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First 26 Pages of Neal Stephenson's New Novel "Seveneves" Online

Posted by timothy on from the such-a-tease dept.

An anonymous reader writes Neal Stephenson has just released a teaser comprising the first 26 pages of his new novel Seveneves. The first words? "The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason."

110 comments

  1. Wait! by roman_mir · · Score: 3, Funny

    That's no moon. It's a space station!

    --
    You can't handle the truth.
    1. Re:Wait! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's no moon. It's a space station!

      If you quote Star Wars, Roman, that joke will become older and more tired than you can possibly imagine.

      "I find your lack of original conversation disturbing."

  2. An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Stephenson's books have gotten worse and worse as he's gotten older. Usually authors improve as they age, not put out dreck like Cryptonomicon.

    1. Re:An Odd Bird by oodaloop · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So, just like Robert A. Heinlein then?

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    2. Re:An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      His books were unreadable even when he was young, so I admire your ability to tell.

    3. Re:An Odd Bird by ralphsiegler · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The stories i mostly enjoyed, but his sex scenes would bring the human race to an end if young people read them

    4. Re:An Odd Bird by Galaga88 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Is Cryptonomicon popularly viewed as not being very good? I enjoyed it, not as much as Snow Crash, but what the hell can compare with that?

    5. Re:An Odd Bird by omems · · Score: 1

      yeah, what was it, "an imperial pint"?
      (shudder)

    6. Re:An Odd Bird by WTFmonkey · · Score: 4, Informative

      Most people I know who finished it enjoyed it, but I also know plenty of people who couldn't finish it (which I understand-- the pages describing the broken tooth on Turing's bicycle as a metaphor for a substitution cypher were torturous. And tortuous.).

      I mean, it's not high literature that scholars will be analyzing to death two hundred years from now, but Stephenson's books are generally creative and fun, and I enjoy them. OP's mom was probably at least half troll.

    7. Re:An Odd Bird by MaWeiTao · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Authors improve with age? In my experience that's not true at all. There seems to be a range during which authors are at their optimum and even if the actual age range varies from person to person. The consistency is how the decline manifests itself.

      Too many authors shift from storytelling to exposition in their later years. Instead of describing a compelling narrative into which thought provoking concepts are intertwined they get totally fixated on those themes. So you get a book full of exposition in which virtually nothing happens until the very end; it's a book full of people talking instead of doing. It seems exacerbated by sticking to the same universe but I've seen it happen with unrelated novels by the same author.

      I always bring up Frank Herbert and the Dune series as a case study for this phenomenon. It's not that there aren't facets of the later books that aren't interesting, but as a novel those later novels are not as engaging as the first, even when they had the potential to be so much more. And it seems that first novel is usually the best.

    8. Re:An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Authors improve with age?

      Some do. For example, in many years time, Stephenie Meyer will be dead.

    9. Re:An Odd Bird by Oxygen99 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I'm in the middle of it at the moment. It's not high art or anything but it is a terrifically exciting read. It's the kind of page turner Dan Brown might write were he both technically and narratively competent.

      --
      I had a dream, bright and carefree, but now there's doubt and gravity
    10. Re:An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I enjoyed Snow Crash and Diamond Age and Cryptonomicon to a lesser extent. Since then I haven't seen much to interest me sadly.

    11. Re:An Odd Bird by Cpt_Kirks · · Score: 1

      yeah, what was it, "an imperial pint"?

      (shudder)

      TWENTY OUNCES!

      ba-da-bing!

    12. Re:An Odd Bird by kheldan · · Score: 2

      What have YOU written that was any good at all, let alone worthy of being published and marketed at major brick-and-mortar booksellers? You speak boldly for someone who isn't even willing to sign their own name to a shitpost they're making on Slashdot. I stand utterly amazed that you can even use correct capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure, while at the same time finding nothing of relevance or value in your ill-considered 'opinion'. Perhaps his works are just beyond your comprehension? Maybe Dr. Seuss would be more your speed. No, I take that back; probably still too sophisticated for you. The slogans on coasters at your local dive bar are probably more appealing to you, as are the graffitti on the mens' room wall. But please, continue to grace us with your wisdom.

