Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
I love a Neal Stephenson book and I'm so glad that he actually gives books endings nowadays. This is pre-Solid-Ending Stephenson but it works!
I just wasn't getting pulled into the story. After the execution was carried out, I decided the premise wasn't intriguing enough for me to hang out in the world longer.
I read this about 5 years ago I think. These are the things that have stuck with me:
- The little girl learning about the world on what is essentially an iPad
- Reading this story about what is essentially an iPad ON an iPad
- The setting is Victorian-esque with nanotechnology, so people could have called it 'nanopunk' but thankfully didn't
- The ending involved me going "...ok?", which was a thing N.S. was known for for a while
Overall, not my favorite Stephenson, but I dug it.
- The little girl learning about the world on what is essentially an iPad
- Reading this story about what is essentially an iPad ON an iPad
- The setting is Victorian-esque with nanotechnology, so people could have called it 'nanopunk' but thankfully didn't
- The ending involved me going "...ok?", which was a thing N.S. was known for for a while
Overall, not my favorite Stephenson, but I dug it.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tl;dr: I didn't like this nearly as much as "Snow Crash"
This long novel is plodding at first. Apparently, for some reason, we need to track the main character's existence from just before her birth all the way up to her adulthood, with other characters appearing and disappearing. Frankly, I would have dropped this to my "play in the background to have something to fall asleep to" pile if not for the interesting technology. Stephenson describes some thought provoking technological concepts that can make the novel worth getting through.
After the first few hours, I thought it was getting more entertaining, with a few moments that really grabbed my interest or made me laugh.
Although I didn't care for multiple cases of malesub scenarios.
Then, after slowly plodding through a variety of different plot threads, they are all brought to a crashing and sudden end in a roiling mass that left me more confused than anything.
Also note that the audio quality of this work is atrocious. Audible really made this in-house? Their editor did a terrible job, if they even had one at all. The microphone quality isn't great and at some points, especially later in the book, the audio distortion is bad enough that it's hard to even hear the narrator. For shame, Audible.
This long novel is plodding at first. Apparently, for some reason, we need to track the main character's existence from just before her birth all the way up to her adulthood, with other characters appearing and disappearing. Frankly, I would have dropped this to my "play in the background to have something to fall asleep to" pile if not for the interesting technology. Stephenson describes some thought provoking technological concepts that can make the novel worth getting through.
After the first few hours, I thought it was getting more entertaining, with a few moments that really grabbed my interest or made me laugh.
Although I didn't care for multiple cases of malesub scenarios.
Then, after slowly plodding through a variety of different plot threads, they are all brought to a crashing and sudden end in a roiling mass that left me more confused than anything.
Also note that the audio quality of this work is atrocious. Audible really made this in-house? Their editor did a terrible job, if they even had one at all. The microphone quality isn't great and at some points, especially later in the book, the audio distortion is bad enough that it's hard to even hear the narrator. For shame, Audible.
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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
First half of the book gets 4 stars; the second half gets 2 stars. Average = 3 stars.
I really liked the first half of the book. His description of technology is wonderful, and the relationship between Nell and the Primer are quite captivating. Much to my dismay, the book fell apart at the end. Characters are disposed quite expediently, conflict is introduced with little or no explanation, very illogical events occur, and then the book stops. If I could give different ratings to both half of the books, I would.
The whole book is laced with tangents which I found to be rather dull. I cared very little for Hackworth's mission after he created the Primer. I cared very little for what Dr. X was attempting to do with the Primer. In the first half of the book, Nell captures most of the focus, which makes these other aspects simply minor annoyances.
In the end, I found the book to be enjoyable. Although, if I knew then what I know now, I would have stopped reading as soon as the book started to go downhill. My opinion of Stephenson would have been much higher, and I would have saved myself some time and effort of finishing.
I really liked the first half of the book. His description of technology is wonderful, and the relationship between Nell and the Primer are quite captivating. Much to my dismay, the book fell apart at the end. Characters are disposed quite expediently, conflict is introduced with little or no explanation, very illogical events occur, and then the book stops. If I could give different ratings to both half of the books, I would.
The whole book is laced with tangents which I found to be rather dull. I cared very little for Hackworth's mission after he created the Primer. I cared very little for what Dr. X was attempting to do with the Primer. In the first half of the book, Nell captures most of the focus, which makes these other aspects simply minor annoyances.
In the end, I found the book to be enjoyable. Although, if I knew then what I know now, I would have stopped reading as soon as the book started to go downhill. My opinion of Stephenson would have been much higher, and I would have saved myself some time and effort of finishing.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved Snow Crash and really wanted to like this book, but for a number of reasons it just didn't work for me. I think Neal Stephenson had a case of imagination run wild in this book. He's working with too many ideas, characters and plot developments and each of them end up getting short shrift instead of being fully realized. I think it ought to have been two or even three books rather than one. The final chapters feel rushed and incoherent, and the ending is very abrupt.
I also had issues with the way the phyles were dealt with in this book. With [b:Snow Crash|830|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157396730s/830.jpg|493634] one got the feeling that the balkanization of society into phyles and burbclaves was a tragic result of American consumerism and provincialism run amuck. In Diamond Age the phyles seem to be natural (for the most part) divisions between people which are unavoidable and even good (the Neo-Victorians and the Nipponese being held up as examples of the 'best' phyles, which also raises other questions about race and colonialism and . . . never mind). Anyway, I found that disturbing.
I also had issues with the way the phyles were dealt with in this book. With [b:Snow Crash|830|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157396730s/830.jpg|493634] one got the feeling that the balkanization of society into phyles and burbclaves was a tragic result of American consumerism and provincialism run amuck. In Diamond Age the phyles seem to be natural (for the most part) divisions between people which are unavoidable and even good (the Neo-Victorians and the Nipponese being held up as examples of the 'best' phyles, which also raises other questions about race and colonialism and . . . never mind). Anyway, I found that disturbing.