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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
The story was gripping and at times extremely harrowing. I loved the first two thirds then it became sort of Pynchonesque to end. Nell is a compelling figure to root for and I was happy she triumphed but I wanted a more satisfying conclusion to the meeting between her and Miranda. I don't think I understood the seed concept very well. Some plot points like the seed seemed hastily conceived and dropped in...it was important to the plot yet dimished by the postmodernism. But overall I am happy I read it. I found it an exciting and fun page turner like Snowcrash and Cryptomomicon, both of which I rate 5 stars. I read the last quarter of this in one head spinning night.
How might we use technology for our benefit? The idea of curated learning and the questioning morality of capitalism. Interesting
Typical rushed ending from a neal stephenson book, but a great world and a great story as usual
Somehow I'd never read this (important!) early work by my ex-boyfriend Neal (we broke up when I realized I couldn't even start the final volume of the Baroque Cycle without re-reading the first two). It might be my second-favourite (Cryptonimicon will probably always be #1 -- it's funny as well as brilliant). I absolutely recommend this book -- it's great to see what super-creative writers are doing post-cyberpunk. Snow Crash is more accessible, perhaps, but doesn't have nearly as innovative a feel. Only a couple of years later, Stephenson was blazing a whole new path. And he was so fantastic when an editor was still saying "Hey Neal, buddy, maybe just one giant whimsical list per 200 pages, and try just having a few clearly primary characters so that your readers have half a chance at following the story, and let's cut 2 out of every 3 words so that we don't have to include a movers' dolly with every copy." Don't get me wrong -- I love his writing, and I love his ideas. Somehow those two elements don't always add up to a cohesive whole. They do here. The Diamond Age feels like Stephenson's best self, in a way: sweeping prose and an exciting chapter-to-chapter story combined with an ultimate plot arc that goes way beyond my expectations and predictions.
I loved the first half, but starting losing patience during the "drummers" section. The final "revolution" aspect of the story was flat and definitely did not do justice to the beginning of the book. It really felt as if it were two different stories that had to be mashed together under a quick deadline. Shame.
Edit: 5 years later I’m still pissed off about the plotting, the contrived af rape scene for the purpose of a very stupid plot point, which could have been done any number of ways. Boy, reading a review from 5 years ago is kind of cringe. Glad it’s here to remind me where I’ve been and that grammar is important, actually. I was having trouble remembering the rape contrivance and I chronicled it here. Helpful! Downgraded to 2 stars, as I the only lingering feeling I have for this book is how much it pissed me off.
OK. So overall I'm leaning towards 3/5 stars. I'll start with the stuff I didn't like first so it ends on a positive note. Warning: I go on a diatribe about the rape scene in the book and sometimes mention spoilers, though not enough to spoil the story at all, I think.
I've only read this and Snow Crash, but I think I just do not like his writing style. Everything is very passive and dispassionate. It was really hard for me to give a shit about any other characters besides Nell.
The details he chooses to provide often are really presumptuous of a shared headspace that he doesn't create, at least for me. Because of that it took me a while to finish the book, 4-5 days. I kept getting jarred out of the fiction until I could get back into it. This happened throughout.
Near the end Stephenson leans hard into the rape trope which is really upsetting in of itself. It pissed me off so much it was hard to enjoy the last two chapters of the book. Especially since it's two paragraphs, which,
- Spoilers -
is made clear later on in the fiction when he needed to explain the nanites in Nell's bloodstream. It also just felt super at odds with the rest of the story, even though it was used also to tell the reader that despite all her training with the primer, there's forces in the world that she can't surmount. Obviously super important since that in its entirety is 3 paragraphs including the rape she sees coming and dispassionately removes herself from. Only afterword easily getting a sword she uses to easily kill everyone.
His writing style also clashes with the theme of the book with being subversive of established cultures as every character in different cultures speaks the same way, except for Nell when she's younger. Who then speaks like the "Vickey's". Aside from the beginning which also includes a little bit of racist language when asians speak, not trusting the reader to be able to picture an accented Asian dialect not completely fluid in English.
I think it's safe to say that the story is more interested in viewing the characters and places in the world as an oversized chessboard, with the satisfaction coming from watching the story unfold instead of losing yourself in the character. That's not my thing, though. Especially with one of the main characters specifically because, aside from Nell once again, if you pay close attention exactly what the other characters say is most important to them is completely skipped over or glossed over in the story. Makes it particularly hard to care about them, right?
