Straight up, I did not like this book. It’s not quite worthy of the one star treatment, though, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because the actual construction of his sentences, the literal writing, is not bad. Second, because the underlying story remains one I think interesting to explore in book form. And third, because I truly believe that one star ratings should be reserved for books that really go beyond the pale in their awfulness, not just slapping that on there because I didn’t happen […]
Not quite Snow Crash, but still pretty good!
Zodiac, my second Neal Stephenson, didn’t really deliver the pure enjoyment that I received from the other Stephenson book I recently finished, Snow Crash. However, if I hadn’t just finished that one, and held the next Stephenson book I read to such a high standard, I probably would have rated Zodiac higher. Set sometime in the late 80s/early 90s in Boston, Zodiac is about an “eco-terrorist” named Sangmon Taylor (S.T. for short). S.T. works for a company called GEE, discovering which huge companies are polluting the environment (specifically, the […]
One Hell of a Ride
From the moment Snow Crash starts, you know you’re in for quite a ride. In an alternate future sometime around the turn of the 21st century, a pizza delivery boy working for Uncle Enzo’s CosoNostra Pizza Inc. is careening through town, trying to make his delivery in under 30 minutes (or face the dire consequences). Stephenson immediately introduces my favorite aspects of the novel: the crazy slang, the privatization of everything, including city-states called Burbclaves, the penalties suffered by late pizza deliveries. The United States has been reduced to a […]
My first-ever cyperpunk novel, guys!
I am not–strictly speaking–a sci-fi reader. I had never heard of The Diamond Age until my sister recommended it to me. My sister is an awesome person. She has read so many books that I have recommended to her, including ones for my dissertation, that I thought it was long past time I returned the favor. So I picked up The Diamond Age. It starts with a man named Bud who buys an illegal skullgun, beats a man, and is then sentenced to death. The […]