toSnow Crash, which so completely redefined conventional notions of the high-tech future that it became a self- fulfilling prophecy. But if his cyberpunk classic was big,Cryptonomiconis huge, gargantuan, massive-- not just in size but in scope and appeal. It's the hip, readable heir toGravity's Rainbowand the Illuminatus trilogy. And it's only the first of a proposed series--for more information, read our interview with Stephenson.Cryptonomiconzooms all over the world, careening conspiratorially back and forth between two time periods- -World War II and the present. Our 1940s heroes are the brilliant mathematician Lawrence Waterhouse, cryptanalyst extraordinaire, and gung ho, morphine-addicted marine Bobby Shaftoe. They're part of Detachment 2702, an Allied group trying to break Axis communication codes while simultaneously preventing the enemy from figuring out that their codes have been broken. Their job boils down to layer upon layer of deception. Dr. Alan Turing is also a member of 2702, and he explains the unit's strange workings to Waterhouse. "When we want to sink a convoy, we send out an observation plane first. Of course, to observe is not its real duty--we already know exactly where the convoy is. Its real duty is to be observed. Then, when we come round and sink them, the Germans will not find it suspicious."All of this secrecy resonates in the present-day story line, in which the grandchildren of the WWII heroes--inimitable programming geek Randy Waterhouse and the lovely and powerful Amy Shaftoe--team up to help create an offshore data haven in Southeast Asia and maybe uncover some gold once destined for Nazi coffers. To top off the paranoiac tone of the book, the mysterious Enoch Root, key member of Detachment 2702 and the Societas Eruditorum, pops up with an unbreakable encryption scheme left over from WWII to befuddle the 1990s protagonists with conspiratorial ties.Cryptonomiconis vintage Stephenson from start to finish: short on plot, but long on detail and so precise it's exhausting. Every page has a math problem, a quotable in-joke, an amazing idea or a bit of sharp prose. Cryptonomicon is also packed with truly weird characters, funky tech, and crypto--all the crypto you'll ever need, in fact, not to mention all the computer jargon of the moment. A word to the wise: if you read this book in one sitting, you may die of information overload (and starvation).--Therese Littleton, Amazon.com
Advantages: Many levels for different readers and is thoroughly rereadable Disadvantages: Much of what is said is probably not possible so you need to excersise a little imagination
...I Read this book having read some of Neal's other books. I was not disapointed. It follows the story of one young girl as she grows up and her effects on the thorough reversal on an entire way of life and industry in a future world most of who's technology is based on and relies upon miniturisation and nanotechnology. The book has several plotlines which are brought together with Neal's usual skill at the end. If you have read any of his other books this one will not dissapoint. If you haven't it is a great place to start....
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Nothing else out there comes close Disadvantages: Nothing else out there comes close
...This is Stephenson's masterwork. Forget Snow Crash and Zodiac (both good but not in this league - and, for my money, pass by The Diamond Age), this book sprawls across continents, drips nerd humour, history, cryptography and conspiracy theory from its every pore. Others have seen the book as a marriage between Pynchon and Gibson but that doesn't do the book justice - you'd need to chuck in some Coragasson-Boyle (for the humour of the characterisation) and a healthy dollop of Clavell (for the marshalling of the massed ranks of people, places and events into a compelling narrative). Coupland may have written the defining books of the slacker generation, Stephenson has produced the definitive hacker generation novel. It doesn't get better than this....
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
...This was the first of Neal's books i ever read, having been recomended to it by a friend.
Right from the start of the book i was hooked, The characters, world and events are described in wonderful detail and come together in a spectactular conclusion.
The story follows Hiro Protagonist (swordsman and free-lance hacker) as he becomes involved in a world threatening probelm. A virus which can be transmitted both didgitally and biologically.
Read about a lawless america, where the Mafia is just another company (costa nostra pizza) with their own special work ethic, where Kouriers surf through trafic on their skateboards by pooning cars, and where people from the world over can access the virtual world of the metaverse....
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Many levels for different readers and is thoroughly rereadable Disadvantages: Much of what is said is probably not possible so you need to excersise a little imagination
...I Read this book having read some of Neal's other books. I was not disapointed. It follows the story of one young girl as she grows up and her effects on the thorough reversal on an entire way of life and industry in a future world most of who's technology is based on and relies upon miniturisation and nanotechnology. The book has several plotlines which are brought together with Neal's usual skill at the end. If you have read any of his other books this one will not dissapoint. If you haven't it is a great place to start....
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
Advantages: Nothing else out there comes close Disadvantages: Nothing else out there comes close
...This is Stephenson's masterwork. Forget Snow Crash and Zodiac (both good but not in this league - and, for my money, pass by The Diamond Age), this book sprawls across continents, drips nerd humour, history, cryptography and conspiracy theory from its every pore. Others have seen the book as a marriage between Pynchon and Gibson but that doesn't do the book justice - you'd need to chuck in some Coragasson-Boyle (for the humour of the characterisation) and a healthy dollop of Clavell (for the marshalling of the massed ranks of people, places and events into a compelling narrative). Coupland may have written the defining books of the slacker generation, Stephenson has produced the definitive hacker generation novel. It doesn't get better than this....
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
...This was the first of Neal's books i ever read, having been recomended to it by a friend.
Right from the start of the book i was hooked, The characters, world and events are described in wonderful detail and come together in a spectactular conclusion.
The story follows Hiro Protagonist (swordsman and free-lance hacker) as he becomes involved in a world threatening probelm. A virus which can be transmitted both didgitally and biologically.
Read about a lawless america, where the Mafia is just another company (costa nostra pizza) with their own special work ethic, where Kouriers surf through trafic on their skateboards by pooning cars, and where people from the world over can access the virtual world of the metaverse....
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
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