Also, the pacing off the book was really, really slow.
But this leads me to my next point segueing into the positive aspects of the story.
It was actually not altogether unpleasant for me to read a story like that even though it wasn't my preference. It was a really intricate story with a lot of moving cogs, that, when revealed (very fucking slowly albeit) was interesting. Even captivating sometimes. It allowed for me to actually finish the book.
World building was fantastic, the ideologies between each place was palpable. How each place looked when the characters were travelling through it, not the best. But when they're in a specific place interacting, it's pretty good.
The prose work was well done, in my opinion. It's an interesting story despite a bunch of things I dislike. I still enjoyed it and am glad I read it. Buttttt I'll probably not bother with any more of his stuff.
OK. So overall I'm leaning towards 3/5 stars. I'll start with the stuff I didn't like first so it ends on a positive note. Warning: I go on a diatribe about the rape scene in the book and sometimes mention spoilers, though not enough to spoil the story at all, I think.
I've only read this and Snow Crash, but I think I just do not like his writing style. Everything is very passive and dispassionate. It was really hard for me to give a shit about any other characters besides Nell.
The details he chooses to provide often are really presumptuous of a shared headspace that he doesn't create, at least for me. Because of that it took me a while to finish the book, 4-5 days. I kept getting jarred out of the fiction until I could get back into it. This happened throughout.
Near the end Stephenson leans hard into the rape trope which is really upsetting in of itself. It pissed me off so much it was hard to enjoy the last two chapters of the book. Especially since it's two paragraphs, which,
- Spoilers -
is made clear later on in the fiction when he needed to explain the nanites in Nell's bloodstream. It also just felt super at odds with the rest of the story, even though it was used also to tell the reader that despite all her training with the primer, there's forces in the world that she can't surmount. Obviously super important since that in its entirety is 3 paragraphs including the rape she sees coming and dispassionately removes herself from. Only afterword easily getting a sword she uses to easily kill everyone.
His writing style also clashes with the theme of the book with being subversive of established cultures as every character in different cultures speaks the same way, except for Nell when she's younger. Who then speaks like the "Vickey's". Aside from the beginning which also includes a little bit of racist language when asians speak, not trusting the reader to be able to picture an accented Asian dialect not completely fluid in English.
I think it's safe to say that the story is more interested in viewing the characters and places in the world as an oversized chessboard, with the satisfaction coming from watching the story unfold instead of losing yourself in the character. That's not my thing, though. Especially with one of the main characters specifically because, aside from Nell once again, if you pay close attention exactly what the other characters say is most important to them is completely skipped over or glossed over in the story. Makes it particularly hard to care about them, right?
Also, the pacing off the book was really, really slow.
But this leads me to my next point segueing into the positive aspects of the story.
It was actually not altogether unpleasant for me to read a story like that even though it wasn't my preference. It was a really intricate story with a lot of moving cogs, that, when revealed (very fucking slowly albeit) was interesting. Even captivating sometimes. It allowed for me to actually finish the book.
World building was fantastic, the ideologies between each place was palpable. How each place looked when the characters were travelling through it, not the best. But when they're in a specific place interacting, it's pretty good.
The prose work was well done, in my opinion. It's an interesting story despite a bunch of things I dislike. I still enjoyed it and am glad I read it. Buttttt I'll probably not bother with any more of his stuff.
Good book; a worthy successor to Snow Crash. My only quibble is with the end of the book. The book seems to be building towards a goal and then all of a sudden, the author realizes on page 490 that he wanted the book to come in at under 500 pages and wraps everything up to end on page 499.
I would have gone with 4.5 stars if possible, but not quite a five star for me.
I would have gone with 4.5 stars if possible, but not quite a five star for me.
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
The meticulous detail is extraordinary but the writing reads a bit shizoid. Also, that ending... why so rushed Mr. Stephenson?
3.75 out of 5.
Rereading this I didn't like this as much as I did the first time, almost 20 years ago. I found it to be quite a mixed bag. There are so many interesting and original ideas, but there's also a lot that felt like a slog and didn't really work. The storyline about Nell and the Primer definitely makes the book worth reading to me.
Rereading this I didn't like this as much as I did the first time, almost 20 years ago. I found it to be quite a mixed bag. There are so many interesting and original ideas, but there's also a lot that felt like a slog and didn't really work. The storyline about Nell and the Primer definitely makes the book worth reading to me.