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Anathem
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Anathem (2008) (edit title/settings)

by Neal Stephenson (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Fraa Erasmas is a young avout living in the Concent of Saunt Edhar, a sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the outside "saecular" world by ancient stone, honored traditions, and complex rituals. Over the centuries, cities and... read more

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Erasmas: The protagonist of Anathem; a Decenarian fraa from the Concent of Saunt Edhar. The neglected son of slines, he was Collected by the concent at the age of eight.
  • Orolo: A Decenarian fraa from the Concent of Saunt Edhar. He is an eminent cosmographer and Erasmas's mentor at the concent, but he's later Thrown Back for using forbidden technology to observe the Geometers before their existence is officially confirmed by the Sæcular Power.
  • Arsibalt: A Decenarian fraa from the Concent of Saunt Edhar and one of Erasmas's friends. The estranged son of a Bazian prelate, he seeks to reconcile religion with theorics.
  • Lio: A Decenarian fraa from the Concent of Saunt Edhar and one of Erasmas's friends. He's known as an absent-minded eccentric and is interested in military history, Vale-lore, and unusual gardening techniques.
  • Jesry: A Decenarian fraa from the Concent of Saunt Edhar and one of Erasmas's friends. Unlike Erasmas, Jesry is from a prosperous burger family, and he is bored with the routine of mathic life preceding the arrival of the Geometers. He becomes famous for going into space with the Warden of Heaven, the head of the Sæcular Power, to investigate the Geometers' ship.
  • Ala: A Decenarian suur from the Concent of Saunt Edhar and later a major organizer of the Convox. Although they disliked each other as children, she and Erasmas become romantically involved in the course of the story.
  • Jad: A Millenarian fraa from the Concent of Saunt Edhar. Jad is evoked in the same aut as Erasmas and accompanies him to Bly's Butte in search of Orolo. He later reappears at the Convox.
  • Cord: Erasmas's half-sister and a machinesmith who lives extramuros near the Concent of Saunt Edhar. She accompanies Erasmas on his search for Orolo.
  • Sammann: An Ita from the Concent of Saunt Edhar who accompanies Erasmas on his search for Orolo.
  • Yul: cord's boyfriend
  • Jules Verne Durand: a linguist
  • Ferman Beller: someone not so important
  • Fraa Lodoghir: likes his food well served
  • Suur Asquin: from consensus
  • Suur Moyra: one from the end
  • Orth: language
  • Apert: opening of the gates of the maths
  • Raz: erasmus
  • Barb: tavener
  • Paphlagon: teacher of orolo
  • Regulant: looks for trouble
  • Criscan: does not matter
  • Bly: was anathemized
  • Ganelial Crade: believed in god
  • Mynster: a place
  • Emman: a button holder
  • Grandsuur Tamura: old one
  • Fendant: defends
  • Karvall: emman's love interest
  • Esma: fights well
  • Rosk: bad one
  • Shuf: forgot him
  • Lise: dead alien
  • Sark: a guy
  • Brajj: no idea
  • Gnel: another one
  • Orhan: important one
  • De Cade Gate: somewhere
  • Provener: time of the day
  • Ignetha Foral: lineage linked
Show all 40 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “"We would get lost for days as rumor or convincingly wrong data sent us up some promising path that only later proved a logical cul-de-sac. It didn't help that all of us had suffered the psychic equivalent of third-degree burns."”
  • “"Orolo said that the more he knew of the complexity of the mind, and the cosmos with which it was inextricably and mysterioulsy bound up, the more inclined he was to see it as a kind of miracle- not in quite the same sense that our Deolaters use the term, for he considered it althogether natural. He meant rather that the evolution of our minds from bits of inanimate matter was more beautiful and more extraordinary than any of the miracles cataloged down through the ages by the religions of our world"”
  • ““Conservation of momentum,” he announced, “it’s not just a good idea—it’s the law!””
    Yulassetar Crade
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  • “Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs,” I said. “We have a protractor.”
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  • “Nothing is more important than that you see and love the beauty that is right in front of you, or else you will have no defense against the ugliness that will hem you in and come at you in so many ways.”
    Highlighted by 161 Kindle customers
  • And it happened all the time that the compromise between two perfectly rational alternatives was something that made no sense at all.
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  • People who couldn’t live without story had been driven into the concents or into jobs like Yul’s. All others had to look somewhere outside of work for a feeling that they were part of a story, which I guessed was why Sæculars were so concerned with sports, and with religion.
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  • They knew many things but had no idea why. And strangely this made them more, rather than less, certain that they were right.
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  • Thousands of years ago, the work that people did had been broken down into jobs that were the same every day, in organizations where people were interchangeable parts. All of the story had been bled out of their lives. That was how it had to be; it was how you got a productive economy.
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  • “The mystic nails a symbol to one meaning that was true for a moment but soon becomes false. The poet, on the other hand, sees that truth while it’s true but understands that symbols are always in flux and that their meanings are fleeting.”
    Highlighted by 85 Kindle customers
  • Diax said something that is still very important to us, which is that you should not believe a thing only because you like to believe it. We call that ‘Diax’s Rake’ and sometimes we repeat it to ourselves as a reminder not to let subjective emotions cloud our judgment.”
    Highlighted by 81 Kindle customers
  • “I always tend to assume there’s an infinite amount of money out there.” “There might as well be,” Arsibalt said, “but most of it gets spent on pornography, sugar water, and bombs. There is only so much that can be scraped together for particle accelerators.”
    Highlighted by 75 Kindle customers
  • “Consciousness amplifies the weak signals that, like cobwebs spun between trees, web Narratives together. Moreover, it amplifies them selectively and in that way creates feedback loops that steer the Narratives.”
    Highlighted by 51 Kindle customers
Show all 13 quotes from this book

First Sentence edit see section history

“Do your neighbors burn one another alive?” was how Fraa Orolo began his conversation with Artisan Flec.

Table of Contents edit see section history

1. Provener
2. Apert
3. Eliger
4. Anathem
5. Voco
6. Peregrin
7. Feral
8. Orithena
9. Inbrase
10. Messal
11. Advent
12. Requiem
13. Reconstitution

Glossary edit see section history

  • avout: a term for intellectuals living under vows and separated from saecular society

Series & Lists edit see section history

This book is in Big Fat Books. (community list)
This is book 85 of 100 in National Public Radio's Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy. (authoritative list)

Preceded by The Crystal Cave, and followed by Furies of Calderon.

This is book 24 of 24 in io9 Science Fiction 101. (community list)

Preceded by The Dispossessed.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Neal Stephenson (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: William Morrow and Company
Country: USA
Publication Date: September 9, 2008
ISBN: 9780061474095
Page Count: 928

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PS3569.T3868 A53 2008
  • Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Adults

An excellent choice for a deep thinking young adult who wants to grapple with very complex ideas. Becomes more conventional sci-fi in the last third. Definitely a book that a 13-year old kid would re-read at 25.

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • The End of Time
  • The Fabric of Reality
  • Godel Meets Einstein : Time Travel in the Godel Universe
  • On the Plurality of Worlds
  • Rare Earth
  • The Road to Reality
  • Platonism and Anti-Platonism in Mathematics

Books That Influenced This Book edit see section history

   
  • A Canticle for Leibowitz

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