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Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing >

Neal Stephenson

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07:33 / 28.06.02

I've only just today heard about this guy, but he looks like an interesting author. As you can see in the topic summary, he's written a number of books, most of which seem to be about encoding &/or computers. On his site, you can download (for free) a 50 pg. essay he wrote called In The Beginning, There Was The Command Line. Evidently, he gets compared to Thomas Pynchon alot, which can't be too bad of a thing, I guess. There's a Salon.com interview here about the guy. So just who is Neal Stephenson and is he any good?

The Sinister Haiku Bureau

08:01 / 28.06.02

Yes. I've read a bunch of his stuff (you missed out 'zodiac' btw, unless thats the british title for 'eco' which I've not heard of, or something...) Wasn't crypt voted best sci-fi book of the 90s or something by some people, somewhere? It's good, anyway. That and SC are generally considered his best, though I prefered Diamond Age personally. I don't really see the Pynchon comparisons myself...

09:23 / 28.06.02

The only one I have read is Cryptonomicon, but since I only finished that this week it is fresh in the memory... it is very good, and very meaty - there's a lot of interesting stuff to think about in there - cryptography (which is fascinating anyway, though I get a bit lost when it comes to quantum computing and so on), privacy, corporations, money, hacking, war, death, heroism, life, universe, &c. It isn't high science fiction - it's more historical-science fictioneering, to coin a disgusting phrase. The style is clear and involving, the plot is very well constructed, most of it is thoroughly beliveable and engrossing.

The only complaint I had was regarding the invented islands of Qwghlm - that orthography seemed a little too much to believe. But hey - so he's not the world's greatest linguist, so what?

11:58 / 28.06.02

I thought the first 30 pages of Snow Crash were sheer brilliance, but that it went down hill promptly after that. Zodiac was a lot of fun.

But Cryptonomicon was amazing from page one to page one zillion (yes, it's long). It's like he experienced a quantum leap in talent between books. His ability to craft characters, tell stories, were all tremendous. It was the most fun I've had reading a book since college.

I think the Pynchon thing is the critics taking the easy way out. Since Cryptonomicon is long, takes place in WWII, involves both cryptography and science, it's automatically like Gravity's Rainbow. But he definitely doesn't have Pynchon's love of slapstick and sexual deviancy. The only other connection I could see would be some referencing of popular culture, but nowhere near on the same level.

17:19 / 28.06.02

Snow Crash is good fun, but gridley's right about it going downhill. It devolves into some poorly developed characters recreating the last couple chapters of Neuromancer in novel environments; except the pacings are switched so it's fast in cyberspace and slow as hell - please end the goddamn novel already - outside. It's also hard to care about the characters.

The Diamond Age is actually a pretty cool story with folks you can like or question, but sucks by the time he decides it's over.

Cryptonomicon tells the stories of a bunch of people doing incredible things in a believable/interesting way. His writing didn't leap from book to book - you can see the seeds for the Crypto characters in the earlier work. It's just more visible with the hundred or so extra pages. The end sucks, in the same ways the other endings sucked, but it does so quickly.

I think I liked (meaning, I guess, that a few years after reading his stuff, I still think it was neat) The Diamond Age best, but folks who don't much like reading novels, let alone sci-fi, seem to like Cryptonomicon.

20:08 / 28.06.02

The most important thing to remember about Stephenson is that he's completely incapable of finishing his books. There's no sense of escalation of tension, or even resolution - I have theorised that the only reason Cryptonomicon is so long is that he can't figure out how to end it...

21:12 / 28.06.02

The only book I've read all the way through is Snow Crash . I thought it was pretty nifty. I couldn't get too far into The Diamond Age because I just got bored with all the descriptions about neo-victorian life. Fine, people go around acting like they're living in the victorian era; great, just get on with the story already.

07:49 / 29.06.02

I've read Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, and Cryptonomicon and enjoyed them all immensely (although, as has been noted, Snow Crash does start to drag on towards the end).

One of the great things about Cryptonomicon, of course, is the bit where he reveals the secret to eating Cap'n Crunch without tearing up the roof of your mouth. Works, too.

A

14:35 / 01.07.02

I've read nearly everything Stephenson has written, and I've really enjoyed everything so far.

Tom has a very good point about his inability to conclude some of the stories properly, but i'd still recommend any of his books. The level of research that must have gone into some of his books is pretty mindboggling (well, that, or he's making a whole lot of stuff up).

Zodiac is a lot of fun, and Cryptonomicon is excellent (despite really not having much in the way of an ending), but I can't praise Snow Crash or The Diamond Age highly enough.

He's also co-written a couple of novels, Interface and Cobweb with his uncle under the pseudonym "Stephen Bury", both of which are fairly easy to find, and well worth reading, although a lot more straightforward than the stuff he puts his own name to.

If i wasn't tired, I'd go into a lot mor detail, but I am, so i shan't. maybe later.

