Anathem
by Neal Stephenson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Neal StephensonEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-08-25
ISBN: 006147410X
Number of pages: 1008
Publisher: Harper
Book Reviews of Anathem
Book Review: Extremely Ambitious, Overly Dense in Places
Summary: 4 Stars
This is my first experience reading Neal Stephenson, so unlike many readers, I can't compare Anathem to his previous works such as Cryptomnicron or his Baroque Cycle. Suffice it to say, I've never encountered writing quite like this. Simply put, Stephenson is obviously a man of stunning depth and intellect. So much so that I fear I was unable to fully appreciate his writing.
The story is ostensibly set on the planet Arbre, which in many ways bears a striking resemblance to present day Earth, in its history, religion, politics and level of technology. Arbre contains political subdivisions and religious schisms, but it also features numerous "concents", structures similar to monasteries. However, instead of being religion based, these orders are based upon philosophical and mathematical principles. Our narrator, Fraa Erasmus, is a member of one such concent. Apparently, roughly 3,000 years ago, as a result of "The Terrible Events", technology was largely frozen and higher education and training was limited to these concents (much like Middle Age monasteries become cultural repositories).
The concents remain completely isolated from the secular world for varying periods (orders within each concent "reveal themselves" to the world at set intervals, i.e. one, ten, one hundred and one thousand year terms). Otherwise, they are shielded from all things secular. The story revolves around an event of great crisis, a visit by aliens, which requires members of the concents to break this isolation discipline.
It should be noted that this is a behemoth of a book. The first 250 pages are something of a slog to get through. Imagine reading a book where approximately 5% of the words are written in a foreign language. Much can be assumed through context. There is both a timeline and a glossary to assist in familiarizing oneself with the linguistics and history of Arbre. By the time the action kicks into gear, I suspect most readers are adequately comfortable with this new world and its terminology.
Did I mention that Stephenson is brilliant? The book contains copious sections dealing with philosophy and moderately complex geometric mathematics (at least complex to me). These segues can become somewhat tiresome to those not so inclined. In fact, there are two relatively large sections which are so deeply philosophical and immersed in quantum physics that I'd wager that not one in a thousand readers will appreciate or understand it.
There are three instances where geometry and physics are footnoted and "calcas" relegated to an appendix. This is an excellent method of removing largely unnecessary material from the body of the novel, while allowing those who might be theoretical physicists and mathematicians to derive further enjoyment. In my opinion, this scheme could have been utilized more extensively, in effect transferring between 50-100 pages of dense material from the main body of the work to an appendix with the other "calca". The necessary math could easily have been "dumbed down" to a level of comprehension that would allow the story to proceed without bogging down. I'm not talking about turning it into an elementary piece of work, but I've got a post-graduate education and some of the theory in this novel just made my hair hurt!
Very entertaining story line, excellent writing and good use of theoretical science. Overly dense at times, at least for my taste, but in all, an outstanding piece of work.
Summary of Anathem
For ten years Fraa Erasmas, a young avout, has lived in a cloistered sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the outside world. But before the week is out, both the existence he abandoned and the one he embraced will stand poised on the brink of cataclysmic change?and Erasmas will become a major player in a drama that will determine the future of his world, as he follows his destiny to the most inhospitable corners of the planet . . . and beyond.
Anathem is the latest miraculous invention by the New York Times bestselling author of Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle?a work of astonishing scope, intelligence, and imagination.
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