      --
      Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    13. Re:An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh wow. One of those "well how good are YOU at [insert topic here]". How original. What are you, 13? Anyone can be a critic. Deal with it.

    14. Re:An Odd Bird by dpidcoe · · Score: 1

      the pages describing the broken tooth on Turing's bicycle as a metaphor for a substitution cypher were torturous. And tortuous.

      I loved those parts when he goes off on a long nerdy tangent like that.

    15. Re:An Odd Bird by dpidcoe · · Score: 2

      I've been listening to anathem on audible during my commute. I'm about halfway through and so far I'd put it up there with Snow Crash and Diamond Age (though I don't recommend it if you're not the sort of person who can intuitively guess the approximate meaning of a new word).

    16. Re:An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Agreed.. the WW2 stuff was great, the rest was pain.

    17. Re:An Odd Bird by Hussman32 · · Score: 1

      I would enjoy Stephenson more if he listened to his editor. There was a five page section in Cryptonomicon where he talks about eating a bowl of Captain Crunch. Five damn pages! Then he spent another four pages on a wisdom tooth extraction... He does spin a good story though.

      --
      "Who are you?" "No one of consequence." "I must know." "Get used to disappointment."
    18. Re:An Odd Bird by Rob+Riggs · · Score: 1

      Why does popular opinion matter? I've enjoyed all of his work to date. Certainly Snow Crash is a stand-out. I found the depth in the Baroque Cycle quite engaging.

      --
      the growth in cynicism and rebellion has not been without cause
    19. Re:An Odd Bird by AutumnLeaf · · Score: 1

      I think Stephenson does a great job creating interesting characters and worlds, and also does a good a job with setting up stories. What he struggles with is ending them - apart from the time he spent explaining the nuts and bolts of elementary crypto-theory what really jarred me was the way Cryptonomicon ended. Which was "abruptly" and "poorly".

      I really enjoyed Snow Crash - which is something of guilty-pleasure pulp cyber-punk. I really really liked The Diamond Age - I think it his best book in some ways.

      After Cryptonomicon I haven't been able to bring myself to start the Baroque Cycle even though they've been on my bookshelves for nearly a decade now. :(

    20. Re:An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You clearly need to see your therapist

    21. Re:An Odd Bird by arth1 · · Score: 1

      Usually authors improve as they age

      That does not correlate with my observations.
      I would say that most authors get better for a few years, and then they decline. Much like musicians and other creative people.

    22. Re:An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm on my fourth reading of the Baroque cycle. It's a fantastic read if you're the kind of reader that can keep two dozen characters clear in your head.
      He does get loquacious in the details but as a true geek he understands that the details are important.

      I don't think Cryptonomicon's ending was bad, I think it was missing. "I sorry Neal, we're just going to stop adding paragraphs once the book hits 1000 pages."
      Neal had said in interviews that there were supposed to be three interconnected storie lines, not the two that made it. The third stoyline was to be in the future dealing with the effects of the first two, that's where the ending would have been.

    23. Re:An Odd Bird by Ralph+Wiggam · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Anathem was pretty brilliant. The first 300 pages seemed really boring at the time, but later you realize that they have to be there.

    24. Re:An Odd Bird by Fallen+Kell · · Score: 1

      Oh, come on, we all know that you need to get ice cold milk to touch the Captain Crunch nuggets right as they hit to spoon and go into the mouth, or more ideally have both enter the mouth at the same time from separate sources, such as they mix perfectly at that time.

      --
      We were all warned a long time ago that MS products sucked, remember the Magic 8 Ball said, "Outlook not so good"
    25. Re:An Odd Bird by linearZ · · Score: 2

      5 pages and he didn't once mention a whistle.

      --
      Revolution is the opium of the intellectuals.
    26. Re:An Odd Bird by fortfive · · Score: 1

      See Dick, Philip K., Exegesis.

    27. Re: An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "broken tooth on Turing's bicycle as a metaphor for a substitution cypher"

      Thank you for saving me the time I would've wasted reading this book :)

    28. Re:An Odd Bird by BradleyUffner · · Score: 1

      That was actually one of my favorite parts of the book, but friends I have recommenced it to have come back and specifically mentioned that part as being hard to get past.