14:24 / 14.01.04

I've nearly finished Snow Crash so thought I'd dig this up to see what people thought a year and a half ago...

I agree that Stephenson clearly does a load of research, but he doesn't exactly wear it lightly, does he? I noticed this especially with Snow Crash and what I've read of Quicksilver; Cryptonomicon seemed less clunky, and The Diamond Age least of all. I think that this may be one reason why I preferred The Diamond Age to the others... I don't mind the heavy-handed exposition of ideas by Hiro or the Librarian or whatever, and often I find it quite endearing, but it does hold the novels up rather. Not very well integrated, even if it is essential to the plots/themes of the books.

Doctor Singapore

19:04 / 14.01.04

I read Snow Crash at a friend's insistence and loved it...later read Cryptonomicon and liked it even more. "Command Line" is an essay, but very interesting if you're curious about the history of software design.

Re the Pynchon comparison: Yeah, Cryptonomicon covers a lot of the same ground as Gravity's Rainbow, being that both are about science, espionage, WWII and the birth of the modern era, etc.

Also -- this is the key -- both examine the creation and current role of multinational corporations, intelligence agencies, and the areas where they compete and collaborate in shaping our society outside of governmental control or the public eye. (In GR you have the whatever-its-name-was plastics co., clearly an amalgamation of IG Farben and Operation Paperclip... Crypto presents an updated version: offshore data havens, CARNIVORE, etc.)
Both also reference actual events, Hitler's rocket program vs. the ENIGMA cypher machine (Oh, and that cave full of gold in the Phillipines wasn't something Stephenson just pulled out of his hat, either.)

The difference is that Stephenson actually sets out to dramatize and explain these events/issues to his reader in a comprehensible and relevant manner, where Pynchon would rather play lingusitic/philosophical games with the reader. If you want to talk about "not wearing research lightly", "heavy-handed exposition" and "no sense of resolution", those are all faults that Pynchon has-- to an even greater degree, IMHO. Not that I dislike Pynchon (in fact, I recently bought a copy of V.) but if you're going to make the comparison, I think Cryptonomicon is by far the better novel of the two.

It also has a sequel, Quicksilver, which I definitely intend to read. I believe that has its own thread, though...

17:03 / 18.01.04

I know it has its own thrad, but I haven't finished it yet and if anyone spoils it I'd have to kill them. MORE exciting is the fact that I now have a proof of The Confusion, which is due out 1st April (no, not a joke). OOoohhh... excited.... only 1000 odd dense pages to go between the two....

08:12 / 19.01.04

my problem is - not dense enough. he's happy to demand you read 900 ages at a pop, but he's hardly ready to dazzle you with his prose while he's doing it, which Pynchon at least can. loads of great ideas, descriptions of power-lines and intrigue, it's just I'm not sure he's a very good Writer.

11:59 / 28.01.04

I've just finished Cryptonomicon, having read Snow Crash about a year ago, and agree with what everyone's saying about not wearing research lightly -the conversations do sometimes veer towards the "Hello, character who does not understand this key concept! Let me tell you these important facts which the reader must understand if they are to read further." "Thank you, main character! I will actively listen and sometimes offer insightful guesses as to what you are saying."

At the same time, though it was quite obvious, I actually found it interesting... and whilst it's not brilliantly written in the way that something by Pynchon will be, it's still genuinely engaging. (With the exception of the bit which is something like twenty pages of intricate description of Randy eating cereal, which was maddeningly dull.)

16:37 / 28.01.04

I really like Stephenson too, even if (it's true) he seems to be unable to finish his stories…
Did anyone already read Quicksilver ? Is it as good as Cryptonomicon and are there any connections beteween the two books ?

nedrichards is confused

16:59 / 28.01.04

7.7, I have the answers you seek:

1. Yes.
2. Yes.
3. Slightly. More in tone than anything else. One of the characters is the same but the others just ahve the same names and similar roles to those in Cryptonomicon.

For more excitement have a butchers at the Quicksilver thread.

17:10 / 28.01.04

There was a thread ?! Cooool !

Thanks,

' let you now : I have a thread to read…

22:04 / 28.01.04

I know I should probably read the QS thread, but I haven't finished yet. The links contain a mythical country, too. It's VERY strongly linked to Cryptonomicon. Look at the themes, guys. events are mirrored, concepts paralleled. OK, I'll shut up and get back to finishing it.

19:05 / 04.02.04

Just to be a little "type A":

It was Rudy Rucker who first made the Pynchon comparison, describing Snow Crash as (and I paraphrase) "Neuromancer meets Vineland". This was well before The Diamond Age was published, let alone Cryptonomicon, so I think whatever comparison is being made there is being made for stylistic reasons rather than topical ones.

