Anathem
by Neal Stephenson
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Book Reviews of Anathem
Book Review: Requiem For Anathem
Summary: 3 Stars
The best thing about Stephenson, in his other novels that I've read - all three of the Baroque Cycle, Snow Crash and, his ne plus ultra (still), Cryptonomicon - is his sense of humour combined with a detailed knowledge of what he tackles, be it history, economics, computer science or cryptology. Sadly, both the humour and knowledge are lacking here.
Well, yes, the witticism Orotho makes in the early going here about having ASD- Attention Surplus Disorder - is certainly droll. But, unless you enjoy adolescent jokes anent flatulence, the remainder of the book is arid in this respect, especially in contrast to his previous work.
I found about the two-thirds of the book to be engaging, but only because, for better or worse, I have a thorough knowledge of the history of philosophy and science, and it was fun teasing out the correspondences in Arbre to our history. An easy example: "Tredegarth: One of the Big Three convents, named after Lord Tredegarth, a mid-to-late Praxic Age theor responsible for fundamental advances in thermodynamics."p.603 - Obviously, Lord Tredegarth is Arbre's equivalent to Lord Kelvin. The others are a bit harder, but not much. Also, as should be obvious from this example, the book is a wheeze for anyone who takes delight, as I do, in etymology.
The problem with the last third of the book is that things fall apart, the centre cannot hold, mere anarchy is loosed upon Anathem: multiverses, parallel universes, page after page of tedious descriptions regarding the mechanics of space travel etc etc
Also, the writing gets a bit sloppy as Stephenson seems to take himself more and more seriously towards the end. Actually, it's been a bit sloppy since the beginning. Can someone please explain this quote (regarding the "iconographies") to me: "I'd heard of all of them, but I hadn't realized that there were so many..."? p.49
It's been my experience that anyone who tackles philosophy begins to take himself or herself a bit too seriously after a while (with the exception of a couple of the philosophers themselves, such as David Hume and Lord Russell, whom other philosophers are pleased to call names like "anti-philosophers" because they can't find any holes in their logic).
Anyway, I'm no doubt at the risk of seeming to take myself too seriously here. Let me just say that the Stephenson's Cryptonomicon remains his best work to date, in my humble opinion, and that this book, taken as a whole, is a bit of a kerfuffle. It makes too little sense and its latently sententious claims make it, on the whole, an unenjoyable read.
Curiously, and I'm not giving away the plot here, the book ends in an unresolved dispute over the old Latin aphorism: Poeta nascitur, non fit. This is odd, given that Plato (excuse please, the great Arbre philosopher Protas) banishes poets from his Republic. But, one never knows, perhaps he didn't in this parallel universe. Alas, this, like so much else in the book, is left a tangled, unresolved mess.
Three stars for the first two-thirds.
Book Review: Another world
Summary: 4 Stars
The story in Anathem takes place on a kind of alternative earth ("Arbre") where sholars ("Avouts") have sealed themselves off in closterlike milieus ("Concent") from the outside society ("The Saecular"). We soon learn that this has gone on for thousands of years, and that civilisation has developed, flourished and degenerated several times. Only on very rare occasions ("Apert") do the doors to the Concents for ten days and it's maths open for the saeculars. We follow fraa Erasmas, a young avout in the Concent of Saunt Edhard in year 3689, after the so called Reconstitution, awaiting the new Apert when he will meet his family for the first time in ten years. The scope widens as several avouts are called on by the Saecular to help solve a problem or crisis. And a strange object has been spotted on the sky... The word "Anathem" refers to when an avout is cast out from the Concent.
Some reviewers have been irritated by the use of alternative words in Anathem and even refused to read the book to its end. I would say that the frustration diminishes after about 100+ pages, but before that the reader has to go to the glossary. But if you read the whole book you will find that these alternative words have a clever function in the story, besides giving it a certain flavor. Also, many of them could almost be real alternatives: "speely" for movie, "theorics" for theoretical work, "syndev" (synthetic device) for computer and so on.
