Cryptonomicon

Rating:
Summary: Great book, a lot of typos
Review: While I agree that the book needed another going-over with the spell-check, frankly all the people complaining that this is not as good as (read: the same as) Snow Crash or the Diamond Age are starting to bug me.

What happens when authors write the same book every time? When bands write the same record every time? It's called stagnation, and it means you have no new ideas left. Cryptonomicon is a brilliantly written, high-impact joyride. I've read the book three times through so far, and have yet to get bored with it. I have given it to two people in my family as gifts, one of whom liked it very much as well. Stephenson's way with words causes me to chuckle every few pages, and on second reading, the mathematics of crypto are actually quite well-laid out and easy to follow if you keep focused. I thought every aspect of the plot was well-thought out and executed, and the experience as a whole is one of the most fulfilling reads I've had in a long time.

Your mileage may vary.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best, and -not- too long!
Review: Definitely a great book. I wouldn't say this is my favorite book of Stephenson's, but it still beats out most other authors' best shots. For those that have said it's good but too long... how often do you really want a good book to end? N.S. needed this much space to fill out the plot and tie everything up perfectly, so he took it. Kudos to him and everyone who has the courage to start on a 918page monster, it's well worth it. I personally enjoy the scenes dealing with Bobby Shaftoe the most, and coming from a 20-year-old female Equine Science major that's something ;) I've also recommended this book to (and gotten good reviews back from) my computer-game-addicted brother, a friend that's a biker, and my computer-programmer father who remembers his Navy days more and more fondly as he ages. Yeah, an inside to computers, cryptography, or at least card-based roleplaying games helps ;), but this book appeals to a wide range of people.

Rating:
Summary: I (often) think like this guy writes
Review: Very enjoyable. As usual another exploration of the religion of technology (I mean that in most positive way). I know some people here have said that he went on too long (that chapter written in all email format was particularly aggravating), although I actually had the opposite opinion. Did you notice that by the end he just didn't seem like finishing up importnat details? How did Bobby Shaftoe die? That comment about a "blaze of glory" was total bunk after building that character up so much. And why was Randy the focus of the gold dig and not his partners?

Moreover, I don't think Neil handles female characters and romantic themes all that well. He does, however, have the lonely male thing nailed, too well.

Still, I love his books. Highly recopmmend them to anyone who will listen to me.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Technical
Review: This book is a fabulous example of top notch sci-fi that is firmly grounded in reality. Some of the other reviewers have complained about both the length of the book and the level of technical description in it. To them I shall say this; if you have problems reading long books don't try to read them, and if technical reality bothers you and you don't like things to be fully explained try some Heinlein and stay away from real sci-fi. But to everyone else this is a great book and well worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: more than your money's worth
Review: This is my kind of book. Heavy. Weighty. More than your money's worth. I haven't been reading a lot of fiction lately, mostly technical books (which tend to be heavy, weighty, but MUCH More expensive). But, ironically, this book came at a time that it fit into a long chain of books: Microserfs (followed by everything Douglas Coupland had written up to that point, in reverse order), An Instance of the Fingerpost, Cryptonomicon, The Code Book, The Number Devil, In the Beginning ...Was the Commmand Line, (followed by everything previously written by Neal Stephenson). Talk about syncronicity; I received word of this book by e-mail from a friend and by the end of the month had forwarded that e-mail to about twenty-five other friends, of many different tastes and backgrounds (with a cautionary note about the graphic language for some). Why? This book struck a nerve. It revitalized interests I had had in college. No, I wasn't a hacker. I was a math major. And the cryptography puzzles and inside references to folks like Alan Turing appealed to me. So did the insider's view of life in the techie worlds of Seattle and Silicon Valley (including the description of Crosroads mall as the cultural center of the game players world). But ... I also recommended this book to friends who were not math majors or hackers or techies, like a former Navy Admiral who is into scube diving, or folks interested in World War II history and conspiracies involving the Japanese and German high command. Or people interested in Holerith encoding and the history of the first computers. (Again, synchronicity reigned; 2 days before starting this book a co-worker handed me an article detailing the precedence trial crediting the first U.S. computer implementation to the University of Iowa.) Two things about well written books of over 900 pages with at least three different stories being told simultaeously - (1) they are liable to appeal to many different tastes, and (2) you get more than your money's worth.