    29. Re:An Odd Bird by anagama · · Score: 1

      I'm an audiobook addict. Snow Crash and Diamond Age are awesome books read by two of the very best narrators around. I've listened to both multiple times.

      Anathem isn't half as good as either of those, and I was initially put off by the reader, but for some inexplicable reason, it is also the book I've listened to the most -- six or seven times through at least. There is something slow and comfortable about the way that Anathem develops that I find highly comforting during periods where my life is in high anxiety mode.

      --
      What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
    30. Re:An Odd Bird by garyisabusyguy · · Score: 2

      I did get a Heinlein-ish feel from the first part of the preview, mostly from the Delilah and the Space Rigger era of Heinlein's work.

      The thing that Stephenson does, which Heinlein never really tried to do, is set a bunch of smaller stories reeling about and, like a pile of icbms, cruise missiles and long range bombers, bring them all together at the final targeted story point

      Maybe I am a pathetic doofus, but I really do enjoy Stephenson's work

      --
      Wherever You Go, There You Are
    31. Re:An Odd Bird by rijrunner · · Score: 1

      Stephenson starts slow, really cranks it up, then ends abruptly.

    32. Re:An Odd Bird by outlander · · Score: 1

      I've read Anathem several times and have enjoyed it a lot, the internal contradictions notwithstanding. The lack of explanation of the interaction between the cloistered and common worlds rang a bit false - I'd like to have seen some more concrete stuff - but it's a great space opera. And the last hundred and fifty pages are just plain fun.....

      --
      "Truth is what works" -- William James "It works!!" -- o-dark-AM comment
    33. Re:An Odd Bird by outlander · · Score: 1

      Loved the Baroque Cycle to death, but then I love big, picky books. Thomas Hardy is not my enemy....

      --
      "Truth is what works" -- William James "It works!!" -- o-dark-AM comment
    34. Re:An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. I liked cryptonomicon - but he is too wordy in some cases. Cut up to half of it - keep the stories but less dressing.

    35. Re:An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not always age, it's sometimes "the brain eater" - the author gets successful enough that they don't listen to editors anymore, even when they should.

    36. Re:An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      7-11 only calls that a "Gulp", not even a "Big Gulp"

    37. Re:An Odd Bird by gweihir · · Score: 1

      Actually, quality varies. Cryptonomicon was the hight of tediousness and boredom. So was the The Baroque Cycle. But Anathem was actually pretty good and Reamde was somewhere in between.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    38. Re:An Odd Bird by gweihir · · Score: 1

      I am one of those that liked Snow Crash and the Diamond Age (and Anathem). "Cryptonomicom" was the most boring book I ever seriously tried to read. I failed to find it anything except terribly boring and finally just threw it into the trash.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    39. Re:An Odd Bird by gweihir · · Score: 0

      And another utterly worthless comment from somebody that does not even have basic rationality. You argument is deeply, deeply (and obviously) flawed. You would require only people that cook to judge food, only politicians to vote and allow only movie-makers to have an opinion about movies. Obviously that is complete and utter nonsense.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    40. Re:An Odd Bird by gweihir · · Score: 1

      I agree. I did however find Cryptonomicon utterly boring and finally threw it into the trash. Maybe it is better if you do not understand cryptography and its history.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    41. Re:An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Those who write on outhouse walls, roll their shit in little balls.

      Those who read their words of wit, eat these little balls of shit."

    42. Re:An Odd Bird by Bill+Hayden · · Score: 1

      Stephenson's books have gotten worse and worse as he's gotten older. Usually authors improve as they age, not put out dreck like Cryptonomicon.

      Dreck? Odd, I thought Cryptonomicon was quite good -- possibly his best, or at least in a close race with Snow Crash. Diamond Age was quite good too, though I wasn't crazy about the ending. Zodiac was very good as well.

      Anathem, on the other hand... I was really excited for it to come out, as I'd read every other Stpehenson work at that point. It's literally one of the only books in my entire life that I started but did not finish. I got maybe 30% of the way through, and I just couldn't get into the story at all. The characters didn't give me any reason to be interested in them, at least not enough to slog through the last 4 inches of that monster tome.

