Cryptonomicon

Rating:
Summary: Cryptonomicon - 5 star cryptography with a big BUT
Review: CQ

I have worked in cryptography off and on for going on 25 years and this book, in my opinion, is the best approximation of the field in the novel form. To me this was a five star read, BUT I expect that for readers without a current subscription to Cryptologica it might be considered a difficult read.

I would therefore rate it with 5 stars for those with a computer science and cryptography background, 4 stars for those with a computer science background alone, and 3 stars for those willing to dedicate the time to learn both on the fly.

GVS OM

Rating:
Summary: best ever
Review: best fiction I have ever read

Rating:
Summary: My favorite work of Stephenson's
Review: A combination of "Gravity's Rainbow"-lite and a Tom Clancy thriller, Stephenson's Cryptonomicon succeeds on several levels. First, the book is simply fun to read. Stephenson has his own quirky style, which may put off some readers, but which I found enjoyable. Spending a couple of pages reading about the proper way to eat Captain Crunch was not a waste of time! For me, this book was a page turner. Second, I found this book to actually be reasonably informative. I came out of it with a better understanding of both cryptography (historically and modern), and a little more knowledge about WWII. Third, the characters, while a bit stereotypical, were generally quite likable.

The book wasn't perfect - the moral issues were a bit too black and white, and the book was longer than necessary. I found these flaws to be minor, and would recommend this book to any sci-fi fan.

Rating:
Summary: The Joys of Excessive Explanation
Review: Cryptonomicon

In Cryptonomicon, Stephenson uses his usual style of over-production and explanation of everything from the cracking of the Nazi Enigma machine down to a man shaving his beard for the first time in several years. This style can be very monotonous, and sometimes seems to serve no real purpose; but this also gives the reader a great amount of detail and background on important ideas in the book that may or may not be familiar to them. So at times it is annoying, and other times it is very helpful. Stephenson does an excellent job of explaining everything in detail, but sometimes he goes a little far and what may have been quite interesting at first, becomes monotonous and quickly falls out of the reader's attention.

This novel is quite different from other cyberpunk or Neal Stephenson novels I have encountered. Instead of being set in the future with all kinds of funky new technology being exploited at every turn, this is set in a dual time period of the 1940's and the present day. The two time periods become very important to each other later in the book. At first, however, it would seem that the only link between the two time periods was the family names and the places the novel is set in.

This book describes major events of World War II and involves several key individuals of that time, and their roles in the war. In the present day we suddenly come across descendents of the main characters in the war era. These individuals get to know each other and form a company in the same area where one of their ancestors fought. These persons then begin to seek out their ancestors, which ties the two time periods together quite well and makes for a quite interesting plot.

Cryptonomicon is very involving and makes great use of two separate story lines at once. It is quite lengthy, but if that does not bother you, then I would say that this is an excellent choice.

Rating:
Summary: I'm hard to please, this one comes close.
Review: After reading the first 200 pages of this book, I was ready to pitch it. Stephenson seemed to have trouble finding a groove in the first bit, and really should have re-written some parts.

The reader can tell that Stephenson really wants to be a Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams, but fails miserably in those first 200 pages. As the story moves on, either he gets better at it or I got desensitized to his habit of shifting in and out of the satirical voice every other paragraph.

He also shows a bit of sexual immaturity in parts, using vulgar language in places where it really isn't appropriate (i.e. a reunion between a Marine and a young woman). In addition, most of his male characters spend a good part of their time wacking-off. Perhaps this isn't necessarily considered a bad thing by his "geek" audience, but I was a little put off by his portrayal of sexuality.

Otherwise, the book makes a good read. It certainly kept my interest once I gave it a chance; I peeled through it in 2 1/2 days, not something that I do often with a 900+ page book. The story has enough twists and turns, but doesn't leave you a lot of time to think about them - which is good when you consider how many stories are dependent on a huge "surprise" at the end, often easy to figure out. The ending is a little weak though, and I think Stephenson missed out on the opportunity to really finish off this epic with style.

With some tuning, this book could have hit 5 stars. It's not often that a novel is that technically accurate, so Stephenson deserves quite a bit of credit along that line. His explanations of crypto theory are also reasonable considering his audience, and I also enjoyed the WWII aspect of the plotline. However, none of this was enough to help boost this book above 3 stars.

Rating:
Summary: A fair read and a nice looking book
Review: I purchased a first edition of Cryptonomicon after reading the dust jacket. Being a technical person and an individual who enjoys cryptography and history, the book looked enjoyable. The book itself is packaged nicely with frayed parchment pages and an impressive cover.

After getting sixty or so pages into the book, I finally found the author's rhythm. It is an enjoyable mix of fiction, the here and now, with some history tossed in to fit the dual plot line. Mr. Stephenson has written an inventive techno-thriller with this novel. The characters are somewhat stereotypical in certain places, but overall are believable. The reader's "trust" in the author's research of history and technology is also tested. I enjoyed it for the most part right up to the end.

