Rating: 
Summary: Delicious!
Review: If your mind is up-to-date, you will enjoy this.
Rating: 
Summary: Unusual and engrossing
Review: This book differs from other works of Neal Stephenson (at least, that I've read, such as 'Snow Crash' and 'Diamond Age') since it's not about the future but more about the past. There were quite a lot of books written about code breaking wars during World War II but this one is definitely unique (well, no less would be expected from the writer). The book has very interesting characters, very good story with all kinds of technical observations and considerations embedded in it. Having said this I must say that the book is not an easy read. I cannot take on myself to say that it is bloated. Yes, it is big (in volume) and there are many times when I thought that particular description or explanation has nothing to do with the theme of the book. But in the end, who knows, maybe it all serves the purpose. I wouldn't agree with some reviewers who criticized the ending of the novel. I believe the reason it's happening (and the same could be said about other Neal Stephenson books) that we expect his novel to end on some extraordinary note, matching the spirit of whole book. I guess it's very difficult thing to do. At the same time, I find the ending to be quite adequate. Highly recommended to all Neal Stephenson fans (who, I am sure, don't need my recommendations) and computer geeks. For others it will probably better to start from some other works of this author, such as famous 'Snow Crash'.
Rating: 
Summary: 900 pages but still not enough space for an ending
Review: I wanted to like this book. I enjoyed Stephenson's earlier books and was looking forward to this one. Sadly the book's virtues did not outweigh its lame ending so that I can only give it a mediocre 3 rating. Like his previous books, Stephenson creates a fascinating web of storyline and characters. I loved Bobby Shaftoe. I could totally relate to Randy. The characters are bold and heroic. The storyline is intricate and funny. The WWII story kept me wanting to read more and the history of cryptography was very interesting. But like a lot of books today (Tad Williams, Robert Jordan, Michelle West), this one suffers from its own length. While only mediocre at 900 pages, it could have been excellent at 600 pages. These prominent authors seems to have no editors, and they ramble on and on, weakening their own stories. Since this is a one of a kind book, it does not suffer from sequelitis (yet) but lots of the 900 pages were taken up by stream of consciousness irrelevancy in the Infinite Jest vein. If you enjoy these passages, you will like the book more than I did. I felt that they wasted ink that was sorely needed for a good ending. In addition to the many, completely unnecessary pages about ejaculation and the like, I was stunned by the ending. After reading 900 pages, the book just, well, ends. The story wasn't tied up at all! I kept turning pages looking for more content but in the end just had to accept the fact that the book has a sucky ending. Books today have become a lot like politics. The product just doesn't seem to be as good as in the past but you have to pick someone, so you keep going back to usual, albeit disappointing, suspects. I will continue to read Stephenson's books (for a while) but the publishing game today offends me; it seems to be about big names, big thick books, and never-ending sequels. The industry is pushing quantity over quality and these three factors are clearly designed to part you from your money... I miss the days of JRR Tolkien, when an author could write a great beginning, middle AND ending.
Rating:
Summary: A book to appeal to all tastes
Review: This is a very hard book to describe - it is a bit Catch-22 meets Enigma meets the current raft of cyper-punk novels. But unlike so many books that try to be many things and fails, this book pulls it off, and superbly. A multi-threaded book that travels easily through time, it covers WWII, the pacific, cryptography, and modern developments in computing,managing to include engaging characters and a great plot. The ending does sag a little, but this may be because after 915 pages you are so wrapped up in the book you don't want it to ever end! While much has been made of the author's cyber-punk credentials and the book's appeal to geeks, don't let this put you off if this is not your usual kind of thing (it definately isn't mine). Away from these comments, this book stands alone as being well written, very humourous, engaging to the point of un-put-downability, and you will probably learn something you didn't know before. Highly, highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read -- Flaws and all . . .
Review: Neal Stephenson is an amazing writer. His ability to keep this complex narrative going while jumping across five decades and generations of technology is truly breathtaking. Despite stilted dialog (including his penchant for having characters engage in conversations solely for the purpose of educating readers about things he thinks they probably don't know), we really care about the characters and their predicaments. Stephenson's command of language and his descriptive passages are a joy to experience. Even though there are a few issues like inaccurate references to The Lord of the Rings and mangled scientific facts (the speed of sound in air is not one kilometer per second), Stephenson reveals himself to be a polymath with impressive knowledge of history, literature, and technology. The only really weak part of the book is the ending, but readers who have thoroughly enjoyed the preceeding 1100 pages will probably not be overly disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Stephenson at the Top of His Game
Review: This is probably the best book I have ever read. Even better, everyone I know who has read it has loved it. What more can I say? Well, how about this: Cryptonomicon works on every level-from the broad, intricately-connected pallet of characters, to the playful use of language, to the perfect melding of documented history and dramatic action. You'll trot the globe, laugh so hard you have to stop reading, and probably look up a dozen words before you're done.
Rating:
Summary: Haiku Review
Review: Connects computers
To family histories.
Read it twice for fun.
Rating:
Summary: One of his N. Stephensons best...
Review: ...and that's a high compliment considering how exceptional a writer he is. I was a bit put off at first by the size of this 1,000 some odd page anchor of a book, but was immediately hooked by N.S.'s creative, humorous style, and almost unmatched knack for relating modern day technology to and it's significance to "common folk" like me. This is a real fun and worthwhile read. The story itself is very interesting and I feel smarter having read it, however, what really appealed to me is how "cool" this book is; data havens, cryptology, cypher code, who would have thought you could think these things (and the people who are involved with them) "cool"...but you will. Enjoy...
Rating:
Summary: Crypto
Review: An amazing story. Stephenson is an excellent writer and pays attention to the details. This book is indepth. It was so close to non fiction, I had to go to the net and look up names, places, and events. All of them were nailed, with the excpetions of things he changed to work within the story. The book takes place at two time periods: WWII and the late 1990's. Both periods of time focus on two families, that are thrown together in both time periods. The book does seem to drag a little in places but is very exciting and intricate in other places. An ongoing Stephenson problem is with his endings. This book although not a clear consise ending (yes it just kind of stops), actually works here (or I am just getting used to it). Overall it was a very good book. It is long, but worth the time you put into it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Storyline
Review: This book is a very entertaining read. It does and excellent job bridging the two timelines of the story together, giving a good overall picture of the (relative) recent history of cryptography. It is not nearly as sci-fi as some of his other books, and the character development is good enough to make you want to know what happens to them.
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