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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
On the one hand, it’s basically all setup — it very much feels like Stephenson wrote another 1,000-plus page opus and the publisher cut it down into more manageable pieces. On the other, if you’re the type who enjoys Stephenson’s 1,000-page plus opuses, it’s captivating and engrossing setup, as he sets the stage with events in 1930s America and the Soviet Union, with his usual digressions and fixations on whatever minutiae have captured his fancy. Hopefully it won’t be too long between volumes, as it’s a minor pity that I can’t just read the full story in one go.
Can't wait to read the remaining two thirds of this book!
Neal, I liked it a lot. I love the way you write - it resonates with whatever condition I have in a way that makes me go "oh yeah that's it". Part of that is the length of the books and this one felt like it only got started when it ended. I was in gear for another 700 pages, tbh.
Hurry up with number 2 please and thanks.
Neal, I liked it a lot. I love the way you write - it resonates with whatever condition I have in a way that makes me go "oh yeah that's it". Part of that is the length of the books and this one felt like it only got started when it ended. I was in gear for another 700 pages, tbh.
Hurry up with number 2 please and thanks.
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Mr. Stephenson is back! This time with a tale that I suspect will soon converge on the creation of the atomic bomb. Like the Baroque Cycle this one is a mixture of history (early to mid 20th century) and geek lit. Quite enjoyable and satisfying in many ways. I can't say much without bruising your experience but the adventures of Dawn/Aurora will keep you reading.
I'm raging that this book stops abruptly. Will I even remember it in a couple(?) years when the next installment is released, let alone Bomb Light #3? I should have waited. This series was probably conceived as one long novel (Stephenson being one of the preeminent big-book guys of our time) and dividing it into installments is almost certainly a purely fiscal move: big books intimidate some readers (for reasons of both price and length) and you can sell more books if you manipulate readers into buying more of them. Too, while Stephenson isn't old enough for his publisher to be seriously worried about an untimely demise, he is certainly getting a bit long in the tooth which may also play into the calculus of how to publish this story.
Anyway, it's a fun book, one of those in which much of the important news of the era plays into the lives of the characters directly or indirectly (in this case: the Chicago World's Fair, the exploits of Bonnie and Clyde, the march of the Bonus Army, the work of Communists in the US in the 1930s, and George Patton and Lavrentiy Beria before their ascents to the positions for which the world remembers them). I really appreciated the the protagonist of the book, Dawn, was written like a competent and canny person, whose shortcomings are presented as a result of her youth and lack of experience in various arenas, not because she's a woman. Stephenson does not appear to suffer from the embarrassing "men writing women" syndrome.
Anyway, it's a fun book, one of those in which much of the important news of the era plays into the lives of the characters directly or indirectly (in this case: the Chicago World's Fair, the exploits of Bonnie and Clyde, the march of the Bonus Army, the work of Communists in the US in the 1930s, and George Patton and Lavrentiy Beria before their ascents to the positions for which the world remembers them). I really appreciated the the protagonist of the book, Dawn, was written like a competent and canny person, whose shortcomings are presented as a result of her youth and lack of experience in various arenas, not because she's a woman. Stephenson does not appear to suffer from the embarrassing "men writing women" syndrome.
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Protagonist is a bit of a psycho, she doesn’t care when a parent dies, and has it all figured out unlike all 18 year olds, and Stephenson is the best at speculating the future and decent at romanticizing the past. This book is the latter and unsurprisingly so. Still, a good ending with some decent descriptions/digressions, I'm sure the next book will pick up the pace.
slow-paced
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I had to look up a lot of historical information while reading this. It is pretty dense, but also a good story.