Cryptonomicon
by Neal Stephenson
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Book Reviews of Cryptonomicon
Book Review: Nerdvana
Summary: 5 Stars
Here's a gargantuan meisterwork for ambitious readers who can appreciate ambitious writers. Step aside if you have a short attention span or a lack of patience. Everything about this book is really really really big. In addition to the 918 pages in a rather small typeface, every scene, conversation, subplot, and theme is written by Stephenson to the point of absurd information overload. And that's the point, turning this into a manifesto of tech-obsessed sarcasm and paranoia, with prose that is ponderous but surprisingly fun to read. Nerdy language is used to great descriptive effect, especially in the way Stephenson describes settings and character developments – one example among many being "his net worth is a negative number that can only be expressed using scientific notation." Stephenson's writing takes on the characteristics of the scatter-brained deep thoughts of his various math-nerd characters, and this makes for a bodaciously braindraining read.
The narrative goes off on bizarre multi-page tangents like a mathematical theorem about when a character's bike chain will fall off, or a specific mechanical treatise on another character's method of eating Cap'n Crunch. You'll often wonder where Stephenson's going with this longwindedness and why you're struggling through so many hundreds of pages of woolgathering, but with patience you'll find that the prose and style of this novel add immeasurably to an astonishingly intricate and ambitious plotline. With this story, Stephenson has blown the roof off of cyberpunk and modern speculative fiction, seamlessly linking the ultramodern with the past into an incontrovertible whole.
Most notably, Stephenson has defined retro-cyberpunk here, as he reconstructs nerdy codebreakers and analog cryptanalysts from WW2 into the original hackers and the geniuses behind the earliest digital computers. The war is transformed into a paranoid web of codes and spying that underlie the everyday horrors of slaughter and destruction, and Stephenson uses this device to analyze the true inhuman futility of war and its effects across generations. Meanwhile, his intricate conspiracy extends from the war to the present realm of super high-tech, with modern hacking and programming descending from the cryptanalysis of the war. After nearly a thousand pages the disparate storylines come together into a profound and wide-ranging conclusion about the human condition, while Stephenson has also ably explored the relationships between people, economics, history, and technology. This novel is not for everybody, but those in the proper frame of mind will find it to be an immense achievement for Stephenson, as is the reading of it. [~doomsdayer520~]
Book Review: Stephenson's Best Novel
Summary: 4 Stars
The best way to describe the Cryptonomicon is that it is an adventure story about mathematicians.
While Mr. Stephenson has made his reputation writing books that are in the so-called cyber punk genre, this is a mainstream novel that features mathematicians, intellectualism, and a strong dose of what Stephenson calls in another book, "...the imp of the mischievous." So while the target audience of the book may well be hormonal teen-age boys who like computers and math, it is well written enough that most readers will enjoy the time invested in reading this rather large book.
Having read most, if not all, of Mr. Stephenson's other books; this book is clearly the best one. This is true in terms of readability, plot, and character development. While there are some real shortcomings in terms of female character development and in the conclusion of the book, this is the only book by Stephenson that is really well written enough to be a mainstream novel.
The book weaves two distinct stories together. The first is the story of Waterhouse, Goto Dengo, Enoch Root, and Shaftoe in World War II. The second is the story of how these individuals and/or their grand-children and/or children in the modern day world interact in a related story-line that involves stolen Japanese gold, a mysterious German submarine, and a very bizarre assortment of supporting characters.
This book was written back around 1999. It is amazing how much technology Stephenson actually got right. Even more impressive is the fact that the novel is readable by a typical layman without much math or computer science background. Likewise, there are plenty of clues in this book that tie back to Stephenson's Baroque Cycle of novels. While the Baroque Cycle was published after the Cryptonomicon, it was designed to be a prequel.
I would recommend this book to anyone who fits one or more of the following criteria:
(1) You are occasionally seized by the "Imp of the Mischievous" and do incredibly stupid things.
(2) You think math is cool.
(3) You think cryptology is fun and interesting.
(4) You like computers and telecommunications.
(5) You like reading about the weird "super weapons" the Germans wasted money on
(6) You have lived in the Philippines
One word of warning, I have lent my copy of the Cryptonomicon to others and they found Stephenson's use of sexuality and sarcasm a bit over the top. However, that may just be a matter of taste. I did not find either venue particularly offensive. Overall, a good book that glamorizes math and those who love it.
Book Review: Athena was not the Goddess of Art, however
Summary: 3 Stars
The devotee of Athena can quite nearly craft a great novel.
It's so close to greatness. So frustratingly close.
The thing is, most of his normal audience already know the coding theory and the discussions of science. So, this stuff doesn't belong in conversational didaction. It belongs in an afterword, or a footnote.
The style of writing is very sprawling and loose and conversational. This is an exceptionally American male manner of writing. Unlike King, however, Stephenson seems to be following not some small-town patience, but a deep intellects powerful mental ability to wander off topic and quickly return in real time, though the mind has gone off for pages. Does that make sense?
Basically, fans of Stephen King will be right at home. Both authors have a lot in common. They deal in an imaginative speculative genre, with lots of characters, and a strong grasp for said characters' personalities. They have very strong stomachs. They are "cool" in their own way.
Artistically, however, this also creates a problem. I think a long flashback about dental work in the middle of a passionate reunion with the main character's girlfriend inside a brutal Phillipine prison is a little too much. I don't care about the dentist! I care about the girl!
