expiredAdmiralAsshat posted Apr 07, 2025 12:43 PM
Item 1 of 3
Item 1 of 3
expiredAdmiralAsshat posted Apr 07, 2025 12:43 PM
Neal Stephenson eBooks: The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O., Anathem: A Novel
& More$2.00
$9.99
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Anathem is more philosophical and complex
Reamde is non-stop chaotic fun and the perfect introduction to Stephenson
Diamond Age is fun, especially if you're a coder
I've read a bunch of other Neal Stephenson books, but haven't gotten into these other ones in this deal yet.
Anathem is more philosophical and complex
Reamde is non-stop chaotic fun and the perfect introduction to Stephenson
Diamond Age is fun, especially if you're a coder
I've read a bunch of other Neal Stephenson books, but haven't gotten into these other ones in this deal yet.
(I'm trying to remember if I've read Anathem — edit: I have. Tied with Cryptonomicon for Econess. Way less historical (b/c absolute fiction) than Crypt countered by an almost plagiarist recreation of Name of the Rose's setting. 😉 Both very much studies of semiotics. So both Anathem & Baroque very different than Readme and DODO.)
If there's a spectrum, Umberto Eco to Michael Crichton, for Stephenson books, Baroque is max Eco, Cryptonomicon (not offered here) is in the middle, and Reamde is so far towards Crichton it's dangerously close to pulp fiction… and all are fantastic reads.
Everyone living in or after a digital age should be required to read Cryptonomicon btw.
That and Cryptonomicon are the heights of Stephenson IMO (the "modern" portions of Cryptonomicon are dated, but the WWII stuff is spectacular). Seveneves was when I tapped out on ol' Neal. I think I said it was, "as good as an intro to physics book could be written".
Anathem is very…. interesting, and has some legit great parts, but really drags in sections. I think Stephenson forgets he's really not a literary writer, but a supremely talented pop author like Stephen King. This isn't to minimize their talents, but both of them sometimes forget themselves and try to be overly clever and profound like they're going to win Pulitzers or whatever.
He is so influential in sci-fi it's kind of a problem and pretty much everybody has been trying to write Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon for 30 years now, making a lot of derivative drivel in the process.
Anathem is more philosophical and complex
Reamde is non-stop chaotic fun and the perfect introduction to Stephenson
Diamond Age is fun, especially if you're a coder
I've read a bunch of other Neal Stephenson books, but haven't gotten into these other ones in this deal yet.
Which will lead you to the Baroque cycle. Quicksilver is a chore, but gets better and the remaining ones are awesome.
Baroque Cycle is basically Stephensons version of Tolkien's The Silmarillion. A lot less approachable, more for the hardcore fan and history buff. Anathem isn't exactly the most straightforward material either...have to wade through a lot of cryptic introduction before plot really starts to unfold.
Really hard not to see the divide between Slines, Politicians and the Academic class in today's world, though Stephenson missed the Academics disdain for everyone else. He could have predicted the current term 'slop' for what Slines consume on a daily basis between sportsball tourneys and whatever news the Politicians concoct to keep them enthralled.
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Neal Stephenson wrote books I enjoyed earlier in his career: The Big U, Zodiac, Snow Crash, and Diamond Age (Snow Crash being my favorite). His writing style (not necessarily the stories) evolved and became more complex, opaque and verbose - and, some (perhaps many) might argue, in need of a good editor... one perhaps armed with a machete.
I can't recall if I've finished any of his books after Cryptonomicon (which felt like a marathon), although I own several of them and have tried. It's been a long while, so I'm not sure how I'd feel about any of them now. It may be that'd I'd enjoy them today. He certainly has a large and devoted fan base.
This does seem like a nice deal if you'd like to own them. Unfortunately, it seems that the sale has expired.
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