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Liked It4 of 4 members found this review helpful “This is such a funny book. |
Didn’t Like It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “A fairly interesting and fresh sci-fi story conceived about humanity on another planet with a totally different history from ours on Earth. Unfortunately, the story is embedded in about 400 excess pages of ancillary philosophy, mounds of descriptions and details that do nothing to drive the story...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Excellent exploration of alternate universes, or "polycosmic theory," also different versions of the same cosmos/universe where different decisions are made, splitting off into alternate timelines. Crazy complicated, but worth it. Set in a world very much like ours, where monk-like theoricians contemplate science, math, and philosophy within the walls of "concents" that are like monasteries. Outside, or "extramuros," is where all the regular people live, in a society much closer to ours. The plot centers around Erasmus, one of the "avout" inside of a concent, and how he discovers that an alien spacecraft has been spotted monitoring the planet. There's so much going on in this novel it's hard to describe it all, but there's enough human interest and character development that I found it gripping. I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars because I did sort of wish the ending were a little more satisfying to me, although I'm not sure what that would have entailed. I'm glad I read it.”
Tommy Kovac wrote this review 4 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“hell yes. slow to start, but well worth it. best fiction book i've read in god knows how long.”
jcb4th wrote this review 5 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“One of the best books I've read in a long time.”
Daniel H wrote this review 11 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Stephenson is probably one of my favorite authors of any genre but I am having difficulties getting through this book. Hate to say but HUGE disappointment”
Mike S wrote this review 13 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Speculative fiction about a world where scientists have been separated from society into walled-off enclaves called Maths. Then comes a mystery, philosophy, astronomy, aliens, parallel worlds, neo-Platonism, crossing the pole, geometry, physics, and religion.
Writer_Builder_Nomad wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The Good: inventive, brilliant, satiric, if you love a wide variety of subjects Stephenson will deliver. Very easy to become involved with the story and not know what is going to happen next. I loved reading this. Had no problems with it as a reasonably intelligent person with no physics education. Stephenson is endlessly creative. I can't say much more without giving away the beautiful layer upon layer of the story.
The Bad & the Ugly: the first 100-200 pages are back story intended to acclimate you to Arbre and the Mathic lifestyle. There are new words (if you have a wide understanding of English words generally you can guess what these mean based on that and context). More difficult is Stephenson's occasional obsession with visual description. Don't worry...you don't have to understand what the clock tower geometry is no matter how many pages he spends on it. Stephenson's occasional dumps of physics or philosophy for pages at a time...but if you're reading this you...like me...probably like that kind of thing. The Erasmus-Ala relationship that comes out of nowhere and is built upon nothing I can see other than hormones and forced separation (can we say Romeo & Juliet with physics?) The epilogue is like the end of a Shakespeare comedy..all weddings and exposition. A bit trite and takes away from the high of the story. Finally, if you are a religious person you may disagree with Stephenson's take on where religion falls short, especially after some of the scientific mysticism of the last 900 pages and the dependence of some of the storyline on experience-based, unprovable phenomena.
In other words, if you like Stephenson, this is right up your alley. Not as well-written as Cryptonimicon (pacing is off because of the brain dumps), not as gob-smackingly original as The Diamond Age, but in terms of theme and context his greatest work so far.
If you just can't make it through the first few hundred pages, try one of his earlier novels to see if Stephenson is for you. ”
“I only made it ten pages into this book before realizing that it was complete gibberish. And no, I didn't read the optional first twenty pages of explanations and timelines; a book shouldn't need a preliminary pamphlet to explain its setting.”
FekketCantenel wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I've read 342 pages, and am now calling it quits. It's taking way to much time to get to the plot. The story gets good for a little minute, then it's back to the overbearing philosophy. The author is trying too hard to show off how smart he is. ”
Heather P wrote this review Sunday, November 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Grown-up sci-fi that's heavily indebted to western philosophy. Premise involves a monastic order that is completely divorced from the surrounding secular world that confronts a UFO. I I think that while this book really moves and contains Stephenson's usually high-minded prose, it fails to fulfill the promise that it makes at the outset. Particularly, I found myself wishing there had been a firmer connection to the workings of the orders and the resolution of the conflict. One would not be wrong in expecting this sort of thing (i.e. cohesion of disparate elements in the work) from Stephenson, especially after reading Cryptonomicon.”
John T wrote this review Monday, November 2 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“This book constantly confused me. Not in a "what the hell is going on" way, but in a way that makes you constantly think about the book weeks after it is done. The book would appear dry to most people, but if you can understand or at least ignore all the discussions about math and see the actual meaning underneath, then you will enjoy the book”
Daniel wrote this review Thursday, October 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No1 of 1 members found this review helpful“As with most of Stephenson's novels, this is very enjoyable in parts, but deeply flawed. I started off fearing the length of the book, then about 2/3 of the way through didn't want it to end, but then had lost patience with it by the time the (rather glib) ending came along.
Andrew T wrote this review Tuesday, October 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Full of great thought-provoking ideas, & depicts a world which stays in your mind for a long time after you finish the book, but could really use more quality control & consistency.”
