Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
Supermassive
“You’re British, you’re a priest, you’re a medical doctor, you can handle a rifle, you know Morse Code, and most importantly of all, you’re a fucking pain in the ass – so off you go!”
There are two main story threads in this 1150 pages: World War II combat involving a gold shipment on a sunken German U-boat and perhaps another bevy elsewhere, and the establishment of a modern day data haven (hence cryptology) in the South Pacific, mainly involving the Philippines and the fictional Sultanate of Kinakuta. But the reader will find the narrative meandering through California and the Gulf of Bothnia and everywhere in between. At some point, names and families and friends come full circle through the generations. In [a:Alexandre Dumas|4785|Alexandre Dumas|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1279049943p2/4785.jpg] style, everyone ends up being related to everyone else.
I read a review of this novel a while ago, but it has always stayed with me. The reviewer said that if you took Cryptonomicon and dropped it into a black hole, the mass of the black hole would immediately double. That is to say, Stephenson is like a modern Shakespeare: his plot is exceedingly dense (but easy to read), his vocabulary expansive (but never obnoxious), and he seems to explore the full spectrum of human emotion and circumstance (the most sentimental and the most cynical), if only because of sheer number of words and pages.
The only thing Stephenson doesn’t do expertly is imbuing his scenes with a sense of fear. His characters are always intelligent and whimsical in their swashbuckling. They approach danger with a full embrace, equipped with an excess of wit. If there were a funeral dirge for a character in Cryptonomicon, it would never really be sullen, because the priest or the choirboy or the widow would be cracking jokes about Van Eck phreaking or Filipino land rights.
The action sequences are tremendous. Frenzied, confusion WWII battles swirl on air, land, and sea. Some characters are dazed and confused, others plowing through with matter-of-fact grit (and a quip or two). I loved every second of the combat and the satire.
Fans of complex, virtuosic writing and an appreciation for code-breaking, technology, and history will not be disappointed. This book is 16 years old with a plot laden with 1990s technology references, and yet it feels as fresh as ever.
“You’re British, you’re a priest, you’re a medical doctor, you can handle a rifle, you know Morse Code, and most importantly of all, you’re a fucking pain in the ass – so off you go!”
There are two main story threads in this 1150 pages: World War II combat involving a gold shipment on a sunken German U-boat and perhaps another bevy elsewhere, and the establishment of a modern day data haven (hence cryptology) in the South Pacific, mainly involving the Philippines and the fictional Sultanate of Kinakuta. But the reader will find the narrative meandering through California and the Gulf of Bothnia and everywhere in between. At some point, names and families and friends come full circle through the generations. In [a:Alexandre Dumas|4785|Alexandre Dumas|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1279049943p2/4785.jpg] style, everyone ends up being related to everyone else.
I read a review of this novel a while ago, but it has always stayed with me. The reviewer said that if you took Cryptonomicon and dropped it into a black hole, the mass of the black hole would immediately double. That is to say, Stephenson is like a modern Shakespeare: his plot is exceedingly dense (but easy to read), his vocabulary expansive (but never obnoxious), and he seems to explore the full spectrum of human emotion and circumstance (the most sentimental and the most cynical), if only because of sheer number of words and pages.
The only thing Stephenson doesn’t do expertly is imbuing his scenes with a sense of fear. His characters are always intelligent and whimsical in their swashbuckling. They approach danger with a full embrace, equipped with an excess of wit. If there were a funeral dirge for a character in Cryptonomicon, it would never really be sullen, because the priest or the choirboy or the widow would be cracking jokes about Van Eck phreaking or Filipino land rights.
The action sequences are tremendous. Frenzied, confusion WWII battles swirl on air, land, and sea. Some characters are dazed and confused, others plowing through with matter-of-fact grit (and a quip or two). I loved every second of the combat and the satire.
Fans of complex, virtuosic writing and an appreciation for code-breaking, technology, and history will not be disappointed. This book is 16 years old with a plot laden with 1990s technology references, and yet it feels as fresh as ever.
adventurous
medium-paced
Not as good as the Baroque Cycle but a worthy read.
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Very slow but rewarding read. The Bobby Shaftoe chapters made the book and I enjoyed the cryptology/mathematics theme (right up my alley). I was disappointed by the ending because it felt abrupt for a 900+ page book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A huge opus of a book I couldn't stop reading and was devastated to finish. I just wanted to keep on going. It features nerds - codemakers and breakers, engineers, and the decidedly un-nerdy manly man Bobby Shaftoe during WWII and their nerdy hacker and engineering grandchildren with the decidely un-nerdy underwater treasure hunter America Shaftoe during the 90s tech boom. The are tracking codes and submarines through the decades and mixed up in conspiracies and with gamers and criminals and everything in between. I really loved this book and have been recommending it to people left and right.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's longer than I think it had to be to tell its story, but the plots converge and resolve well and the ending is very satisfying in my opinion.