Sorry this is such a rant.

P.S. I had to go read a whole bunch of other books after I finished this one to figure out what was real and what was made up (I'd still like to find a good history of the NSA to follow up on that). But you can look up van eck phreaking right on the good old internet.

P.S.S. Since there are already 233 reviews of this book, I don't expect you'll ever read this one, so I didn't put a lot of thought into it. Sorry about that.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read.
Review: I read this book, and I loved it. Some people say they didn't like the technical discussions, they were one of my favorite parts. You should probably have some decent math and computer knowledge to completely enjoy this book, though.

Rating:
Summary: Good but Fails Female Characters
Review: Hmm..Seems that my review was lost so here I go piecing together what I remember.

First, the novel is good. Think of it as Eco's _foucault's Pendulum_ meets _Treasure Island_ on benzedrine.

The handling of the complex plot was done well. The tone was not as breezy as _Zodiac_ and more reminiescent of _Snow Crash_. Defintely for the geek and in particular, a techno geek who will find that the book has a high "cool" quotient. Some things will be lost if you are not part of that circle familiar with terms and technology. For those who are there are some very funny moments.

Now on to the unpleasant part. I was sorely disappointed that the female characters got very short shrift. I had high expectations because _Diamond Age_ surprised me by having complex female and male characters. Stephenson has consistently improved his writing and ability to handle characters. Unfortunately, in this book he has lurched back to female developement level of _Zodiac_.

My evidence is as follows:

Amy Shaftoe (tough, but tender love object) Glory (Lost love) Charlene (hostile, academic girlfriend) Mary Waterhouse (ineffectual wife not concerned with everyday matters) Julietta (Finnish gun toting femme fatale) Assorted hookers and nameless rape victims; oh yes one Waterhouse aunt (Nina) and Virginia Howard (Devotees of Elmer Bolstrood furniture);

The dialogue of the women were very limited and what was there did not serve them very well. The characters end up being very flat and only as complements to the men. Never as individual characters with unique voices or thoughts.

Since Stephenson has decided to take the risky path of sequels I hope that he will have better development of female characters. Otherwise, I will actually consider the Cryptonomicon as a decline in character development

In essence it is Fun but not too deep.

Rating:
Summary: Hacker's delight - others will enjoy it too
Review: Stephenson's writing style is unique: flippant, indulgent and fun. He doesn't mind pausing for 2 or even 5 pages to set up the perfect metaphor. You won't see a highly delinieated plot but a playful flow from scene to scene through the book. I found the characters interesting, the story worthwhile, and the writing amazing.

I love it whole heartedly, but I'm a Computer Scientist. I understand the programs, the math, and the cryptography which comes up from time to time. People totally unfamiliar with it will find these sections boring, possibly pompous. I think you can skip over these without losing the story.

Even though the writing style is usually light-hearted, Stephenson does tackle big topics. A major focus is on the role of money in a society. He also looks at anticipation being more enjoyable than the actual event, especially in relationships.

If you're a hacker - buy it without thought. If you're not a hacker - stop by a brick-and-mortar store, read a few pages, and, if you like what you see, take a chance. Truly, I can't think of a book I enjoyed more. Besides, if you read it you'll find out what the phrase "the most cigarettes" means. :)

Rating:
Summary: Crypto made interesting
Review: Wow, I never thought cryptography could be described in a way that would make it fascinating. This is an incredibly entertaining book that I had a hard time putting down. I particularly enjoyed the WWII scenes and the part that cryptography played in winning (and losing for the Axis powers) the war. It was nice to see us techno geeks given their due. :)

One caveat though. You had better have a keen interest in computer / crypto technology because it is pervasive through out the book. Right down to the appendix that describes how to use a deck of cards to create a crypto system. This isn't the book to buy if you are interested in tender love scenes or long, drawn out, intensely meaningful dialog.

