Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Cryptonomicon
Book Review: "As long as men are capable of evil."
Summary: 5 Stars
So you want to break a code?Noble undertaking. Be careful, though. What you learn might spur you to action. And, in taking said action, your Enemy might realize you've broken their code. They change it. Suddenly, zap! You're back to square one.
In Cryptonomicon, that's just the beginning. In a book that spans from World War II to present-day, covering almost every continent, jumping back in forth in geography and time, you get the feel for connections that turn out to be more than coincidences. It is almost as if the codes everyone tries to break suddenly come to life and take on personalities, and you are left to ponder how one piece of the code relates to another.
I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Between the codes and code breaking, the numerous analogies Stephenson uses to explain how codes work (especially the bicycle chain), the injection of various Famous People (like Turing and... oh, you'll find out),and just the author's overall world view (similar to my own), I found myself unable to put it down. Entertaining and informative.
And... BUMJU EBTWW DUFRX DUQVK UMEBU FBVIB EVTOU XFHXV KZTVU PKXLM UMMXW XMUYW BAUM. Off the tongue-in-cheek scale. OK, not exactly a strong cipher. But it's fun to work through, much like the book.
I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in codes or code-breaking, history (especially recent history), and security.
Book Review: ...
Summary: 4 Stars
Cryptonomicon had a big chance of failing. It's a large book, over 1000 pages, which continually bounces between WWII and "present day" while juggling between several main characters. Not to mention the frequent several page rants Stephenson would engage in that simply inform the reader about... well, stuff. It's a recipe for disaster, and according to many of the reviewers it did.
What saved the book for me was how well Stephenson keeps things moving. Each chapter is focused on one of the main characters (Waterhouse of WWII, Randy Waterhouse of present, Shaftoe WWII, and Goto Dengo of WWII) so you are constantly switching between eras and plots. Just when you think you're going to scream if you have to read about another sunken U boat, you get a chapter on cryptic annalysis. This allowed me to plow through good portions of the book in a single sitting.
Perhaps the feature that would deter most readers is the Stephenson's fondness for large, technical descriptions of... everything. And while some authors might BS a lot, judging from the reviews here, most of the stuff Stephenson informs us on is on target. These descriptions facinated me... however, I could see how a lot of audiences would find them to be a bore.
The characters are well written, although the plot is questionable. The ending suggested by the beginning of the book is hardly the one that ends up transpiring. It felt like the book could have gone on for another 500 pages.
Book Review: ...the Bible...
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is so fantastically engrossing that we read passages from it daily, as prayer offerings to the almighty Neal Stephenson that he may bless us with additional intricately crafted reads.Book Review: 300 Pages Too Long
Summary: 3 Stars
An excellent story, very well written, but with way too many asides, and lengthy ones at that. Out of the 900+ pages, I think I only read about 600 - skipped all the pages where he shows his extensive knowledge of acrane information that had little to do with the story. If the editor had chopped out all of that stuff it would be a 5 star read.Book Review: 5 Stars for Cryptonomicon
Summary: 5 Stars
The Cryptonomicon is a story told in two parts. Each part separated by history. These two parts are developed separately but intertwined within the story, each part supplying a critical piece. Each storyline is extremely engaging in and of itself, while still managing to contribute greatly to the overall theme. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Certainly a book "I can't put down"!