Rating: 
Summary: Good in Quality and Quanity
Review: The overall length of the book astounded me at first. I am one who dosent enjoy reading long books yet, this book did not let me set it down. I admit that I was lost sometimes by the switching back and forth betweek the 40's and the 90's. As a high school student I will recommend it to my friends, and i recommend it to you but not if you are one who is easily thrown off by flashbacks and so. A movie would be hard to generate but may be possible if they allow less tranisition between time periods. I find the unedited touch very intesting a new way to wirte book leaving errors in a... Unique and new way that many authors might follow. As I look at the various reviews I see that many people chose 1 & 3 Stars and 4 & 5 many critized saying not to wast ur $$ while others applauded it saying go and buy it. Really I will say neither. <DO WHAT YOU PLEASE>
Rating: 
Summary: Stephenson loves the English language
Review: Yeah, it's long. But Neil Stephenson loves the english language and isn't afraid to use a lot of it to describe what he wants us to see. The analogy of a machine gun to a bandsaw, and the "infrastructure" that these two items have in common, not only made me laugh but described the scene brilliantly. I like that he is secure enough to use as many words as he likes, and I feel that I would have missed something if an editor had've gotten too far into this book with a knife.
Rating:
Summary: An Epic Masterpiece and Frequently LOL Funny!
Review: I've read all enjoyed all of Stephenson's work, even those books by that "other guy." This is utterly engaging not only because of the characters and action, but the wealth of information in the book--it seems to be more thoroughly researched than most historical non-fiction. Stephenson masterfully weaves togther the past and present, ranging from 1990's Washington State to the WWII Phillipines. A great read!
Rating:
Summary: Different from snow crash, but an excellent book.
Review: Neil Stephenson continues to mature as a writer, moving from the brisk, William Gibsonesq pace of "Snow Crash" through the more intricate "Diamond Age" into this, as much neo-noir as sci-fi thriller. Although he can get a little long winded going on about various mathimatical and dietary diatribes, the book pulls you in and makes good use of all 900+ pages. Through and enjoyable, it makes you look forward to reading it again when ever you put it down.
Rating:
Summary: some thoughts
Review: Not until reading this novel (which I did in a quite enjoyable marathon over the weekend), was I able to formulate what I found so marvelous about Stephenson in The Diamond Age and Snow Crash: he's the best historical novelist of the future I've ever read. It's almost a waste for him to pick a WWII setting; when he writes about the future, description is insight, but about the past description is mere description. Not that he isn't good at the description gig. Since the game is to find comparisons, I venture: vintage Stephenson (the attitude) crossed with something equidistant from Clancy (the techno-detail), Herman Wouk (globe-trotting WWII setting), and Michener (the family saga). Although the main point of comparison, upon reviewing my list, seems to be verbosity. I'll toss in Wallace or Pynchon, because he is frequently shockingly good on the writerly, sentence-level stuff as well. The length did not bother me unduly -- for pleasure reading I like fat books. I do feel that the natural momentum of the wartime sections let him get away with skimping on the plot for the present day parts, which wandered and relied for closure on Andrew Loeb, a character I found disappointingly ridiculous. Last thought: I was disturbed by the sense that the authorial voice converged in sympathy with these libertarian-hacker characters. Stephenson is imagining a present-day scenario that leads to the world of Snow Crash -- which was fun to read about, but I'd never want to live there. Maybe paying taxes and keeping the U.S. intact is not such a bad idea after all.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent-- agree with the reviewer from NY below
Review: I enjoyed the depth and breadth of this novel. Wish people wouldn't be so nit-picky with their reviews. I agree with the reviewer who recommend Robert Doherty's AREA 51 series. I've been reading each one with fascination as they come out and look forward to many more in the series. I also enjoyed Doherty's first book, THE ROCK-- not the motion picture story by the same name but a cross between thriller and science fiction.
Rating:
Summary: This guy knows his tech
Review: What I really love about Neal Stephenson is that he is not merely enamored with technology; he understands it. William Gibson, for example, arguably invented the cyberpunk genre, but had never owned a computer at the time he wrote it (this is not to imply Stephenson is a cyberpunk writer, he isn't). Neal Stephenson, on the other hand, clearly comes across as a person with extensive personal experience with computer technology. I've been both a programmer and a network engineer, and I can't call this guy on anything. Not so with any other computer-technology-oriented writer I've read so far. Cryptonomicon is not a vision of the technological future, it is a combination of the history of the beginnings of computer technology and the implications of current computer technology. It's still delightfully geeky, however. I loved it. I hope you do, too.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome cyberpunk-esque tome
Review: Fantastic read. Just a lot of fun. I digested this thing within a few days, and enjoyed every moment. I also have to say that the technical (hacking.. I know little crypto) aspects of it were surprisingly and refreshingly accurate... or at least accurate enough that it certainly didn't distract from my appreciation of it.
Rating: 
Summary: This is literature?
Review: Short on plot and a grueling, long read. Not two points that match this to my "best" list. While I agree that Stephenson is, at times, brilliant at painting the page with words, I have one recommendation for him and it's called and EDITOR. This is what happens when a writer becomes nominally well known and, apparently, believes that nothing he writes should be cut. This work would have been considerably more enjoyable at a shorter length. That is not to say that all works should be, by nature, short but Stephenson is no Tolstoy. It's this kind of post-modernist style that leaves me cold. I will, however, give him top marks for cleverness.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!!
Review: From go to done, I was staggered by the authenticity of not only his algorithms, but of his take on "geek" society as a whole. His attention to detail, both topical and humorous kept me embroiled to the point where I had to stop myself from reading, and finish other pursuits (like eating and work). Thank you Mr. Stephenson, yet another marvel.
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