Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Cryptonomicon
Book Review: A Masterwork
Summary: 5 Stars
Last year I read and enjoyed Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age, but was left dissatisfied by the abrupt ending. It was clear to me that Stephenson was something of a genius, with an exceptional grasp not only of science and technology, but also history, politics, anthropology and sociology. I was also struck by his sheer literary talent--mind-boggling creativity and a wicked sense of humor coupled with an ability to create memorable and engaging characters. Diamond Age failed, however, to provide a conclusion that properly brought together all the threads of the complex plot and to tell the reader what happened to all the main characters. Cryptonomicon is a better book because Stephenson manages to match or even improve upon the strengths of Diamond Age while providing a more satisfying conclusion. It is difficult to summarize a book of this scope, which comes close to a thousand pages and follows a large cast of characters through two pivotal periods of modern history: World War II and the information revolution of the 1990s. Stephenson's book makes most of Charles Dickens' works look spare by comparison.
As indicated by the title, the book's central focus is cryptography and the role of computers in both processing and concealing information. Stephenson describes a fascinating crew of fictional characters, from hackers and nerds to Navy SEALS and leathernecks, who interact with the likes of Douglas MacArthur and Alan Turing to show the importance not only of military and economic might, but also the use and control of information, in determining the destiny of nations and the course of world history.
No book is perfect, however. Stephenson has a unique authorial voice: breezy, conversational, and definitely never dull, whether he is describing the intricacies of cryptography or a bloody marine landing on a Pacific island. Yet the blunt, colloquial style of writing may not appeal to readers who prefer more elegant, refined prose. (Stephenson's characters don't make love, they f*ck, for example, and Stephenson pulls no punches when describing bodily functions that some people would rather just be left to imagine themselves--or not think aobut at all). I didn't mind it, but I'm sure many others will. What did irk me was that many of the characters (particularly the American hackers of the 1990s) speak and write in almost exactly the same tone, use exactly the same vocabulary, and ruminate on exactly the same subjects as Stephenson himself. In some cases, even characters like Enoch Root, an enigmatic and apparently ageless ex-Catholic priest, also fall into an identical style of speech. While this does lend the book a certain stylistic unity, it also sometimes makes it difficult for the reader to suspend disbelief and to distinguish the characters' viewpoints from those of the author himself.
Ultimately, though, any criticism of this book pales in comparison with its immense achievements. No review can do justice to the genius of the Cryptonomicon--it transcends genres and is one of the few books that really deserves the overused adjectives "unique" and "original". Read it!
Book Review: A Moderately Enjoyable Read
Summary: 3 Stars
The book is quite good regarding discussion of cryptography, but the story lacks a bit in maintaining reader interest.Book Review: A Mysterious Book
Summary: 4 Stars
This book was a fascinating read but also very mysterious, in the way that Neal Stephenson's books tend to be. I was well over half way done before I even figured out what the book was about. The text was interesting enough that I continued read in spite of my confusion.
To be fair, I was not really confused by the story. I was confused by the stories. There are several, interweaved that really come together only toward the end. Some take place in modern times and others take place during World War II. They are freely intermixed.
For what it is worth, the book is a treasure hunt. People from our day are trying to find gold looted by the Japanese. The clues to the location of the gold follow a convoluted but fun path stretching back 60 years. The narrative is full of tangents that do not add to the story but which add immensely to the flavor of the book. It is all very Baroque.
Speaking of baroque, a reader who has invested the time to read the author's Baroque Cycle trilogy will notice many familiar names. Without any real connection at all, the characters in this story are almost all related to the character from the previous stories and are separated only by a few centuries of time and grammatical style.
It is an enjoyable book that will take a while to read but is well worth it.
Book Review: A Post-Modern Masterpiece.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a large, messy post-modern masterpiece. The novel's nearest comparisons are not science fiction (since this is not a SIFI novel or not much of one) but other novels that take a single intellectual point of inquiry and run a universe around that point (e.g., Dellio's Underworld or Pynchon's Mason and Dixon). The advantage Stephenson has over Dellio is that the central idea (how life is one big information system) is more interesting than the one in Underworld and the novel is just plain more fun. This is one of my favorite post-modern novels, and one that I think about often.Book Review: A Wild Ride
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is unlike anything I've ever read. Everything from geeky computer hackers, WWII espionage, WWII and current day cryptography. It took me about 300 pages to really get in to it, but then I was completely captivated. So stick in their if the going is slow at first. It is very unpredictable with no clue as where it's going next. I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars because I found it difficult to keep track of all the story lines and characters at times.