Anathem by Neal Stephenson
|
List Price: Our Price: $5.46 You Save: $24.49 (82%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Anathem
Book Review: But what of the Thousanders Fraa Stephenson?
Summary: 5 Stars
He has seen far. His reach did not exceed his grasp. Let not your failings in reaching be a judgment of his vision. Do you know of Saunt Pythagoras, or of Saunt Clifford and Saunt Riemann? Read the library leaves of Saunt Einstein and Godel before passing judgment or the Lorites will plane you! But what of this narrative praxis? A praxis within the thousanders or within us all? You must illuminate further Fraa Stephenson or the Procians will have your liver. The bifurcation of narratives near the singularity of the thousander leads one to expect....?
Read this book! If you are a fan you will expect the first 100 or so pages to be a foundation of the story. Some of the words seem made up BUT they are not. If you don't believe me wiki "praxis" I never used the glossary (not yet anyway...might do it and read the book again). The logic in the book is impeccable and the paradigm is a delicious mind morsel. For those of you who gave it anything less than a five .....either read some Greek thought and non-euclidean geometry and get with the program or may the ring valers visit you in your offline narrative.
Regards.
Book Review: Anathem is a great example of why I love Science Fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
If you read science fiction because you like to immerse yourself in different worlds and have your mind stretched and boggled by big ideas and their implications on life, culture, and technology, all while being entertained by a good adventure, Anathem is a book you need to read.
One caveat- it takes about 300 pages before the 'action' part of this book kicks in, and the first several dozen pages take a little effort to read as you get accustomed to the new language Stephenson has created for his characters (Orth). But those 300 pages are so beautifully rendered that the initial slow pace of the plot is actually a good thing - it gives you time to get absorbed in the world his characters live in - and by the time the action starts you really care about the characters and are so fully engrossed that you'll catch yourself slipping into Orth in your everyday thought processes.
The level of research, thought, and exquisitely detailed worldbuilding that Stephenson put into this work are truly amazing, and it is a first-rate example of what Science Fiction can and should be.
Book Review: The originality continues
Summary: 5 Stars
How entertaining it is that the reviews of Anathem posted so far perfectly mirror the societal divisions that Anathem explores! The "extras" are so very disappointed that Anathem isn't Snowcrash 2, coming soon to a "speely" near them. The "Avout" recognize that Neal is around 15 years older than when he wrote Snowcrash, and they would have been disappointed if the book failed to reflect a corresponding maturation in its author. Anyway, the range of reviews, good -and- bad, is a stronger affirmation of the book than any individual review.
Yes, it is occasionally "ponderous" as some have said, but it also has Snowcrash-esque moments, and it's amply sprinkled with Neal's always-entertaining social/techno commentary. (paraphrasing..."They put us in a real hotel...not a casino but an actual hotel.") While superficially unlike any of Neal's previous works, this reader can clearly see -all- of his previous works right through the Baroque Cycle blended in Anathem...and to great effect. It's a thought provoker first, a page turner much later, and his finest work yet, IMHO.
Book Review: An extraordinary ride.
Summary: 5 Stars
Anathem was the first Neal Stephenson book that I have read. I now intend to go back and read Cryptonomicon and Snow Crash as soon as I can.
I decided to read Anathem, based solely on reading the blurb. The idea of the intellectuals being rounded up and put into their own sub-community fascinated me, and the book certainly didn't disappoint.
Stephenson has imagined and created a deep and fully realised world, full with its own customs, devices, languages, and Stephenson manages to weave it all almost seamlessly. I say almost seamlessly in that the beginning 100 or so pages are a bit difficult to grasp. The reader is thrown into a world, and is expected to pick up on the slang and terminology instantly - there is however, a glossary to you help along.
While the first 100 pages are a tad difficult, they are not uninteresting. Mainly because this universe Stephenson has created is highly interesting, compelling and cerebral.
The story quickly picks up and doesn't let you go. It's an amazing intellectual adventure, and I couldn't recommend it highly enough.
Book Review: Inventive, clever, stands up to a re-read
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently re-read this book after a gap of roughly two years, and was as thoroughly entertained with it as on the first time through. As with A Fire Upon The Deep (Zones of Thought) and The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer (Bantam Spectra Book), I suspect I may end up buying many copies, because editions lent to friends never wend their way home but are passed ever onward on a wave of enthusiasm and awe.
This is one of those rare books that works well on all the axes of that well-known fiction-classification device, MICE (milieu, ideas, characterization and events). The milieu is painstakingly worked out. The ideas are myriad and interesting. Unusually for science fiction, the characterization is half-way decent. And as for the events... I stayed awake reading for many, many nights.
Looking forward to my third read.