Anathem by Neal Stephenson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Anathem
Book Review: Biggest disappoitment of the publishing year - unreadable
Summary: 1 Stars
I looked forward to the release of this book all year. I pre-ordered it months ago. I looked forward to opening the book and engaging once again with one of my favorite authors.
I am incredibly disappointed. I find the book to be pretentious, boring and bordering on the unreadable. It would be one thing to use non-English language in the book, but to use something made up this extensively is bizarre.
This strikes me as the book Neal always wanted to write - just none of us want to read. While I blame Neal for the total work, it is too bad a good editor did not give him better guidance.
Book Review: Bloated slug of a novel.
Summary: 3 Stars
Too many words, too little payoff for it all. This novel is a 1000 pages. Not nearly enough stuff happens to justify it all. In the beginning, it's fairly safe to skip/skim the lengthy descriptions of the architecture of the monastery, but other than that, in order to understand what's going on, you have to read the dialogue carefully, since any hints at a plot are hidden within meandering, near nonsensical Socratic lectures by crazed monks.
And damn it, I read the book to the end. The world Stephenson builds and the way he does it is rather unique and has a lot of charm. I just refuse to believe he couldn't have done it with fewer pages, in a way that's tighter and more exciting. He could have taken his philosophical/mathematical theories further, really pushed it, given us more, because for a 1000 page book, the reader just barely breaks even. Not recommended for slow or impatient readers. Recommended if you are fascinated by quirky theories and are willing to follow a careful, subtle world-building effort.
Book Review: Boring
Summary: 1 Stars
I'm a fan of Stephenson's previous works before the Baroque Cycle. But ever since then, his books have become boring, long-winded, and tiresome. Anathem follows that trend. Hopefully, he'll bounce back in his next book.Book Review: Boring. Need to cut 600 pages
Summary: 2 Stars
I am a fan of Stephenson, having read and enjoyed all his previous works. Yes, the man overwrites; yes, he needs a better editor.But the story usually moves along and the intellectualism flows.
Not in Anathem. The setup is 300 pages, before which nothing happens. Then there is a road trip, not really sure why. Then when we get to where we are supposed to be...and get a lot of dinnertime discussions over stuff that is really not relevant.
The concept isn't bad. The execution is awful. Read it if you must, but be prepared for some very long nights in which not a lot is going to happen. I don't know, maybe that's your idea of a good time?
Book Review: Brillant, but use his included dictionary (no spoilers)
Summary: 5 Stars
This is not a easy reading book by any stretch of the imagination - but it surely will do just that - stretch your imagination. What is VERY useful is the included dictionary. Even though I am used to puzzling my own way through all sorts of speculative fiction, the language Stephenson invents includes so many unknowns that it can be intimidating. I almost gave up on this book until I read a review here that mentioned that it had a dictionary. After wading through the introduction to this society and finally getting a handle on what how it is organized, the scope of this book starts to become apparent. Along with the nature of cognition, science vs belief, the inherent dangers of fast paced technological change and quantum physics; Stephenson has created a cast of people you get to know and become attached to. The depth and breadth, the character and plot development make the "work" you put in at the start of this book more than well worth the effort