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Description

Anathem, the latest invention by the New York Times bestselling author of Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle, is a magnificent creation: a work of great scope, intelligence, and imagination that ushers readers into a recognizable—yet strangely inverted—world. Fraa Erasmas is a young avout... read more

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Cast of Characters/Important People

  • 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.

First Sentence

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

Table of Contents

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

Authors & Contributors

This information has been updated by a Shelfari member but the change has not yet been approved by a Shelfari Librarian.
  1. Neal Stephenson (Author)

Awards

 

Books with Additional Background Information

   
  • The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Physics
  • The Fabric of Reality : The Science of Parallel Universes- And Its Implications
  • Godel Meets Einstein : Time Travel in the Godel Universe
  • On the Plurality of Worlds
  • Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe
  • The Road to Reality : A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe (Vintage)
  • Platonism and Anti-Platonism in Mathematics

Books That Influenced This Book

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