Reviews

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

fedorasommora's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny informative inspiring mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

mo_from_walle's review against another edition

4.0

I really, really enjoyed this book, but Stephenson clearly did not devote his considerable chops to any of his female characters.

skc73's review against another edition

5.0

Back when Stephenson wrote a good tale and didn't overload it with unnecessary info or exposition.

caitaylo's review against another edition

4.0

I really like Stephenson's writing. This (long) book was fun to read. Though he tends to go into fairly extensive technical detail, unlike Larsson of the Dragon Tattoo series, this detail is interesting and adds to/is relevant to the storyline. I felt like I was learning something on top of reading a good story, and I enjoyed his breakdown of code-breaking and hacking. Whereas the end left me asking, "...is that what this story was about?", it still served as a not unsatisfying ending to a book made up of good character development and interesting storylines woven more tightly together as they progressed. Glad I read it!

breakiemimosa's review against another edition

3.0

Sprawling, epic techno-thriller. The first and last 200 pages were great, but the middle part dragged quite a bit. And I know this is by design, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

phidgt's review against another edition

3.0

It’s a daunting task simply to pick up this book as it is over 1,000 pages in length. One suggestion; do not try to read the mass paperback version it is much too unwieldy. This book is an excellent read and Stephenson keeps everything moving right along. Cryptonimicon is actually four separate stories that slowly become interwoven to create one. The book blends historical fiction from WWII with present day computer technology in a very believable manner. None of the technology is over the top which is why I definitely preferred this Stephenson novel over his earlier work, Snow Crash.

ktrucke3's review against another edition

4.0

I really grew to like the characters. Great interweaving of WW2 and near-future story lines. I had to skim the deep crypto details but that didn't detract from my enjoyment.

rschwarz's review against another edition

funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

kristag's review against another edition

3.0

My interest flagged a bit about 2/3 in (particularly around Randy's trip back to the US) but I'm glad I read this book. I chose it because it was on the NPR list of the top 100 Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

The multiple storylines were interwoven well, but I missed the female perspective. Even though there were strong female characters in several places, none of the writing is from their perspective or gives much insight into their thinking, except as perceived by the male lead characters.

robbishreads's review against another edition

4.0

A great book that defies genre categorizing. Historical fiction, maybe? Thriller? Science fiction is a bit of a leap when it's almost all real technology. Anyway, a really great read that builds a handful of memorable characters and pulls them all over the place before bringing things together and closing the stories in a satisfying way. The only reason it's not 5 stars is the length. Took me a few months to finish this one.