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Sneak Peek At Neal Stephenson's "Anathem"
Shawn M. Smith writes "Neal Stephenson (Cryptonomicon, The Baroque Cycle) has a new novel coming out in just a couple weeks — Anathem. Boing Boing has an excerpt from the amazing glossary (including a definition for 'bulshytt') so take a peek at a copy of an abridged glossary of neologisms and language-bending goodies from the book."
Amazon has a 12-page preview and a short video segment with Neal Stephenson here
This guy used way too much energy
I hope it's as good as Snow Crash!
Haiku for you!
Maybe I cannot understand this, but why can't people just speak regular plain old English? Doesn't the adage "Caesar cannot change English" apply anymore? This is bulshytt!
slashdot rocks
For people wondering whether this book was going to be breathtaking like Snow Crash or excruciating like the Baroque books -- apparently it's going to be more like Quicksilver-meets-The Silmarillion. I'm thinking this is at best a "Wait to get it from the library" book.
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
Please. Please. Make it stop.
It was a lot of fun in Cryptonomicon.
It was my first clue to not even bother starting to read the Baroque Cycle, and opinion reinforced by pretty much everything I later heard about the books.
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
I thought Jake Sisko wrote that.
"Extramuros" is a spanish word, so i guess there's not a lot of "bending" in it...
Here's a textual copy of the PDF.
Anathem: (1) In Proto- Orth, a poetic or musical invocation of Our
Mother Hylaea, which since the time of Adrakhones has been the
climax of the daily liturgy (hence the Fluccish word Anthem meaning
a song of great emotional resonance, esp. one that inspires listeners
to sing along). Note: this sense is archaic, and used only in a
ritual context where it is unlikely to be confused with the much
more commonly used sense 2. (2) In New Orth, an aut by which an
incorrigible fraa or suur is ejected from the math and his or her
work sequestered (hence the Fluccish word Anathema meaning intolerable
statements or ideas). See Throwback.
â"the dictionary, 4th edition, A.R. 3000
Extramuros: (1) In Old Orth, literally âoeoutside the walls.â Often used
in reference to the walled city- states of that age. (2) In Middle Orth,
the non- mathic world; the turbulent and violent state of aff airs that
prevailed after the Fall of Baz. (3) In Praxic Orth, geo graph i cal regions
or social classes not yet enlightened by the resurgent wisdom
of the mathic world. (4) In New Orth, similar to sense 2 above, but
often used to denote those settlements immediately surrounding
the walls of a math, implying comparative prosperity, stability, etc.
â"the dictionary, 4th edition, A.R. 3000
Saunt: (1) In New Orth, a term of veneration applied to great thinkers,
almost always posthumously. Note: this word was accepted only
in the Millennial Orth Convox of A.R. 3000. Prior to then it was considered
a misspelling of Savant. In stone, where only upper- case
letters are used, this is rendered SAVANT (or ST. if the stonecarver
is running out of space). During the decline of standards in the decades
that followed the Third Sack, a confusion between the letters
U and V grew commonplace (the âoelazy stonecarver problemâ), and
many began to mistake the word for SAUANT. This soon degenerated
to saunt (now accepted) and even sant (still deprecated). In written
form, St. may be used as an abbreviation for any of these. Within
some traditional orders it is still pronounced âoeSavantâ and obviously
the same is probably true among Millenarians.
â"the dictionary, 4th edition, A.R. 3000
Bulshytt: (1) In Fluccish of the late Praxic Age and early Reconstitution,
a derogatory term for false speech in general, esp. knowing
and deliberate falsehood or obfuscation. (2) In Orth, a more technical
and clinical term denoting speech (typically but not necessarily
commercial or po liti cal) that employs euphemism, con ve nient
vagueness, numbing repetition, and other such rhetorical subterfuges
to create the impression that something has been said. (3)
According to the Knights of Saunt Halikaarn, a radical order of the
2nd Millennium A.R., all speech and writings of the ancient Sphenics;
the Mystagogues of the Old Mathic Age; Praxic Age commercial
and po liti cal institutions; and, since the Reconstitution, anyone
they deemed to have been infected by Procian thinking. Their frequent
and loud use of this word to interrupt lectures, dialogs, private
conversations, etc., exacerbated the divide between Procian
and Halikaarnian orders that characterized the mathic world in
the years leading up to the Third Sack. Shortly before the Third
Sack, all of the Knights of Saunt Halikaarn were Thrown Back, so
little more is known about them (their frequent appearance in
Sæcular entertainments results from confusion between them and
the Incanters).
Usage note: In the mathic world, if the word is suddenly shouted
out in a chalk hall or refectory it brings to mind the events associated
with sense (3) and is therefore to be avoided. Spoken in a moderate
tone of voice, it takes on sense (2), which long ago lost any vulgar
connotations it may once have had. In the Sæculum it is easily confused
(She's done with the book, I plan to pick up her copy soon.)
Those who fail to understand communication protocols, are doomed to repeat them over port 80.
I thought Ayn Rand wrote that.
Seems like a good book. I'll read it.
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From the reviews, sounds kind of like Foundation.
I was lucky enough to come across an advanced copy. The book is incredible. It doesn't take 250 pages to pick up speed, like Cryptonomicon, or 1k like The Baroque Cycle. It immediately captured my attention.
