Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
Re-read this year. Still an excellent book (it has aged well) with some great ideas in it. Stephenson at his best.
DNF. I guess this wasn't the kind of writing I enjoy. I thought the plot was very random.
Complex and breathtaking; I finished it and immediately wanted to start again.
Amazing worldbuilding – based on this and Anathem, examining social structures seems to be Stephenson's hobby - and the first two thirds of the story was fantastic, but it seemed to come apart a bit toward the end. Still recommended though.
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Was looking for more Snow Crash. This ain't it.
Found this to be harder to make it through but still glad I finished the read. After coming to terms with this not being Snow Crash, I started to enjoy this cyberpunk feeling story. The coming of age story told is thorough and captivating. Stick with it!
Found this to be harder to make it through but still glad I finished the read. After coming to terms with this not being Snow Crash, I started to enjoy this cyberpunk feeling story. The coming of age story told is thorough and captivating. Stick with it!
People often laud Stephenson for his predictions of future technology he made in Snow Crash but I would argue that his insight in The Diamond Age is actually more impressive.
The two things I was most struck by were the effects a completely anonymous for of communication/internet which has become even more relevant with the recent NSA scandal and the power of individualized education which has become an important issue recently with the development of sites like Khan Academy and Udacity.
The breakdown of government and the formation of phyles that are bound by ideals instead of geography seem like it could be a likely outcome of perfected and secure communication. What was nice about how Stephenson posed the idea is that he did not come out and try to show it was a better set up. He showed how new conflict could be born from this and lets the reader try to decide which is the more stable option.
Stephenson however certainly took sides on the merits of individualized education and I tend to agree with him. The Primer was a great way of showing the potential that individualized education may have. Stephenson certainly brings up a lot of topics in technology that give you a lot to think about.
Overall a great read and I would definitely recommend it.
The two things I was most struck by were the effects a completely anonymous for of communication/internet which has become even more relevant with the recent NSA scandal and the power of individualized education which has become an important issue recently with the development of sites like Khan Academy and Udacity.
The breakdown of government and the formation of phyles that are bound by ideals instead of geography seem like it could be a likely outcome of perfected and secure communication. What was nice about how Stephenson posed the idea is that he did not come out and try to show it was a better set up. He showed how new conflict could be born from this and lets the reader try to decide which is the more stable option.
Stephenson however certainly took sides on the merits of individualized education and I tend to agree with him. The Primer was a great way of showing the potential that individualized education may have. Stephenson certainly brings up a lot of topics in technology that give you a lot to think about.
Overall a great read and I would definitely recommend it.
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
Typical Neal Stephenson: richly imagined world building, minimal character development and clunky plotting. It really dragged for me. 2.5 stars.