The book is too long though, at 890 pages. I found the first 200-300 pages very good. Here Stephenson introduces the scenario with the Concents and the Saecular, and gives hints of the history of Arbre. The part when Erasmas goes out in the saecular world to visit his family, and is confronted with it's vulgarity, is good. Then a couple of hundred pages follow that are more action-based, and I think that part could have been shortened a lot. The last 300 pages are a little uneven. Dialogues between the scholars are quite interesting (but sometimes longwinded), and here we are introduced to a theory of alternative realities with pieces of the philosophy of Plato.
The characters seems a little flat, but this is usual in idea-driven SF and Fantasy and did not bother me too much. I had only read Snow Crash before this, and Anathem is written in a more slow paced style and not so crammed with cool high-tech gadgets (but they appear here too a few hundred pages in). Also, as an alternative Earth scenario Anathem opens to reflections and questions about our own world and society. For example: should we let the scientists and scholars rule the world instead of the incompetent politicians (the "panjandrums" as they are called in the book), or is it better to have the best minds sealed inside their own cities without access to high technology?
All in all, a fascinating and well written scenario, a good plot that weaves all parts together nicely, but too long. 4 stars.
Book Review: Enjoyable, but not quite on the level of Cryptonomicon or the Baroque Cycle
Summary: 4 Stars
I love reading Neal Stephenson. I think that in general he manages to make complex ideas understandable to his readership & essential to the stories that he tells. The Baroque Cycle and Cryptonomicon are two of my absolute favorite works of speculative fiction literature.
That said, I was a touch disappointed by Anathem. I felt there was a little too much invented language & culture. At times it feels like Neal's making up words because he can, not because he needs to or because it helps to communicate something that readers wouldn't have gotten from standard English terminology. Though Stephenson is willing to create all of this new language & devotes quite a lot of pages to making this understandable to us, at other times I can't help but feeling that the characters talk too much like modern college students or younger adults. If these characters are cloistered for over a decade, it seems odd to me that they are concerned about looking "cool". Some of the characters' values seem too close to what we'd expect from members of the outside world for ultra-bright monastic students of scientific theory.
I also felt that some of the speculative technology & theory were left quite vague. Details are glossed over where they would have been interesting to the reader. This leaves me feeling like I'm being kept in the dark in order to make something seem mystical. This approach feels lazy to me. It's not like there aren't 20+ page sections of the book devoted to the explanation of an idea or technology. It's just that the ideas that move the crucial portions of the plot in the second half of the book aren't given this treatment.
Perhaps I was just disappointed not to find the ideas that have been mined in the last two books, but I think there's another factor at work here. This is such a huge project of world creation that I think it was impossible to refine this book as much as recent works. Because all of the characters & situations had to be created from whole cloth there was less time spent on the details. The end result, though is that this book has a less finished feeling.
The book is good & well worth the time it takes. Just don't go into it expecting the clarity of thought & language that you're used to. This is in some ways sort of a trip back to books like The Diamond Age, Snow Crash & even The Big U. It's a little clumsier than what dedicated readers of Stephenson have grown used to, though it is an exciting tale of adventure, told through the lens of science & technology in an alternate world.
My verdict: not the first book I'd recommend to new Stephenson readers (that will probably always be Cryptonomicon), but if you like his other books you should pick this one up too.
Book Review: Disappointing, in any universe
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm a lifelong SF fan, and a huge Stephenson fan, especially considering the Baroque Cycle, which is one of the most enjoyable works of literature I've read, and damn funny, too. I liked Cryptonomicon almost equally well, wished it was a trilogy too. Didn't like Snow Crash especially back when I read it (much prefer Gibson for cyberpunk) but was expecting great things from Anathem.
