Rating: 
Summary: too fragmented,and long
Review: Although the story had a potential there is not a cluster of more than three pages which can keep the readers interest for more than a few minutes.Overall the book is way too long and too fragmented between one too many settings to be a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: May I suggest another title?
Review: I'm about to read this book on the recommendation of a friend. From reading these reviews, it seems to me that one of my favorite novels of all time would appeal to the same people who like this book. That would be Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace. It doesn't have the geek factor that Cryptonomicon apparently has, but it has a zillion interweaving stories and digressions within digressions and it's funny as hell. Give it a try!
Rating:
Summary: 900 Bloated pages
Review: The story is good but this guy Stephenson makes two or three sentences out of every one. The book is at best a 400 page novel. If he would get to point and stop sputtering bull!@#$ it would be much better. I am by the way an electrical engineer working in software and find it highly unlikely that any disciplined mind could put up with so much fluff instead of the story. Stephenson is highly overrated
Rating:
Summary: Ultimate Geek Book
Review: I admit it. I'm a geek. Always have been, always will be. I make most of my living convincing computers to transform radar signals into graphs and plots useful for aeronomers. This book was one of my favorite novels of all time. I bought my brother-in-law (he used to paint his own D&D figures, that gives him a solid geek pedigree) a copy for his birthday. Three days later he called me to voice obscenities: "You @%$#! That's the best book I've ever read and I can't put it down ... but it's 900 PAGES!!!" I enjoy Stephenson's style. He dances between story lines, weaving a tale of espionage, counter-espionage, information-age hi jinks, and a lost fortune. He paints pictures that a non-visual person (like myself) can =SEE=, but without breaking the action. Frequently the story suggests, then moves on, allowing the reader to fill in the obvious. Four stars for an interesting plot. Five stars for inventing the proto-cyberpunk genre. Five stars for a graceful dance between story lines, images, and suggestion. Altogether a pleasant experience. Don't miss it if you're a geek. If you're not already a geek, it's worth becoming one just to appreciate this book! (If you'd like to respond to this review, please click on the "about me" link above and drop me an email. Thanks!)
Rating:
Summary: An intelligent and enthralling work
Review: Stephenson manages to create a work in Cryptonomicon that is both informative and engrossing. With shades of earlier epics (I might point out the Illumintatus! trilogy), Stephenson creates a new-economy cyber-nerd thriller with its central focus not on the idea man for a startup, but instead on a somewhat hapless programmer who gets ripped forward into the real world from the security of his Starbucks lifestyle. At 900 pages, it's hard to not have some dead spots, but there were less than 10 pages in this book that I was uninterested in! If you are a fan of cryptology, computers, or telecommunications, this is a great book written just for you.
Rating:
Summary: Absorbing!
Review: Receiving this book as a birthday present I was, due to past experiences, somewhat wary. This book however, makes up for so many door jambs. Neal Stephenson is a story teller in the true sense. He has the ability to apparently veer off into a side show and then tie it essentially to the main thread, his characters are very real and different and importantly, believable. The book contains a number of fascinating insights into WWII, power, people, and of course, cryptography. Cryptonomicon is vast in both scope and detail but manages to remain a thrilling and intriguing read. I believe that this book is approachable by a vast number of people who would normally breeze past the `nerd' section - stretch yourself a little - try it.
Rating:
Summary: Cryptography over Three Generations
Review: This tome by my current favourite author is, can you guess?, amazing. The book runs like I think; a stream of consciousness (at times) adventure that covers three generations, and jumps back and forth between World War II and present day. The book's main topic: cryptography and the ethics of the whole arrangement appealed to me. As did the extensive use of crackers and computers. I greatly enjoyed this book. There was a great deal going on; and the author's use of language (especially for humour) is awesome. I think this is a fringe book; for those who like computers. Although there is enough war time action to tide another audience (military buffs) over between what might be perceived as dry bits.
Rating: 
Summary: Intricate plot mixes history with fantasy
Review: For people who tend to be analytical, who like fast-paced intricate plots. For people who are interested (even mildly) in codes and ciphers. For people who like to speculate on the future of the internet and its role in international politics and economics. For people who are interested in the South Pacific battles in WWII. For people who like books where things happen, where the story is the thing and the characters are doers, not navel-gazers, try this mammoth book. It will reward your attention with a robust, fascinating, well-told story about people you'll remember for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: mediocrity made pulp
Review: What a dull, tedious, artless black brick of a book. Stephenson is not a bad a writer, but he's not talented enough to write a good book that's this long. He's no story-teller: his characters are cartoonish and forgettable, and he has no knack for language. But at least the book is funny in spurts.
Rating:
Summary: Nerd heaven
Review: OK, the downside is it's definitely a book for geeky men (like me)and Stephenson's more interested in set pieces than an overall plot. But what set pieces - each of them told with enormous wit, excitement and vigour. Definitely worth the time it needs but, as someone else pointed out, it's not (and does not try to be) a modern classic in the Pyncheon mould. It's a witty and (for 900 pages) fast paced entertainment.
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