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A review by omegarob
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The more historical and grounded setting of Cryptonomicon made it feel quite different from the other Stephenson books I've read, but his writing style is unmistakable. There are numerous points in the book where he tangentially explains certain technologies, but I found that these explanations were always interesting and cleverly embedded within the story. Quite often I'd look into things like 'van eck phreaking' after it had been mentioned in the book, thinking it was some sci-fi concept, and be amazed to find out it was real.
Knowing a bit more about the Pacific theatre of WWII would have been useful before going into this book. I felt like the mathematics and technology were explained clearly enough that an average reader would understand the concepts.
The characters are all memorable. It was nice to see the descendants of the 40s cast popping up in the 90s timeline. Despite flicking back and forth between timelines, I didn't find it too difficult to follow the overall plot. One running theme I seem to notice with Stephenson novels is that he struggles to write endings. This one wasn't too bad - the vast majority of plot points were wrapped up neatly, but it did seem to end quite abruptly.
Overall, despite being a pretty huge book I really enjoyed this and it didn't overstay its welcome. If you're interested in a conspiratorial story wrapped around the evolution of cryptography and its effects from WWII until the 'modern' era, you'd definitely enjoy this book.
Knowing a bit more about the Pacific theatre of WWII would have been useful before going into this book. I felt like the mathematics and technology were explained clearly enough that an average reader would understand the concepts.
The characters are all memorable. It was nice to see the descendants of the 40s cast popping up in the 90s timeline. Despite flicking back and forth between timelines, I didn't find it too difficult to follow the overall plot. One running theme I seem to notice with Stephenson novels is that he struggles to write endings. This one wasn't too bad - the vast majority of plot points were wrapped up neatly, but it did seem to end quite abruptly.
Overall, despite being a pretty huge book I really enjoyed this and it didn't overstay its welcome. If you're interested in a conspiratorial story wrapped around the evolution of cryptography and its effects from WWII until the 'modern' era, you'd definitely enjoy this book.