Unfortunately, this book falls flat on its typeface, IMO. Believable characters and psychological truth have never been Mr. Stephenson's strong suit; rather he creates enjoyable, more-or-less cartoonish worlds, and explores interesting ideas. But here, the characters are not only implausible but shallow and mostly unlikeable. The protagonist is an oaf (and also a paragon of reason when convenient to the plot...) who undergoes many changes of scenery but no personal crises, or personal development, along the way. The rest of the characters are one-dimensional at best.
The world of Anathem is half-baked to say the least, full of logical contradictions and impossibilities that are especially galling considering that the none-too-subtle point of the book is a long lecture on critical thinking and scientific method. The world is predicated on supremely implausible first principles and assumptions, and goes downhill from there. I felt mildly insulted, and quite bored, by the "calca" both in the text and the appendices. In fact, "calca" might be a fitting description of this entire work, in several senses. I can still taste the chalk.
There is little of Stephenson's recent linguistic playfulness here, and what there is comes off clumsily- Zh'vaern? Please. I still cringe recalling the "saunt/savant" dialogue... It's all really forced and awkward, where BC was fluid and joyful.
The science of the Hedron is all wrong as well, which is again frustrating for a book that is really all about the interface of science and society, coming from a guy who is so clearly passionate about science, and so smart.
The worst thing I could say is that this reminded me of the unevenness and flaws of Snow Crash, but without any of the fun or clever ideas. Ouch.
I could go on, but that's my opinion. If you've got 900 pages worth of Stephenson to read, I'd suggest Cryptonomicon. Better yet, warm up with that and then read the incomparable Baroque Cycle- perhaps even twice, like I did. But give Anathem a miss.
I'll be looking forward to Mr Stephenson's next book, which will hopefully be far more fun. Actually, all up, I think he should stick to historical fiction. I would love to see him undertake a trilogy set in Medieval Europe, perhaps exploring the Crusades and the origins of the Zero...
Book Review: Brilliant Author--"Anathem," An Overindulgent Swing and a Miss
Summary: 3 Stars
Unlike many of the other reviewers of Anathem, this was my first crack at a Neal Stephenson novel. I was looking for a intellectual challenge, wrapped in a stimulating, well-written novel. Sadly, I got too much challenge and too little well written novel. Regarding this novel, a few things are abundantly clear:
1. Neal Stephenson is a heckuva of a smart guy--eons--(as he would say "cosmi" or "polycosmi") more so than me;
2. This book was a "labor of love" to read; unfortunately, more "labor" than "love;"
3. It is clear that Mr. Stephenson's focus in writing this novel was on the concepts he presents, and unfortunately, plot and character development merely serve as a vehicle for presentation of such ideas. (The quote from the NY Times Book Review on the book jacket states that the author cares as much about telling good stories as he does presenting cool ideas. I couldn't disagree more!)
I enjoyed the first 200 pages or so, even though it required constant reference to the timeline in the front of the book and the glossary in the rear. I thought the introductions of Apert and the concurrent presentation of the secular and theorical worlds was fascinating. At that point, there was little plot, but in a 900 page novel, one expects these things to be drawn out.
I LOVED the next 400 pages or so. (I was certain this was going to be a 5 Star Review). It was largely plot driven, and while there was plenty of philosophy, geometry, science etc., I felt that it served the story, and I was able to wrap my apparently limited mind around it.
Then the book simply wore me down. I HATED the last 300 pages--I doubt I would have finished it, had it not been for my rule that "what I start, I finish." The writing grew more obtuse than the parts that preceded it (or maybe I just collapsed under the cumulating heft of all those weighty ideas). Given my stupor, I lost the will to go back and find and then re-read and re-read again earlier lengthy digressions (which just didn't seem to generate an adequate payoff. The plot slowed down (or maybe I just didn't get it) and I lost interest. At that point, I was just grinding, crawling to the finish.
All this having been said, I nonetheless give the author his props! He is clearly a clever fellow, but this book is way too much uninteresting manual labor for way too little payoff. I blame the failings of this book on the lack of a good editor--or any editor, for that matter. At 500 pages, this would have been book of the year. At 900, it's an overindulgent swing and a miss.