Re:New Neal Stephenson Book Out - Anathem
by JayNeely on Sunday September 21, 2008 @10:46AM
(#310395)
He's been doing a book tour, stopped by Cambridge yesterday. If you're not in a place he's stopping by, check out the Authors@Google talk he gave: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnq-2BJwatE
He makes some long-winded jokes for the first few minutes (mainly about authors being ill-suited to public appearances), starts talking about Anathem around 3:40, and starts the Q&A time around 8:30.
Re:New Neal Stephenson Book Out - Anathem
by sh on Sunday September 21, 2008 @10:47AM
(#310396)
If you can tolerate all the Stephensonian camp, you might enjoy this book. The ending is my favorite Stephenson ending. For extra credit, find the error in his astronomy.
Re:New Neal Stephenson Book Out - Anathem
by hugh on Sunday September 21, 2008 @04:13PM
(#310579)
The final chapter almost seemed to me like he was writing under duress.
Without wanting to spoil anything, it pretty much goes "Fine, you want an ending you bastards? Here's your fucking ending, they all fucking lived happily ever after. Happy now?"
Re:New Neal Stephenson Book Out - Anathem
by hugh on Sunday September 21, 2008 @10:52AM
(#310398)
The ending was certainly different to his usual endings. While most of his books feel like the last chapter is missing, this one just feels like the second-to-last chapter is missing.
Re:New Neal Stephenson Book Out - Anathem
by wlievens on Monday September 22, 2008 @04:46AM
(#310951)
I read it just a few months ago; I consider it one of the best books I ever read. It felt like the confirmation of my geek identity or something like that. Awesome.
Re:New Neal Stephenson Book Out - Anathem
by quasimojo on Sunday September 21, 2008 @12:22PM
(#310438)
painful. put it down at page 100. already recycled. oh i know what you are thinking, i must be some sort of caveman who prefers michael crichton. nonsense. when i read fiction, i want to have some fun. this book just isn't fun. stephenson knows how to write fun books. snow crash was a literal page turner...why do you stay up all night turning pages? because the book is fun.
Re:New Neal Stephenson Book Out - Anathem
by agl on Sunday September 21, 2008 @02:15PM
(#310500)
I'm only half way in at the moment, but I must reply and say that I think this book is excellent. It may have helped that I did the first couple of hundred pages on a flight so was a captive audience (well, unless I wanted to watch "Son of Rambo"), but I don't remember feeling that it was a slog.
Re:New Neal Stephenson Book Out - Anathem
by Zev on Sunday September 21, 2008 @02:07PM
(#310494)
I'm about 100 pages in as well, not about to stop though. Stephenson one of the few current authors that's not afraid to spend a hundred pages setting up the backstory for everything going on. Which accounts for the beginning of some of his books being exceptionally long and not the most interesting bits of writing that he's done. But the rest of the book - once you get into it - generally makes up for it.
Re:New Neal Stephenson Book Out - Anathem
by jamesbritt on Sunday September 21, 2008 @02:06PM
(#310493)
"... why do you stay up all night turning pages? because the book is fun."
Well, sometimes, but "fun" is not how I'd describe the works of David Foster Wallace or Rick Moody, yet they (often, but not always) keep me engage with challenging use of language and structure.
Basically, it's enjoyable to have new stuff to think about, and that can happen in a number of ways.
Re:New Neal Stephenson Book Out - Anathem
by davidw on Sunday September 21, 2008 @03:15PM
(#310532)
I think to determine if your tastes are aligned with others' (me, for instance), you'd have to say whether you liked Cryptonimicon and the Baroque cycle. I loved the first, and enjoyed the second.
He makes some long-winded jokes for the first few minutes (mainly about authors being ill-suited to public appearances), starts talking about Anathem around 3:40, and starts the Q&A time around 8:30.
... you mean, he's included one this time?
Without wanting to spoil anything, it pretty much goes "Fine, you want an ending you bastards? Here's your fucking ending, they all fucking lived happily ever after. Happy now?"
http://www.mayerdan.com/2009/01/cryptonomicon_book_review_1....
up next Snowcrash
Well, sometimes, but "fun" is not how I'd describe the works of David Foster Wallace or Rick Moody, yet they (often, but not always) keep me engage with challenging use of language and structure.
Basically, it's enjoyable to have new stuff to think about, and that can happen in a number of ways.
A literal page turner, as in you literally turned the pages?
Seriously though, as I recall an awful lot of Snow Crash's exposition came from a series of interminable dialogues between Hiro and his AI librarian.
You do know that Stephenson's latest works have been nothing like "Snowcrash" or "The Diamond Age", right?
That's a damn-bigoted remark.
I like chrichton. And what the hell is wrong with cavemen?