The conclusion seemed forced as to fit a preconceived notion of the ending. Mr. Stephenson also needs a proofreader. I saw at least seven typographical errors. These are things are hopefully fixed in later editions.

Overall, it is a fair read, although it bogs down in a few places. If you buy the hardback, you will have an excellent book for your bookshelf or coffee table, otherwise wait for the paperback.

Rating:
Summary: You don't have to be a hacker
Review: I know barely enough about computers to get to the Amazon website. My idea of cryptology is the NYT acrostic. But I loved this book. Couldn't put it down. Yes, it is long, yes the plot is not well defined. Some of the earlier reviewers believe those are shortcomings. They would have Stephenson edit the material and get to the point. But the point is the side trips, the digressions, the descriptions. For example the mathematically inclined Waterhouse family divide up the furniture of an elderly relative who is moving into a facility by placing the furniture on a chart in a parking lot graphing who wants what piece more against what a piece is worth so that everyone comes out equal. That's not necessary to the plot. But I was glad it was in the book. Nor is the set up of Charlene absolutely necessary. But it was damn funny. So one character dies and then shows up again 50 years later. So the end is forced. It's a good read, one of the few books I've read lately that was good enough that I've wanted to set aside everything else I was doing to get back to it.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible potential but meandering follow-through
Review: This book was recommended to me by a non-techie friend. I'm a programmer, have loved codes since I was a kid, and love the kind of mental chess the book is about. I'd also heard a lot about the gems of insight carved into each page.

Perhaps it was the buildup the book got, but I was let down by the actual writing. It's not the length - I love long books and will gladly get wrapped up in one. I think it's perhaps that I'm a huge fan of military history, that I have studied Japan for many years, and that in many ways I can relate very strongly to the computer programmer main characters. Yup, I played D&D for years (and still do), belonged to the SCA, and I even scuba dive.

The players just aren't quite realistic. There are a number of factual errors, and often items presented as "he is this so logically he does that" just don't hold true with my experiences. Some items that he'll spend pages and pages leading up to didn't need any lead-up at all ... others that were really interesting get glossed over and ignored.

Yes, some of the issues are very intriguing. They're things I talk about with friends quite a bit. The manner in which they're presented is tedious and meandering, though. The book could have been tightened up quite a bit and been much more effective in ensnaring its readers in a web of intrigue and fascinating thought. Instead, many I have spoken to have talked about losing interest part-way through, or never being able to start. I did read it through, but at many times I felt like calling out, "Get to the point!!"

There are many books I read where each page is a delight - a microcosm of fascinating thought and neat, new ideas. I suppose that's what I was hoping for from Cryptonomicon ... instead, the fresh ideas are muddled down in bizarre sexual relationships and amazingly illogical actions. I'll watch for subsequent books, but I'll read them with less lofty hopes.

Rating:
Summary: Strong start, slow finish
Review: This ambitious novel starts out as a totally gripping story, but slows markedly towards the end. The politics become tedious, the portrayal of the NSA as evil is naive, and Randy Waterhouse's growing adolescent preoccupation with sex is annoying. On the positive side, it is a deft interweaving of a historical novel and techno-thriller, knitting together a multi-generational set of characters into a combination of coincidence worthy of Wodehouse.

Aside from the overt political agenda, the technical foundations are accurate and the idea of a third-world country hosting a data refuge is totally credible. The depiction of the social ramifications and technical underpinnings of such a facility are believable, but what could have been a profound commentary on the cyclical nature of history degenerates into something of an indulgence for sexually unsatisfied nerds.

Taking "Cryptonomicon" on an extended out of town trip with some extra reading time, I was completely sucked into the story for the first week--I didn't want to stop reading. Stephenson crafts a wonderful turn of the phrase, and I came close to underlining passages (my ultimate measure of 5-star books). By the third week, I was struggling to finish. Either the author ran out of clever allusions, or I was no longer in the mood to be entertained in that way. I found myself highly interested in the fate of the historical characters, but the contemporary characters are shallower, and I stopped caring what happened to them. Personally, I think this book could be improved by cutting at least 100 pages.

Certainly the audience of this book is not limited to those who work in the field of information security. On the contrary, this book is carefully crafted to be educational--without being intrusive about it, and it is much more successful in its technical agenda than its social one.

If you provide technical services or engineering for the Internet--especially in the infosec field--you may find this book irresistable. It isn't every day that someone in your field of employment has the chance to be the protagonist of a major literary work.

Rating:
Summary: A great portrait of a most contradictory century.
Review: I'm enjoying this book.So rich in detail,imagery,psychological analysis and insight.Twentieth Century has seen the worst and the best of what humans can do:Neal stephenson portrays it,whit humour and understanding.Maybe a bit convoluted.But I'm loving it.