      --
      Protect your browser with the Force Safe Search add-on
    43. Re:An Odd Bird by dpidcoe · · Score: 1

      I was initially put off by the reader

      I was as well, to the point I nearly shut it off and started looking for how to return it. I think it's a combination of the weird voice for the character talking, strange terms, and lack of context as to what's going on. Once I got a feel for what was actually happening it improved by several orders of magnitude. (I think the narrator toned down his voice acting a bit by then as well).

    44. Re:An Odd Bird by dpidcoe · · Score: 1

      The lack of explanation of the interaction between the cloistered and common worlds rang a bit false

      I haven't finished it yet, but so far it makes sense to me. They're basically the logical extrapolation if you take monks out of the middle ages and point their enthusiasm at knowledge instead of religion. Presumably it remained because of tradition and also wanting to only attract smart people who were serious about the pursuit of knowledge for knowledges sake without getting caught up in the specifics of implementation.

      A system like that would also have a stabilizing influence on the planet. Remove the smart and curious from the general population (and genepool) and let them pursue knowledge in a way that won't take a destructive outlet (e.g. designing weapons for an unstable dictator). Leave the sheeple who are content to take soma and maintain the status quo as long as they're entertained.

    45. Re:An Odd Bird by kheldan · · Score: 1

      Oh yeah? On the other hand it's easy for anyone to criticize anything that anyone else does, now isn't it, and since when does someone's personal tastes in literature qualify them to be a 'critic'? Fucking bite me.

      --
      Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    46. Re:An Odd Bird by gweihir · · Score: 1

      Not worth the effort. And unnecessary anyways. Some day your vastly overinflated ego will collide with reality.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    47. Re:An Odd Bird by wmorrow · · Score: 1

      I enjoyed that segue. LOL, I did. Tastes vary.

    48. Re:An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I liked Cryptonomicon a lot more than Snow Crash. I think that's partly because when I first read Snow Crash it was already about 20 years old and felt really really dated to me.

      But really I enjoy all of Neal's books, except the stupid Mongoliad thing. I put that down after a few dozen pages and immediately bookcrossed it.

    49. Re:An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I liked the bicycle chain part even on rereading ten years after, but I had to skip over the incredibly torturous moving-furniture-around-the-parking-lot scene.

    50. Re:An Odd Bird by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 1

      Or perhaps your ADHD is getting the better of you.

      I found all of them absolutely riveting.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    51. Re:An Odd Bird by smartin · · Score: 1

      I loved the Captain Crunch bit. For me it was clear the Stephenson really understands that geek mentality. I think he a a great author and while the endings sometimes do fall a bit short, it is always a great ride to get there.

      --
      The difference between Canada and the USA is that in Canada healthcare is a right and gun ownership is a privilege.
    52. Re:An Odd Bird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      nah, I read them when I was a young person, and I have three children

    53. Re:An Odd Bird by gweihir · · Score: 1

      If I had ADHD, I would notice with other authors. I don't. Stephenson just is not a consistently good writer and some people cannot judge quality and will read anything if the name on it is just "big" enough.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    54. Re:An Odd Bird by smithmc · · Score: 1

      Besides, we know it's really 10 cc. (Not really.)

      --
      Downmodding is the refuge of the weak. Don't downmod, make a better argument!
    55. Re:An Odd Bird by kheldan · · Score: 1

      Go collide with a concrete abutment at high speed.

      --
      Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
    56. Re:An Odd Bird by ralphsiegler · · Score: 1

      Rosy Palm as a wife and her three daughters Thumb, Index and Birdie don't count

    57. Re:An Odd Bird by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 1

      Or maybe some people are just more on the same wavelength as mr. Stephenson, and 'get' him. For instance, I absolutely love the whole concept of Cryptonomicon and the numerous geeky technical asides. I could have done without the wanking system description, but nothing is ever perfect.

      And I didn't find The Baroque Cycle tedious or plodding at all, I guess it just hit the right notes of mystery and alternate history for me.

      --
      Eat the rich.
  3. Dark And Stormy Night. by Ukab+the+Great · · Score: 4, Funny

    "The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason." sounds a lot like a sci-fi version of "It was a dark and stormy night."