It's so close. I'd hate to edit it too much, especially in the beginning, but if he could've just taken a red pen over the last hundred-fifty pages and cut them in half...
Athena was the goddess of defensive war and invention, and she was the chosen muse for this epic. I am reminded of the end of the Oddessey, when the story just keeps going and going and Oddesseus is in the middle of this field staring down his citizens in dress armor and we can't help but feel that the poem ended a few hundred lines ago yet the story still moves on. This book ends the same way. It just keeps going and going and the resolution doesn't feel like a resolution. The real resolution was pages ago, in Goto Dengo's Japanese power tower.
So close. So close. Still, if you like a Stephen King tome now and then, you'll probably enjoy this author as well.
Many like to make Thomas Pynchon comparisons. The Pynchon comparisons are more apt with The Baroque Cycle. Comparing Pynchon's masterpiece Mason & Dixon to the Baroque Cycle reminds one of the strengths and weaknesses of both of these modern American masters. Pynchon's too disciplined and stoned. Stephenson's too sober and loose. I'd love to see those two write the same short story from the same outline. That's a book I'd buy, for sure.
Book Review: Neal Stephenson: Authentic Genius or Certified Wacko...
Summary: 5 Stars
Got a month of free reading time? And that's free time for ONE book? This isn't a condemnation of Cryptonomicon by any means, just a warning to those who pick it up. Because once you start reading, chances are you won't be able to stop.
Author Neal Stephenson is either an authentic genius or a certified wacko (or both), because Cryptonomicon is so intricate, so layered, and so engrossing, that someone who could write this much material, and contain it in one novel, must have an odd functionality to their brain.
Spanning two generations of families during pre-, intra-, and post-WW II, this epic (and it most certainly deserves that title) shows the reader the early formation of computer language that developed thanks to code-breakers within the U.S. and German intelligence communities. This may sound horribly boring, but it is far from tedious. Author Stephenson knows not to bore readers. He incorporates cryptanalysis into everyday life, often with hysterically funny results (at one point a character relates his masturbatory behavior to helping solve enemy codes; and another time the London street layout helps design a code system that is nearly unbreakable). All of the characters are incredibly human, from the earliest "geeks" (Richard Waterhouse and Avi) to the rough-and-tumble WW II gladiators (U.S. Marine Bobby Shaftoe and General Douglas MacArthur). There are deadly battles with Japanese soldiers, crushing encounters with German U-boats, and even a treasure hunt finale that'll tickle your funny bone. There's romance between a geeky code breaker and the young granddaughter of Bobby Shaftoe. There's government conspiracies, and unlikely alliances between men on opposite sides of the war. There's ...just too much to put into one review! Fortunately, though, Neal Stephenson (author) masterfully ties all of these threads together and culminates it into one of the best conclusions seen in novel length fiction history.
At 1,130 pages long (paperback), the thickness of Cryptonomicon may be a deal-breaker for some readers. Don't let it be. The author's able prose is sustained throughout its ample length and will keep readers coming back to see what awaits the Shaftoes, the Waterhouses, the Roots, and the Dengos.
A prodigious novel from a genre-busting author, Cyptonomicon defies categorization. It is and isn't science fiction. It is and isn't historical fiction. It is and isn't a techno-thriller. It is and isn't many things. But the one thing it most certainly is is a masterpiece.
Book Review: Multi-threaded masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Cryptonomicon is a fascinating and fantastic work. As most of the reviewers here have pointed out, the novel has a richness that is both a treat and a challenge to the reader. Even the passages (some pretty long!) that pertain to technical issues are generally readable (you don't have to get *all* the details to catch the significant plot points). Stephenson interweaves the episodes from the two timelines (WW II and contemporary) until the reader sees more and more connections.I understand why some reviewers did not like the ending. Without committing the reviewer's cardinal sin of giving away major plot points (please, people, these reviews are mostly read by folks trying to decide whether to read the book; don't spoil the fun for them!), I'd say Stephenson's resolution of the plot(s) is just about right. It would have been a bit too pat and artificial for each loose end to be tied up in a neat little bow and "they all lived happily ever after". Yes, he doesn't tell us everything about the mysterious Enoch Root (and I definitely wanted to know more). Did the renegade U-boat captain cheat death? Readers can disagree because the author does not explicitly tell us. However, we get to the end of the race to Golgotha and we know who outwitted whom in the final crunch. If Stephenson chooses to write a separate novel on whether the protagonists are ultimately successful with their digital money/data haven/communications venture/business/scheme, I will want to read it, but Cryptonomicon reached a major resolution point, a moment at which the surviving characters of the contemporary plot line must now decide what to do next.
When compared to the strengths of this novel, the weaknesses are insignificant -- and sometimes unavoidable. Amy Shaftoe is the only major female character we get to know more than slightly. However, the WW II plot line occurs in the ranks of the military, the huts of the codebreakers, and aboard ships and U-boats; women were absent or relegated to subsidiary roles in these environments. The contemporary plot line offered Stephenson more opportunity for interesting female players, but their actual presence in the ranks of nerds, geeks, and hackers is similarly limited. If the author had gone out of his way to "fix" this problem, the novel would have had even greater anachronisms than the occasional distraction of WW II participants talking like people from the 1990s.
Bottom line: An excellent, entertaining, enormous novel that will almost certainly reward a second reading. How rare is that?