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lunaseassecondaccount 's review for:
The Diamond Age
by Neal Stephenson
Finally, I read a book given to me by Peter that didn't make my head hurt! [b:Let The Right One In|943402|Let the Right One In|John Ajvide Lindqvist|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179665606s/943402.jpg|928338] doesn't count because I had wanted to read it anyway.
Anyway, where to start.
I really liked Nell, especially at the beginning. Stephenson's portrayal of a young girl letting herself get sucked into a fantasy world when her real world isn't all that great. I really liked her relationship with Harv, and how Miranda starts to care about her a great deal more than she initially intended to. Towards the later stages of the book, when Nell is in Dovetail and is attending school, I started to miss the younger version of her. Stephenson did a good job of having her grow up, though. Even when she was nearing her adulthood, she still held onto some of her younger beliefs, such as the Princess Nell story. I don't think Nell ever truly believed the story of her father the fisherman and her wicked step-mother, but seeing as she believed the Primer(/Miranda) to be her true mother, it makes sense. I also liked the way the Primer's story and the real world were intertwined. I also really liked how Fiona and Elizabeth's experiences with the Primer were vastly different to Nell's, and how it shows that not everyone, given the same tools, will acquire the same result.
I found Hackworth's story to be a little more boring. I never got into it as much as I did Nell's, but I can see why it was important. After all, it was half the story. I will admit to being very confused about the whole Drummer storyline, and although I have somewhat figured out what it was all about, this part of its science-fiction is lost on me. I don't fully understand computer sci-fi, and so this just falls into that pile.
I loved the neo-Victorian aspect of society, and yet how it seems to be just a small, prestigious minority. Nell and Harv's home life struck me as being very poverty-line, lower New York. I'm not sure what I think of the phyle-type society, but I can see how it emerged. Overall, I found Stephenson's portrayal of 2050 - 2070s society to be something that the world could really evolve into.
In short, very enjoyable (despite the abrupt, mildly unsatisfying ending).
Anyway, where to start.
I really liked Nell, especially at the beginning. Stephenson's portrayal of a young girl letting herself get sucked into a fantasy world when her real world isn't all that great. I really liked her relationship with Harv, and how Miranda starts to care about her a great deal more than she initially intended to. Towards the later stages of the book, when Nell is in Dovetail and is attending school, I started to miss the younger version of her. Stephenson did a good job of having her grow up, though. Even when she was nearing her adulthood, she still held onto some of her younger beliefs, such as the Princess Nell story. I don't think Nell ever truly believed the story of her father the fisherman and her wicked step-mother, but seeing as she believed the Primer(/Miranda) to be her true mother, it makes sense. I also liked the way the Primer's story and the real world were intertwined. I also really liked how Fiona and Elizabeth's experiences with the Primer were vastly different to Nell's, and how it shows that not everyone, given the same tools, will acquire the same result.
I found Hackworth's story to be a little more boring. I never got into it as much as I did Nell's, but I can see why it was important. After all, it was half the story. I will admit to being very confused about the whole Drummer storyline, and although I have somewhat figured out what it was all about, this part of its science-fiction is lost on me. I don't fully understand computer sci-fi, and so this just falls into that pile.
I loved the neo-Victorian aspect of society, and yet how it seems to be just a small, prestigious minority. Nell and Harv's home life struck me as being very poverty-line, lower New York. I'm not sure what I think of the phyle-type society, but I can see how it emerged. Overall, I found Stephenson's portrayal of 2050 - 2070s society to be something that the world could really evolve into.
In short, very enjoyable (despite the abrupt, mildly unsatisfying ending).