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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
Slow to start but once it pick up pace it is fairly engaging. The characters were well rounded and likeable. The ending was abrupt but worked.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The story is just okay, but the humor is great! The tongue in cheek kept catching me off guard, and I found myself laughing out loud!
An overall fun and enjoyable read that is hampered by the some of the style that Stephenson started developing in his career.
The setting alone for this book is flat out fun, even for it's dystopian condition. The world is somehow crafted so that even the lowliest delivery girl is able to make clever notes about the failings of the free market extravaganza that is the west coast of the former U.S.
This is a quintessential Stephenson book in that there are 5-6 stretches of the book that are just incredibly exciting and action packed, leaving you rearing to go for the next chapter. This is also a quintessential Stephenson book in that there are 10-15 stretches of exposition, that although interesting, are further confirmation that he really enjoys studying two to three broad ideas and just going into almost extravagant levels of detail about them. It just so happens that this book features programming/the internet, linguistics, and how ancient Sumerian myths link the two together. Almost no one in the world is crazy enough to do this, so I have to respect Stephenson for doing it.
After all is read and done, you get the feeling that you just got off of a rollercoaster while having a textbook read to you over speakers. I'm not sure that it's a recommendable experience, but it's unique enough to have made the time spent worth it all.
The setting alone for this book is flat out fun, even for it's dystopian condition. The world is somehow crafted so that even the lowliest delivery girl is able to make clever notes about the failings of the free market extravaganza that is the west coast of the former U.S.
This is a quintessential Stephenson book in that there are 5-6 stretches of the book that are just incredibly exciting and action packed, leaving you rearing to go for the next chapter. This is also a quintessential Stephenson book in that there are 10-15 stretches of exposition, that although interesting, are further confirmation that he really enjoys studying two to three broad ideas and just going into almost extravagant levels of detail about them. It just so happens that this book features programming/the internet, linguistics, and how ancient Sumerian myths link the two together. Almost no one in the world is crazy enough to do this, so I have to respect Stephenson for doing it.
After all is read and done, you get the feeling that you just got off of a rollercoaster while having a textbook read to you over speakers. I'm not sure that it's a recommendable experience, but it's unique enough to have made the time spent worth it all.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death
I should like this book but I’m royally confused by it. I need some time to digest it before rating.
After a few days thinking I’m giving it 3 stars for overall premise. But I had a hard time getting through it. Maybe his writing style just isn’t for me.
After a few days thinking I’m giving it 3 stars for overall premise. But I had a hard time getting through it. Maybe his writing style just isn’t for me.
I enjoyed the creative, satiric setting of a fractured, franchised-sodden America. It has promising elements, and impressively captures the depressive slop heap of late stage capitalism.
For instance -
“Warning: The National Parks Service has declared this area to be a national sacrifice zone. The sacrifice zone program was developed to manage parcels of land whose clean-up cost exceeds their total future economic value.”
But I found the characters flat and uninteresting, the plot predictable, and the info dumps clunky and not creative. I also disliked how it’s narrated in present tense, it results in some very awkward syntax. This book dragged for me and I didn’t love the direction it took.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-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:
No
Like a neon-lit fever dream. Wildly prophetic, uproariously funny, great characters.