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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Read as part of my honors thesis on gender in science fiction.
I find myself skimming a lot of long pages about technology with Neal Stephenson and then totally lost track of the plot near the end.
On Reddit, someone told Neal, “My ultimate goal in life is to make the Primer real”, and then asked, “Anything you want to make sure I get right?” To which he replied, “Kids need to get answers from humans who love them.” I think about this nearly every time I type a prompt into the latest AI.
The first three quarters of the book were amazing. I was sure it was going to be a 5 star book. Then it became confusing and ended too soon...
Yeah Snowcrash is cool but it doesn't have a victorian sex cult so...
Neal Stephenson may be the most infuriating author ever. He is easily one of my favorite authors, but I cannot give his books 5 stars because of ridiculous flaws and rushed, incomplete endings.
Instead of the unnecessary, bizarre, and distracting sub-plot about the Drummers, how about finishing the story of the OTHER two girls with the Primer rather that dismissing them with no fanfare (or even letting us know we are to hear no more from them) 1/2 and 3/4 of the way through the book?
Why did there need to be the revolution and war at the end, and how exactly was the Mouse Army "freed," and how were they unfree prior to this?
Nell is awesome, as are many other characters in this book. The concept of education through a self guided virtual world based on fantasy and folklore is a great premise and fascinating topic, but so much of this is left in the dust as, seemingly, the author realizes 2/3 of the way in that he never got around to having a conflict that could result in a climax and threw it all away to contrive a whole other series of plots that pale in comparison to the first part.
I give it 4 stars for the characters and the great ideas and potential of the first 2/3, but it is hard because of how disappointing the last act is.
Instead of the unnecessary, bizarre, and distracting sub-plot about the Drummers, how about finishing the story of the OTHER two girls with the Primer rather that dismissing them with no fanfare (or even letting us know we are to hear no more from them) 1/2 and 3/4 of the way through the book?
Why did there need to be the revolution and war at the end, and how exactly was the Mouse Army "freed," and how were they unfree prior to this?
Nell is awesome, as are many other characters in this book. The concept of education through a self guided virtual world based on fantasy and folklore is a great premise and fascinating topic, but so much of this is left in the dust as, seemingly, the author realizes 2/3 of the way in that he never got around to having a conflict that could result in a climax and threw it all away to contrive a whole other series of plots that pale in comparison to the first part.
I give it 4 stars for the characters and the great ideas and potential of the first 2/3, but it is hard because of how disappointing the last act is.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow...it took me a long time to get through this book. It was okay, but when it comes to futuristic novels, I prefer post-apocalyptic to hyper-technological.