinating (but GIANT) novel, covering over 50 years in cryptography (code-breaking, essentially), from WWII to modern-day. There are three major story lines, but once I got used to who was who (which took a few chapters), I never got lost again. It's an excellent, compelling, fascinating read, and I highly recommend it. ( )