But how then can you post here instead of going on to page n+1? Something does not quite add up ;)

I'm not an english native speaker, and 40s war zone literature is not as smooth as one can imagine.

His writing is pretty dense, so even native English speakers have to take it slow in order not to miss something.

Yes, he is one of those authors. Every block of every thread ends with a cliff-hanger, and you need to read two more blocks before you get resolution. But then, you've encountered three more cliff-hangers ;) So after the first read, I bookmark heavily, and read each thread independently. And sometimes I just reread my favorite threads. Such as Bobby's thread in this book. Also his ancestor in Baroque Cycle, "King of the Vagabonds".

:)

So I've read everything of his at least three times. And I'm waiting. Anyone know if something's immanent?

Neal Stephenson's next book is The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O., co-written with Nicole Galland, currently to be released June 13, 2017. It seems to be something in a little different vein than his other works, but I'll read it as I do all his books.

https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Fall-D-O-D-O-Novel/dp/0062409166...

Thanks! I don't know Ms. Galland's work, but it's not much of a stretch from Anathem ;) And consider that collaboration in Mongoliad. So hey, I know what I'll be reading in June.

I can't answer that at all, I'm just saying that if I ever get to the end of that 1100+ paper brick.. I sohuld probably travel to his town to express how good a storyteller he is.

So worth the time investment. I read it in college and it was mind blowing. Now... I have a kid to feed! But I yearn for books like that one.

If you haven't yet, read The Baroque Cycle too. It's set in the same universe, approximately 300 years earlier, with an ensemble cast of historical and fictional characters. Very long, very dense at times, and yet a masterful and very rewarding work in my opinion. The audiobooks read by Simon Prebble are also quite good if you don't have the time to read it in print but do have time where you could listen to it.

Yes! It's very cool to get the back-story of the Shaftoes and Waterhouses. And the enigmatic Enoch Root, who arguably appears as well in The Mongoliad trilogy. Maybe he's even mentioned in Anathem, but I may be stretching for that.