    1. Re:Dark And Stormy Night. by oodaloop · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, this is the sci-fi version:

      It was a dark and stormy night; the lead sulfide rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of ammonium wind which swept up the streets (for it is on Omicron Theta 1 that our story lies). In other words, a typical day on the dark side of a tidally locked planet.

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    2. Re:Dark And Stormy Night. by Rinikusu · · Score: 4, Funny

      ...

      Go on.

      --
      If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
    3. Re:Dark And Stormy Night. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Aliens!

    4. Re:Dark And Stormy Night. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You used a full stop. The sentence is supposed to take a whole paragraph to be proper purple prose, a la Bulwer-Lytton

    5. Re:Dark And Stormy Night. by Sabriel · · Score: 1

      Well, later in the second paragraph there may be a homage: "He pulled out his phone and blogged the event, moving his stiff thumbs (for he was high on a mountain and the air was as cold as it was clear) as fast as he could to secure the claim to himself."

    6. Re:Dark And Stormy Night. by UnderCoverPenguin · · Score: 1

      "The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason." sounds a lot like a sci-fi version of "It was a dark and stormy night."

      Sounds like a Disaster Area song.

      --
      Don't try to out wierd me, three-eyes. I get stranger things than you, free with my breakfast cereal. --Zaphod Beeblebr
    7. Re:Dark And Stormy Night. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was a dark and stormy night, as it would be for the next 23 years on the world of Lo'soun, a lop-sided planet that rolls around its axis like one of those spinning tops kids have, and for the next 23 years the brave space colonists would have to live without light, warmth, or the screaming, car-sized cicadas that only come out in the summer. -- Matthew Hannum, Glen Burnie, MD

      The Bulwer-Lytton fiction contest has a sci-fi category as well.

      (Although I must warn that the entries are quite groan-inducing)

  4. Linux inflator utility by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 3, Funny

    "The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason."

    We know the reason -- because Khloe wanted her ass to look like Kim's.

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  5. The moon blew up without warning by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    So what does Chairface Chippendale think of this turn of events?
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minor_characters_in_The_Tick#Supervillains

  6. Lost art of editing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Detroit-W indsor"

  7. I'm hooked by bhlowe · · Score: 2

    Neil's works are hit and miss for me. I loved Cryptonomicon and Reamde was pretty good. I'm not into fantasy, so some of his books don't appeal at all to me. I'll get this one on Audible.

    1. Re:I'm hooked by skam240 · · Score: 1

      Ugh, I'm a huge Stephenson fan but I could not stand Reamde.

      --
      I ignore Anonymous Coward posts. If you want to discuss something, that's awesome. Log in.
    2. Re:I'm hooked by Rob+Bos · · Score: 1

      I quite liked REAMDE, personally. Well paced, fun. Opinions, right?

    3. Re:I'm hooked by Godwin+O'Hitler · · Score: 1

      Totally agree. He spends 200 pages constructing quite an ingenious plot then totally throws the baby out with the bathwater. I can see the last 800 pages of REAMDE appealing to Wacky Races fans though.

      --
      No, your children are not the special ones. Nor are your pets.
    4. Re:I'm hooked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was a good premise, but it was full of pages and pages of fluff. The grammatical and spelling errors didn't help things. There was little to no chemistry between any of the characters. He followed Tom Clancy's model of introducing dozens of characters, giving each a few pages, then threw them out, never to be heard from again. I found I could still follow the meager story after skipping 10 or 20 pages every now and then. The book could have been shortened by 2/3 and been much better. It took me four months to slog through it, and that's with attempting to read it for several hours at a time. At the end of the book, I had no desire to share it with anyone, not even to donate it to a charity. I felt it was a waste of paper, and straight into the recycling it went. It was the first book of his I read, and although his other books appear to have interesting subjects, I can't put myself through another.

  8. Remember REAMDE by l0ungeb0y · · Score: 2

    After that shitfest you can't pay me to read anything by Stephenson ever again.