Rating:
Summary: Over written. Volunteer to be Stephenson's next line editor
Review: If your idea of fun does not include a free-wheeling discussion of mathematical topics with your math professor, don't buy this book. You will run into many of those in this book. Each discussion lasts several pages. I give Neal Stephenson for his smooth handling of all the materials in the book. I'll give him another one for mentioning in his acknowledgements that he wrote this book for military techno geeks. At least he warned me (and he sure wasn't kidding!). This novel has two major faults. The first one is the excessively detailed discussions of mathematical topics, computer software, and information technology. Each of those discussions make my eyes glaze over after the first few pages! The second flaw in this book is that this novel would have been magnificent if he would have toned down the details enough so people wouldn't fall asleep during each of the "fascinating discussions". It would have been better than "Snow Crash". Neal Stephenson missed a great opportunity here. 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. Although this book's premise is engaging I find wading through his murky prose at times unbearable. His style often makes me think he gets paid by the word. He remains a writer in desperate need of a editor. Also there are typos in the book a spell checker would catch I found this book very hard to get into, and in fact finally gave up on it after a very turgid 200+ pages. The author jumps from the 1940s to the 1990s at will and his characters are two dimensional and did not seem real to me. The story had to do with the creation of a "data haven" in the Phillipine Islands, but the author never fully explained the significance of a data haven or why it would be important. The editors should also do some fact checking. For example, I don't think the Special Air Service (in the British Military) existed during WWII. I had high hopes for this book as I worked in a related area while in the Air Force, but I was disappointed, and I'm afraid that many others will be as well. Picked this up with high expectation--disappointment grew with each passing page. It was a struggle to finish this overblown exercise in irrelevant minutia--could easily have been halved. Take a pass on this one... This book could easily be cut in half. It rambles in so many areas -- going into mind-numbing detail about unimportant subjects. Don't waste your time unless your idea of a good weekend is writing new computer operating systems. (And I'm a computer consultant.) th, and Stephenson's normally superb writing style is at its worst. Only halfway through the book, the general idea becomes clear. After that you hope for something to happen but the story doesn't take off. The worst thing is that dozens of pages are devoted to absolutely irrelevant topics (eating cereals!). The only good part about this book is the good explanation of crypto-systems but then you don't buy a novel to read about technical details. Conclusion: Don't buy this book. Go and read Zodiac, Snow Crash, or Diamond Age, they are a lot better. (Hopefully Stephenson's next book will rise up the old level of writing.) I like everything Stephenson has written -- until now. This book needed the hand of a strong editor. The story was conceptually engaging, but I was disappointed by the cluttered writing, distracting tangents, and (in too many cases) absurd and stilted dialog. Even more distracting, however, was the sheer volume of typographic errors. The book was clearly spell-checked by a computer, but... if eye had two reed won moor page wit miss spelled oar wrong lee used words, I thought I was going to scream! I'm a bit of a perfectionist, but this was truly ridiculous!

Either someone is getting too big for his britches and refused the help of an editor or someone else was clearly in too much of a hurry to get this book onto the market.

Save your money and wait for the paperback -- maybe Avon Books will have hired a good old-fashioned proof reader by then (if not an honest editor). Have you ever kept reading a book just because you had already invested so much time into it you feel like you have to? This book starts out just good enough to hook you into a long slow trip to nowhere. He should have cut out the sub-plot of Bobby Shaftoe and sold it as a separate book...it would have actually been good. This books attempts to entertain through the excessive use of words. Thick with simple witty comments and useless descriptions, this quick read drags on endlessly and finishes with a dull quiet thud.