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A review by spacecat108
Polostan by Neal Stephenson
4.0
“What is this, Neal Stephenson for ants?” - text from my friend when we saw the mere 300-something page length of this book.
Took a minute to hook me - 50 pages or so. I can’t say I have a huge interest in the early 30s, but Stephenson’s great research and captivating interest in his subject eventually pulled me in.
I felt he looked more directly at some of the repeating patterns of male-female dynamics in his works, albeit through a darker lens. There was also some really interesting play with power dynamics.
I get the sense that Stephenson is very much thinking about worse case scenarios in front of us, through the lens of history.
There were some of course some truly enjoyable Stephensonisms, such as the inevitable stick based sport, a mention the human processes of elimination, and a super smart and charismatic teen girl protagonist.
I look forward to seeing where he goes with this series.
Took a minute to hook me - 50 pages or so. I can’t say I have a huge interest in the early 30s, but Stephenson’s great research and captivating interest in his subject eventually pulled me in.
I felt he looked more directly at some of the repeating patterns of male-female dynamics in his works, albeit through a darker lens. There was also some really interesting play with power dynamics.
I get the sense that Stephenson is very much thinking about worse case scenarios in front of us, through the lens of history.
There were some of course some truly enjoyable Stephensonisms, such as the inevitable stick based sport, a mention the human processes of elimination, and a super smart and charismatic teen girl protagonist.
I look forward to seeing where he goes with this series.