Rating: 
Summary: Stimulating, even for non-geeks...
Review: Having at first dismissed Cryptonomicon as techie-sci-fi, a genre in which I've never been interested, I was very much surprised when it was highly recommended to me, and even more surprised upon reading and enjoying it to the extent that I did. Stephenson's ambition almost pays off -- he manages to create a thoroughly engrossing and invigorating novel, one of those with which the reader finds herself appreciating its length (all the more to relish) until around the last fifty pages, when it (inevitably?) begins to get a little sloppy and out-of-control. The most pleasant surprise of all in Cryptonomicon is Stephenson's sense of humour -- certain passages had me literally giggling. The characterisation is, for the most part, well-done, though I was more than a little disappointed by the book's female characters, many of which have the depth of a video-game-bimbo (as in, the typical female video game character, not a female who plays video games). All in all, however, Cryptonomicon is a terrific book -- I look forward to the next, and perhaps even now consider myself a proselyte of the genre, at least as written by Stephenson.
Rating:
Summary: A good start . . .
Review: to what is admittedly going to be a trilogy. I look forward to the second installment as the "setup" will not be as long.Having read all of Stephenson's books in print (including his two "Bury" novels) I must say that this is closer to the Bury novels in style -- heavy on small detail; this is not a complaint. Although I still prefer "Zodiac," "Snow Crash," and "Diamond Age," this novel is quite good. He takes a while for things to get going, but with the number of characters he juggles this was to be expected (especially having read the "Bury" books). Stephenson knows how to grab a reader and hold on. And though I agree the "too long" comments aren't wholly accurate, I bit more editing would have been appreciated. A rewarding read to those with the wherewithal to attempt; it also helps if you majored in a math-heavy discipline!
Rating: 
Summary: Stephenson's Best Yet
Review: Readers looking for another breathless cyberpunk potboiler may be disappointed by Cryptonomicon. But anyone looking for a thoughtful novel whose complexities arise from human character as much as technology should delight in this creation. Its 910 pages strobe back and forth from the start of WW II to the present, from New Guinea to Finland, and from literal warfare to the cutthroat world of internet venture capital. The interlinked story lines of three principal characters converge on a satisfying mystery, and provide a fascinating education in historical and contemporary cryptography in the process.
Rating:
Summary: Infotainment
Review: Okay--I'm seeing a lot of reviews whining about how *long* the book is, and how Stephenson goes on for pages and pages about trivial details. I suspect that a lot of his readers are from the TV generation, wanting a clean-cut beginning, middle, and end within a half-hour time slot. What they fail to mention is that these pages of details are fascinating. The way the reviewers emphasize the mathematical aspects is misleading. Stephenson will really make you look at life--not just math and cryptography--in a new way through his razor-sharp observations. Ever wondered how a Marine thinks? How information is transmitted underseas? How e-mail is encrypted? Why men wear beards? What both the fighting and paper-pushing of WW II were like? How upstart companies win investors? How you can eat Cap'n Crunch without wounding the roof of your mouth? Even if you haven't wondered, you'll find at least some of his tangents interesting. I'm not a computer programmer. I'm not a mathemetician. I'm just an art student, and I was absorbed by this book for hours straight. It's a globetrotting adventure in history, information, and secrets. It kept me up far past my bedtime on multiple occasions. I just recently bought another copy for my dad.
Rating:
Summary: Neal Stephenson at his best!
Review: I loved Cryptonomicon, every last page of it and that's saying something because THERE WERE A LOT of pages. It's a fascinating novel about codes and codebreaking with a SF flavor--Cryptonomicon has the relentless pace and charismatic style of The Triumph and the Glory, the plot twists of Grisham at his best, the vivid imagery of Cold Mountain, and the fascinating insights and cleverness that only a novelist of Stephenson's stature can deliver.
Rating:
Summary: Not perfect but...
Review: Yes, there are a few mistakes in this book. Nobody factors prime numbers for example (page 55), people usually prefer to split non prime numbers into their prime factors... Yes, the style is sometimes a bit irritating. But, many gems can be found behind that dark cover.
Rating: 
Summary: Could have been a lot shorter
Review: Insisting that this novel could have been much shorter is, admittedly, not a very original piece of criticism, but it's true. Halfway through the book you begin to wonder why every single task of the mysterious WWII-detachment needs in-depth description. I liked the humorous use of "nerdy (i.e., computer-related) metaphors" most of the time, but once the narrator gives a lenghty explanation for Randy's "manual override" (I cracked up laughing about that expression) cycles in terms of mathematical functions, including extensive graphs, it's funny and tedious at the same time. Still, Stephenson keeps you wanting to know how it all ends, but it's basically mild curiosity, not suspense, that keeps you going. And that's a far cry from Snow Crash, which was unputdownable. Don't get me wrong: this is an extremely well-written, funny book, but Stephenson can do much better. I was really sad to hear him say he was going to write a whole cycle of novels revolving around cryptography. Oh dear... There are so many other interesting topics around.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Disappointing
Review: I received this book from a friend who said he could not put it down. I am sorry to say that I have 50 pages left to ready and I find it painful to pick up. The book an interesting historical side to it, but beyond that it frequently wanders off into irrelevant tangents that are excruciatingly painful to slog through. Cryptomonicon turns a tale that can be portrayed in 300 pages into a 900 page novel full of noise. The author feels compelled to fill the book with statistical techno-babble that is interesting the first time but annoying as the book proceeds. For the last 300 pages of the book I have skipped entire sections of the book when I encounter one of the author's fits-of-jabbering over some trivial point in the book. Finally, the author's 3rd person writing technique reminds me of my own dismal attempt at writing in six grade.
Rating:
Summary: Aggressive, clever, classy, and addictive
Review: Very engrossing and very very funny. If you're the type that might rate Mark Helprin's Antproof Case, Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, and most stuff by Tom Stoppard as top notch stimulation, I think you'll get a enormous kick out Cryptonomicon. Better, all round than Snow Crash....Cryptonomicon held up well all the way through. I couldn't put this down--so probably i was reading way too fast, but there were a few large plot details that have me flummoxed--Father Root coming back to life (?) and the whole Andy Loeb character which never quite clicked into place for me. I'm practically begging other people to read it so that I can sort some of these things out. Was tickled to find the rumor circulating that the typos (of which I was blithely oblivious) are an encrypted message--regardless of whether it's true, that's a fitting salute to the book itself--a beaut of a dig to those self-appointed self-pious spelling and punctuation mavens--Wish I had been the author of this rumor/factoid myself though....sigh.... A reference section/bibliography/further reading section might have made nice addition. Check out the zdnet.com ZDTV video interview with Mr.Stephenson on the web--I was pleasantly surprised to find him so low-key.
Rating:
Summary: Really great novel
Review: I won't type up an extensive review here, but anyone who enjoys cryptographic issues and/or WWII history and/or N. Stepehenson's other work, will *love* this book. Almost all of it was brilliantly concieved and executed. Sure, as with anything there are flaws, but I really enjoyed this, much more so than Snow Crash.
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