Re:Neal Stephenson – Announcing Polostan
by rcarmo on Tuesday April 30, 2024 @02:46PM
(#40214666)
Hmmm. Interesting, but I prefer his sci-fi stuff. The Baroque Cycle was… weird. Full of intricate detail, but I derived relatively little satisfaction from reading it, and I’ll wait for proper reviews before reading this one.
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Agreed. We need more mind-melting sci-fi books!
Re:Neal Stephenson – Announcing Polostan
by borkyborkbork on Tuesday April 30, 2024 @04:24PM
(#40215846)
The Baroque Cycle is what made me stop reading him. It actually pissed me off.
Re:Neal Stephenson – Announcing Polostan
by inhumantsar on Tuesday April 30, 2024 @07:27PM
(#40217708)
I was a huge fan before these came out. Bought a hardcover copy of the first book as soon as it was available. It was tedious. Every page smelled of self-indulgence.
Lesson learned: Always wait for the reviews. It stays in a prominent position on my bookshelf to remind me of that.
I remember seeing a picture of him, I think it was attached to an interview or maybe on a later books dust jacket, not long after. He was wearing a red velvet smoking jacket surrounded by ornate walnut furniture.
That picture stuck with me. It seemed so pompous and pretentious, exactly the vibe I got from that book. If any of his new books give me the same vibe, I simply don't bother.
I didn't particularly enjoy the Baroque Cycle the first time I read it, but increasingly enjoy it the more often I read it!
I think a lot of it was adjusting headspace from "Stephenson == Sci Fi". It is a fantastically detailed read that touches on a lot of fascinating historical stuff.