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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
Trying to be unspoilery and vague: this might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it was mine. I am not in love with the whole "Drummers" thing, but the more I think about it, the more it directly opposes the Vicky way of things...which is interesting. Time and distance from the book might help me reconcile some of the pieces I didn't quite grasp or like.
Overall though, amazing. I had tears streaming down my face in several parts – not out of sadness, but out of pure emotional reaction. Books that can do that, admittedly, get a pretty high score from me automatically.
Nell's story captivated me. I loved watching her grow and trickling into her place in the larger machine of society. LOVED this book.
Overall though, amazing. I had tears streaming down my face in several parts – not out of sadness, but out of pure emotional reaction. Books that can do that, admittedly, get a pretty high score from me automatically.
Nell's story captivated me. I loved watching her grow and trickling into her place in the larger machine of society. LOVED this book.
What the hell did I just read? Maybe it was over my head, but the excessive violence and kink was annoying and the story wasn't compelling enough to trudge through the tedious details. I found myself anxious to be done with this book, but often falling asleep after a page or two. The beginning held promise, but the interest rapidly declined with the introduction of the drummers. By the end I was so confused and apathetic I was just happy it was over.
The Diamond Age had some ideas in it I really liked. I loved the idea of a tablet-like device that could teach a young girl to read/fight/program/whatever (and also it being limited by its "ractors"). I liked the nanobots that settled like dust onto people, and the "wet net" idea.
For some reason, I had a really hard time finishing this book. I think the politics didn't excite me; I was more interested in character development that never finished. It makes me wish that Stephenson would write more short stories, because I think I would enjoy them more (for instance, I loved the first 200 pages of Reamde, but was completely bored beyond that point).
For some reason, I had a really hard time finishing this book. I think the politics didn't excite me; I was more interested in character development that never finished. It makes me wish that Stephenson would write more short stories, because I think I would enjoy them more (for instance, I loved the first 200 pages of Reamde, but was completely bored beyond that point).
I really enjoyed it, in spite of the fact that the plot was somewhat spastic and the character development more absent than not. The world was interesting, and many of the ideas in it were interesting too.
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I've read this book a couple of times, and every time I find something new to like about it. One of the things I love best is that it's a Steampunk (or, I suppose Cyberpunk, depending on how you look at it) novel with a strong girl protagonist and a supporting cast of strong girl characters. I think Neal really tried to write a rich world for these women to exist in, and while he occasionally resorts to tropes...all fiction does, or they wouldn't be tropes.
I also especially love the ending.
I also especially love the ending.
Stephenson is good at describing things, technology, and ideas, but he doesn't provide much plot tension or emotional engagement. I liked the stories in the primer in the beginning, but they were less interesting later on.
Great book with a novel, interesting story. I actually liked this book better than [b:Snow Crash|830|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157396730s/830.jpg|493634].
This book is a flight of fancy on a neo-Victorian airship, bouncing uncomfortably between wildly divergent themes and threads. Despite some interesting ideas about nanotechnology and the fragmentation of civilization into affinity groups or phyles, I don't recommend it for anyone but the most hard-core Stephenson fan.
I had to constantly remind myself of when The Dimond Age was written as I read it. I can not imagine reading this book in 1995, of course, I was only in fifth grade when this came out. However, reading about nanotechnology in the very dawn of consumer internet like AOL and Netscape would seem like a fantasy novel. A lot of the technology in this book seems very common use, though in a different context. The idea of a child with very little potential being able to educate herself with a magic book seems all too real nowadays. Reading about Nell grown up and become more and more independent and intelligent than even the most privileged children in their society was amazing. It will be a long time before I forget about the adventures of princess Nell. I even teared up when Nell went and visited her brother Harv and we could imagine when she would have become without her magic book The Primer. I also loved the Turning Machine storyline that princess Nell develops her programming skills to... well I will let you read the book to find out.
I must say I was a little surprised with all of the sex stuff and ‘boner’ talk in this book. I didn’t really understand or get into the drummers and orgy subplot in this book. Every time someone tells me in the future that their favorite book of all time is The Dimond Age I will have to wonder what on earth is going on with the ‘Drummer’ having sex to encrypt information? If they are passing nano-bots in the fluids, then why does Stephenson make such a point to say that they are all wearing condoms? The ending to this book was easily the worst part. If I was going to grade this book it would look something like a bell curve, but the peak is very very high.
I must say I was a little surprised with all of the sex stuff and ‘boner’ talk in this book. I didn’t really understand or get into the drummers and orgy subplot in this book. Every time someone tells me in the future that their favorite book of all time is The Dimond Age I will have to wonder what on earth is going on with the ‘Drummer’ having sex to encrypt information? If they are passing nano-bots in the fluids, then why does Stephenson make such a point to say that they are all wearing condoms? The ending to this book was easily the worst part. If I was going to grade this book it would look something like a bell curve, but the peak is very very high.