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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
This was really good, but I didn't fall in love. Because it was too dense and worldbuild-y early on? Because I didn't really believe in the neo-Victorian revival? Because the scope is too broad for us to really get to know the characters (my favorite characters were Judge Fang, who disappears from the plot halfway through, and the Primer, a piece of technology)? Because by the end of the plot I felt these people were not important, just bit players in history, and yet they also didn't feel deeply important on a personal level, so what was the point?
Nevertheless - this was really good, and I enjoyed reading it. Just ultimately not quite my thing. Maybe I just shouldn't try to read science fiction that isn't Anthropology In Space.
Nevertheless - this was really good, and I enjoyed reading it. Just ultimately not quite my thing. Maybe I just shouldn't try to read science fiction that isn't Anthropology In Space.
Techno-political meandering, unpleasant deflowerment scene, rubbish ending; the exact same elements of every Neal Stephenson book but this time fuck that noise.
I wanted to like this so much! I loved [b:Cryptonomicon|816|Cryptonomicon|Neal Stephenson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327931476s/816.jpg|1166797] and thought I would enjoy this too, boy was I wrong.
I do like some sci-fi and I do like some steam punk, but in this book, I neither cared for the characters, nor really understood the world they lived in, and there was soooo much time spent on describing this world, I really should know it. I kept slogging through though.
When I got to the virtual reality play (performance art?), it became like a dream sequence which always bothers me, even in a book I enjoy. This was over 3/4 of the way through, and this is when I gave up.
So many of my friends raved about this and encouraged me to keep going that I didn't put it down as early as I would have otherwise. I would say, if these are your favorite genres, please give it a go, as so many fans really recommend it.
I do like some sci-fi and I do like some steam punk, but in this book, I neither cared for the characters, nor really understood the world they lived in, and there was soooo much time spent on describing this world, I really should know it. I kept slogging through though.
When I got to the virtual reality play (performance art?), it became like a dream sequence which always bothers me, even in a book I enjoy. This was over 3/4 of the way through, and this is when I gave up.
So many of my friends raved about this and encouraged me to keep going that I didn't put it down as early as I would have otherwise. I would say, if these are your favorite genres, please give it a go, as so many fans really recommend it.
Loved it, but damn does Neal Stephenson not like writing proper endings. Jeez.
I (heart) Neal Stephenson. I really really do. His worlds are so fully visualized, and densely packed. Not that he really explains what's in them to you before halfway through the book, leaving you foundering in his amazing words and intricate plots. This is the kind of book that you understand so much better the second time around, because you get the terminology and world background as the plot unfolds, rather than fumbling through the first in an attempt to understand the latter. And while I recognize that all of this sounds like criticism, know that the prose was so amazingly engrossing that I didn't mind. Also - due to the capriciousness of my wife's failing Sony walkman, I listened to the cassette-based audio version of this, holding the play button down for the entirety of the 30-plus some-odd hours listening time, and didn't mind it one bit. That's how amazing and engrossing his words are. Or maybe it was just Jennifer Wiltsie's voice. Don't knock it. She's got a voice to melt a cold heart.
Just finished this for the second time.
Typical (awesome) Stephenson. Explosions and cool gadgets mixed up with a girl struggling to realize her future and honor her crappy past. Plus some other folks with moral and emotional quandaries of their own.
The universe here is unbelievably cool--the depths to which Stephenson applies his imagination are staggering.
Reading it again in July/August 2011. Gets better. I have cried three freaking times and it's not like any of this is new info.
Typical (awesome) Stephenson. Explosions and cool gadgets mixed up with a girl struggling to realize her future and honor her crappy past. Plus some other folks with moral and emotional quandaries of their own.
The universe here is unbelievably cool--the depths to which Stephenson applies his imagination are staggering.
Reading it again in July/August 2011. Gets better. I have cried three freaking times and it's not like any of this is new info.
An interesting read, not as easy to understand and follow as some of Stephenson's other books, but overall definitely worth reading.
He has an uncanny ability to see into the seemingly near future and add a sense of reality and science fiction, while telling a strongly political and pointed story.
He has an uncanny ability to see into the seemingly near future and add a sense of reality and science fiction, while telling a strongly political and pointed story.
This book was a slow read for me, but when all was said and done, I definitely enjoyed it. I loved the whole concept of it, looking at education and classes/phyles and how they affect what people become, but I had trouble caring about and connecting with lots of the characters. Harv, who drops out of the story somewhere around halfway through the book, was probably the character I connected most with. He's a street kid just doing what he thinks is right to protect his sister and take care of her even if that means he's on the wrong side of the law. Nell I had more trouble connecting with, but I blame part of that on my dislike of children. That's not to say she was a badly written character, I just had trouble connecting with her. The ending of this book is probably what I dislike the most. Sure you get a wrap up on the journeys of Nell and Hackworth, but there was just so much more that I was left wanting more on. Overall though the story was enjoyable and the concept intriguing. Doesn't usurp Snow Crash for me though.
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
My second time reading this book - still amazing! One of my favorite Stephensons.