Anathem by Neal Stephenson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Anathem
Book Review: Anther entertaining epic
Summary: 5 Stars
Enough reviews have covered everything I'd say so I'll keep it brief:
If you like any of Stephenson's other books, you'll most likely enjoy this one.
Book Review: Baroque Cycle fan test?
Summary: 4 Stars
Up to the Baroque Cycle, I was a major Stephenson fan. I've read Snow Crash, Diamond Age, and Crytonomicron multiple times each. His series in Wired on undersea cables that he wrote while doing research for Cryptonomicron was a high point for the publication.
Then the Baroque Cycle came out, and I felt it to be slow going, though with elements of Stephenson's signature style. It appeared to me that it needed to be edited more tightly, that perhaps success had caused Stephenson's publisher to go too easy on the copy editing.
I got Anathem with some trepidation, and was gratified to find that Stephenson was back with a (relatively) economical, focused work. It didn't have quite the revelatory aspects of his earlier works, but one of the earlier reviewers probably identified why; events are moving so fast that it is difficult to be fresh and forward looking.
In reading other reviews of Anathem, my thesis is that if you loved the Baroque Cycle, you may not be so thrilled with Anathem, but if you felt that the Baroque Cycle was somewhat of a misstep, you'll feel that Stephenson is back on track with Anathem.
Book Review: Best Stephenson Book Yet
Summary: 5 Stars
This was my favorite Neal Stephenson book yet. The mix of action and detail is excellent. Over 800 pages of great work!!Book Review: Better on Audio
Summary: 3 Stars
I think this book translates better in the audio version than in the page turning venue. Someone else has had to go to the trouble to figure out the pronunciaion of Neal Stephenson's made up language. There is no time to stop reading and say "What?". The narrator just keeps on track and soon you're again caught up in the story.
My fellow reviewers who commented that this book is too long make a good point - an editor with 3 pounds of erasers would have done the book a service.
All in all, though, Stephenson takes us to an interesting place both in space and time. Maybe his math and science are not altogether sound but this IS a novel of fiction. If taken on face value, it's a fun read...bg
Book Review: Beyond Awesome
Summary: 5 Stars
Anathem is an exquisite example of speculative/science fiction perfection. I felt the same way reading Anathem as I felt reading Dune for the first time 30 years ago and I felt the same post-lectito sadness at having the story end. Mr. Stephenson has an amazing depth and breadth of knowledge and he weaves an intricate and thoroughly engaging story of the philosophy of science, deep mathematics and physics, and the cloistered mentality of true scientists. This work defies and transcends easy genre categorization. If there is a god of spec fiction, I pray it grants us another work like Anathem from the mind of Mr. Stephenson.