In a sense, Stephenson's endings are trying to be like the end of Gravity's Rainbow. I'm not sure I understood GR properly but if I did then the point of the end is pretty much that the prose shoots up the parabola and off to infinity, launching the reader out of the book. Or something like that. It seems that the unnecessarily cinematic endings of eg. Snow Crash are going for a similar effect, but without the overall metaphoric structure to accomodate it they don't really fit, and therefore make little sense.

I think my favourite Stephenson to date is Zodiac just because I think it accomplishes what it sets out to do and manages to maintain quite a high level of tonal consistency. There are a couple of shaky bits to it, but overall it's a fun read.

Haven't tackled the two biggies yet. The two friends of mine who've read Quicksilver pronounced it to be dead boring and that hasn't really encouraged me.

13:51 / 17.01.07

George Clooney to produce Diamond Age miniseries.

You know, that Good Night and Good Luck movie Clooney did wasn't half bad.

And Diamond Age has some bits in it that would translate really well to the screen.

22:03 / 17.01.07

This could be really good, and as a nice bonus: "Stephenson will adapt his novel for the miniseries, the first time the Hugo and Nebula award winner has written for TV."

....if Stephenson is writing the script himself, there's less worry of it bearing little resemblance to the book...

00:10 / 19.01.07

Clooney's record with sci-fi adaptations: notso hotso

00:12 / 19.01.07

Although, I guess, not for lack of effort. I take it back.

00:59 / 19.01.07

And now, Solaris, winner of...

Best Performance by an ass. Nude or figuratively.

16:03 / 19.01.07

Ooh, I hope it's done well. It'll be interesting to see how they deal with the sections out of the "Young Lady's Illustrated Primer".
Plus we should get some wicked cool steampunk action on screen, which is always good.

--

23:38 / 20.01.07

I have a few of this guy's books, yet the only one I've actually read was "The Big U", which many people say is his worst book, from what I gather. I may have tried reading "Snow Crash" years ago but never really got into it. And I tried reading "The Baroque Cycle" but only made it about 20 pages before I just totally lost interest. It's not that I can't read long books... I read Stephen R. Donaldson's "The Gap Cycle" on a regular basis, and that's 2,500 + pages long. But I just have trouble getting into Neal Stephenson's books, and I can't quite put my finger on why... Maybe I'm just not interested in the themes he explores, or maybe it's his style (the only reason I really liked "The Big U" is because it's such a product of it's time... the dated "80's Academic Novel", plus I loved all the Dungeons & Dragons on Acid stuff).

ORA ORA ORA ORAAAA!!

06:31 / 21.01.07

I just re-read cryptonomicon, and it's a totally different thing, after reading the baroque cycle. Many more things are revealed and made plain, in interesting ways, and even the end of the novel, which seemed so sudden and incomplete the first time around, seems suitable and correct.

It's very interesting to note.

In fact, I found the end of snow crash to be less horrible this time around, too (i.e. didn't notice it being bad). I might give the diamond age a shot sometime, as that was clearly the worst of the lot, in terms of bad/non-focused endings.

I think the adaptation could be pretty awesome.

17:18 / 22.01.07

You know, I was just thinking this morning what a great movie trilogy the Baroque cycle would make, but the Diamond Age would make a cool show I reckon. Even with Clooney's involvement.

07:40 / 23.01.07

I got the movie down to 9 parts - three books from each one - pretty much - you may be able to crunch some of it down to maybe 7 parts in total. A 9 - 12 part mini-series would be great.

07:40 / 23.01.07

[off topic]And why so down on Clooney? I think he's fantastic.[/off topic]

20:55 / 23.01.07

Just looking at the audio books - which I know are no real reflection of a film script - and an abridged version of Quicksilver exists, which runs at 22 hours and 2 minutes.

Anyone heard the audiobook versions?

I still maintain that something akin to Charles II (which I think was 5 parts at around an hour each) would work for each book - so 15 parts in total, 15 hours or so?

21:05 / 23.01.07

Sorry to keep doing this, I keep thinking of things relevent - has any one read Cobweb by him?

Cobweb

I saw it today in the book shop, but bought a few James Bond novels instead.

ORA ORA ORA ORAAAA!!

23:34 / 23.01.07

I have read it. It was pretty interesting, but a totally different sort of thing. I understand why he didn't publish it under his own name (also because of his co-writer, of course), but it's definitely worth reading.

It's like a less irritating version of those typical political potboilers you find, big fat books with huge author names on them, titles like "the [modifier] [noun]". But smarter.

11:59 / 24.01.07

"Cobweb" is not bad, but "Interface", the other one he wrote under a nom de plume, is better. Though once again the ending kind of sucks.

12:57 / 24.01.07

I liked Cobweb for its very well drawn characters, specifically, the main character. A little detail that's very Stephenson-esque is that the main character refers to his wife as "the boss" most of the time.

Interface kept me a little more interested, but the ending was sacre bleu.

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