I highly recommend picking a copy up.
Your use of this "offensive" word has deemed you to be a disagreeable person and as such you should be excluded from polite discourse.
"The ferrets, they're every where I tell you!"
Hi.. I'm a Slashdot reader and I either LOVE anything by Neal, or I don't understand what the fuss is about. 50/50 split. I called it.
Wonderful read, and you learn a bit about 18th century french economics to boot!
Who is Neal Stephenson and why should I care about him?
I have a copy of this I picked up about 6 weeks ago at a genre bookstore in Southern California. It is clearly marked as a reviewers copy, and not for sale. I have no idea how it made it onto the shelves for sale.
Fortunately, the person working the desk wasn't really paying attention, and happily sold it to me.
The book even came with a CD containing original chants composed according to the aesthetic and mathematical premises outlines within the novel. A nice touch, and one I am not sure will be present in the final shipping product.
Of course, unless you enjoy gregorian and byzantine chants already, I would skip the CD. (Lovers of ambient music will probably find it interesting as well)
The story is slow to start (not abnormal for a large Stephenson book) and has a few pacing issues. On the whole I found the premise of the monastery a bit contrived, but well constructed. I had less sympathy for the main character than I did for Randy in Cryptonomican, but it's naturally easier for me to connect with a dissatisfied hacker than with an aesthete monk.
If you are a fan of stephenson for the more humerous and modern Snowcrash and Zodiac. This may not be the novel for you. Its a much more serious book, with a deeply philosophical and mathematical bent.
Where Cryptonomican explored mathematics, currency and the defenition of criminal (IMHO), this novel explores seclusion, mathematics and philosphy instead.
Considering how long ago this reviewers copy must have been printed, I am hesitant to talk about pacing problems. I suspect what I have was not a final edit, and much of the story could be improved with intelligent editing.
In short, i enjoyed this book, but i doubt its going to have as broad of an appeal as previous books. I haven't explored the barouque cycle books at all, but I think Anathem might have more in common with them.
Reading this book made me think of Umberto Eco - more cerebral than action, and a bit weak on character development - with lots of clever discussions and wordplay.
- sarcasm is just one more service we offer -
I have had been lucky enough to have read a publishers proof of Anathem. And am currently re-reading it. I have read all of his books, from Zodiac to the System of the World. Cryptonomicon being my favourite.
Anathem is different. It is not Snow Crash or Diamond Age, although it does feature some themes from both and explores ideas raised there. It is not historic like The System of the World trilogy.
It is another thick book, some 935 pages including 40-odd pages of glossary, timelines, and math theorems called Calca.
There are new words. Lots of new words. 19 pages of them in the glossary. Initially this got in the way of the story, but once you got used to seeing them, it was fine. Now that I am re-reading it, I am enjoying it rather more.
What it it about? How do you do justice to an almost 1000 page novel in a couple of paragraphs?
Have you heard of the 10,000 year clock project? Anathem is based around the idea that these clocks were built, and run by an order of mathematicians, scientists, historians, philosophers etc with the aim of protecting knowledge whenever civilisation broke down, and have been doing so more or less continuously for several thousand years. The story feature Fraa Erasmas, one of the residents of one of these institutions and his tribulations and adventures when aliens visit the planet.
Do not think of bugeyed aliens in faster than light starships though. This is not that sort of SF. In fact, some of the aliens are from Earth.
Obviously there is much more to it than that, but I am not even going to attempt a précis here.
Buy it. Read it. It is worth it.
For those of you who didn't like the Baroque cycle because you thought it was too long, bad news. Anathem is a long book, and does not rush things. There is a lot of background to set up and explain, being set on another planet and all, but it absolutely is worth it.
Summary. Although a have a proof copy, I will be buying a hardback copy when it comes out next month, and it will go alongside my hardback Baroque Cycle. A worth addition to my library.
Slashdot is full of Ita. Slines with jeejahs are everywhere, unfortunately. Read the book, you will agree with me on this.
Trying to associate Microsoft with "fun" is like trying to associate Satan with aromatherapy. -Tycho
I've already read the book. Its quite good, starts out a little slow, but I certainly enjoyed it. I would highly recommend it.
Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
For those who don't get Wired but are interested, in the latest issue of Wired is an article about Stephenson. The online version is here. The story of how Anathem came to be is included in the article.
this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. -- Lincoln, Gettysburg Address
Lirbarian girlfriends are the best...no more fines and as many books as I want! Alas my librarian-girlfriend moved on in life and became a teacher.
I saw the Sign, and it opened up my eyes
Thanks for your comment. I remember first reading Clockwork Orange straight through, only to find a glossary at the end. I greatly enjoyed my own efforts in piecing together the idioms, and being rewarded for the post-reading confirmation of defined terms.
Say hello to my little sig.
They'll listen to Reason.
Only great book he's written so far.
Well well, I'm sure Stephenson's book will be well received by his adoring public. Too bad that theme has already been done by better authors. I looked over the wiki entry for this book and it had one name written all over it: Foundation by Asimov.
The idolization of science as religion, wow how avant-garde. That is what the atheist community desires most, to see themselves elevated to deity as their superior intellect should reign supreme.
Dude, you've *got* to learn to do spoiler warnings if you're going to do a post like that.
It's all about the information. And what we do with it.