Rating: 
Summary: a disappointing follow-up
Review: Although I loved Snow Crash, I was disappointed by the Diamond Age. Initially, I was intrigued but by the time I was finished I had lost interest in a story that seemed to go nowhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Grand stuff. A sense of humor, a sense of apprehension.
Review: I got pretty tired of the Cyberpunk thing when I finished reading Bruce Sterling. Anything else, including (and especially) Gibson tended to get so into the idea that the story was lost, the people were lost, and the book turned into show-and-tell for the author. Stephenson doesn't make that mistake. His view of the future is at once nauseating (trailor trash spreading around the world) to thought provoking (the neo-Confucian judicial system used in Shanghai). The show-and-tell stuff is uniformly fascinating, well thought out, and logical.
It's a weird world Stephenson predicts, but a likely one. The future we'll experience is likely to be even weirder than he predicts, but it would be less believable if it were written down.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book, apply this book to your life!
Review: Through Stephenson's "Illustrated Primer" he significantly changed the way I interact with my daughter... My childhood was filled with Heinlein and his ideas of self reliance and misturst of central authority. As I grew older I lost this sense of the individual, of anything being possible. Stephenson brings those ideas back into the forefront of my life once again. Through what we teach our children we direct their future and the future of our society. Read this book for one possible use of this power!
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling read, poor ending
Review: An inventive potential future. Stephenson takes the idea of nanotechnology and extrapolates a variety of ramifications. He also has an interesting critique of society, his thesis being that today's western technological culture is socially similar to the Regency and Georgian culture in Britain; this leads to neo-Victorians in the novel just as Victorian England was (he asserts) a backlash against the (im)morality of the decades before Victoria came the the throne. The book makes compelling reading and drew me along verynicely indeed. The explanations of the technological background fit reasonably well into the narrative. Some of his flights of nanotechnological fancy are probably a bit too fanciful to be actually achievable, but that doesn't detract from a good story. In the end the biggest problem with the book is that it doesn't end in anything like a satisfying way. Far too many things are left hanging. Too much is left at stake.
In summary: yes!, buy this book, but don't besurprised if the end leaves you wondering: "but what about..."
Rating:
Summary: Well-written but dangerously flawed in its premise!
Review: Stephenson is an excellent writer with a good understanding of the scientific subject matter, but he buys into Penrose's anti-AI rhetoric, turning this book into a subtle polemic against the logical possibility of strong AI. I could only recommend this book if it is taken concurently with an antidote to its philosophical poison. One such antidote is Daniel C. Dennett's very clear and readable _Consciousness Explained_. Bottom line: read this book as fantasy, not science.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book- A new archetype is created
Review: I don't even consider myself to be a fan of sceince fiction but one of my friends said that I'd really like this book and he was right on. It's is only supposed to be set about 50 years in the future. What I really like about it is that it shows how Nanotech. is going to effect our society. The character of Nell was really a revelation. She learned to how to adapt to all sorts of adversity and she thrived. This guy really harpoons the nuclear family as a social unit. The ideal of philes is cool. But having an electronic mother to connect you to the universe is even cooler. I hope that future is exactly as good as Stephenson's vision of it in this book is.
Rating: 
Summary: Great first half, poor finish.
Review: Like _Snow Crash_, _The Diamond Age_ is populated with wonderful characters, some of whom we have the privilege to see growing up. But the book loses something once the characters have grown up, as though the training they are given in order to be smoothly assimilated into the elite of society requires instead that they somehow dominate--even subjugate--that group. The concept at the core of the book--the Primer--is a bit reminiscent of Ender's desk in Orson Scott Card's seminal _Ender's Game_, but is handled in a fairly original way.
Though I was completely enthralled its first half, this book--much like Gibson and Sterling's _The Difference Engine_--fails to capitalize on its finest ideas.
Rating:
Summary: A beautifully written masterpiece of science fiction.
Review: This was not an easy read for me. At times I did not know what was happening or "where I was". But then, just when confusion was turning to frustration, the author would provide explanations. This happened several times through out the book and I found my self saying out loud and often, " oh - so that's what's going on." The fact that The Diamond Age was not easy to read did not in any way take away from the pleasure of reading it. The author, at times, is just so very descriptive that it feels as though your brain needs to fight to keep up with all the details to allow even a momentary glimpse of what the author intends for you to see. But then, what a fantastic vision he presents. If you want a light book that you can breeze through in a few hours, this is not for you. If you want a book that you will remember for years to come, read The Diamond Age.
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME !! Beginning sort of slow, then it gets REAL good !
Review: I just have to say to anyone who hasn't read this yet that it is GREAT !
Buy it NOW ! Read it NOW !
To the reviewer that gave it a 3 and said
"Nano What ?"
You really missed out on a great book by not continuing to read the book ... it gets REALLY interesting. Come to think of it, what are you doing reviewing a book when you haven't read the whole thing ?
Anyway, This is a wonderful book, I would recommend it to anybody. The beginning is a bit slow, but once you get into it you'll love it.
Rating:
Summary: Nano what?
Review: I have heard good things about Stephenson so I decided to give this book a chance. For only the second time in my life I was unable to finish the book. The characters were utterly uncompelling. His ideas about the future are half-baked. They go against not only common sense but the socio-economic trends of the past few centuries. Also his treatment of nanotech was so superficial and poorly done that it made me laugh out loud. Maybe his other books are great, but this one sure isn't.
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