    1. Re:Remember REAMDE by jdeisenberg · · Score: 2

      That seems a bit harsh. I could have done without all the geographic exposition towards the end of REAMDE, but when the pace was fast, it was a great read. Anathem was wonderful also. The first pages of this latest one has me very much wanting to buy it.

    2. Re:Remember REAMDE by dpidcoe · · Score: 1

      I've been listening to anathem on audible and enjoying it greatly. I've actually started leaving for work during rush hour, since it means I get to listen for an extra 30 minutes in order to arrive at work 5 minutes sooner. win-win.

    3. Re:Remember REAMDE by Sloppy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      REAMDE is why I will probably read his new book. There were several times (especially in the first hundred pages or so) when I was laughing my ass off. Neal Stephenson is a good writer. There, I said it. (Oooh, what a limb I'm going out on!)

      He's less of a good story-maker, and I think people who complained 20 years ago about him not being able to end a story well, would probably say he hasn't improved. I'm not sure I was all that excited by the story of REAMDE either. So either fuck the story, or just enjoy whatever you can within it. But that aside, the guy has a wonderful way with words and throughout REAMDE I kept thinking "I've missed this guy," since I hadn't read him since Cryptonomicon. Just get him talking.

      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
  9. The last words by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The last words: Reason apparent no for and warning without up blew moon the.

  10. Final sentence by necro81 · · Score: 3, Funny
    Well, I can already predict what the final sentence of this novel is going to be:

    Nosaer tnerappa on rof dna gninraw tuohtiw pu welb noom eht.

    1. Re:Final sentence by jratcliffe · · Score: 1

      You know, I hadn't noticed the title was a palindrome. Thanks!

  11. See you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY...

  12. I have to wait until MAY? by Cpt_Kirks · · Score: 1

    Neal, you tease.

  13. Hooked too... by PseudoThink · · Score: 2

    Loved Snow Crash, liked Crypto and Reamde, but the Baroque Cycle was a bit too dense for me, and I bought Anathema without ever opening it. I hadn't planned on getting into Seveneves unless the reviews were glowing, but the first 26 pages were a quick and compelling tease, enough to sell me. I'll get this on Audible, too. Smart move, making the first hit free, Neal!

    1. Re:Hooked too... by dpidcoe · · Score: 2

      If you liked snow crash and diamond age, you'll probably like anathem.

    2. Re:Hooked too... by linearZ · · Score: 2

      Have to agree. The only problem with Anathem it takes about 300 pages to get started. I know a few people that put that put that book down. But once it gets started, Anathem is a very good book. Just could have used a bit of editing.

      Editing seems to be the problem with Neal Stephenson's post-Crypto stuff. The Baroque Cycle often seemed more like Neal showing off his historical research than writing a book of fiction. If he wanted to write three volumes about 17th century technology and finance, non-fiction would have been better. For a work of fiction, those three volumes could have easily been edited down to one. But then, he probably makes way more money doing it the way that he did.

      I'm glad that Reamde at least seemed edited. Maybe this new book will get the same treatment?

      --
      Revolution is the opium of the intellectuals.
    3. Re:Hooked too... by Heathren-bert · · Score: 1

      I couldn't finish the first book in the Baroque Cycle; the first two sections were fine, but the last section of that book just drug! Never bothered to purchase the next two books in the series. Anathema was good, just took some time to get into the world he was creating; again the ending of his books need some work, I don't think I could tell you how Anathema ended. But good book. Reamde was a good read as well. Hopefully this new book will be worth reading.

    4. Re:Hooked too... by Lluc · · Score: 1

      I agree -- I read the first volume of the Baroque Cycle and couldn't find motivation to read any more. It had some great moments, but they were too few to make it a good book. I wonder if he did so well with Cryptonomicon that he decided to write the Baroque Cycle without an editor. Maybe if I was really bored or didn't have any other books to read I would pick it up again.

    5. Re:Hooked too... by dpidcoe · · Score: 2

      I hope it doesn't get edited. I enjoy the tangents and showing off of research (though I'll agree that the baroque cycle overdid it a bit). That's what makes his writing unique compared to other authors in those genres.

    6. Re:Hooked too... by Bratch · · Score: 1

      I have tried three times to get through Anathem, but can't seem to get myself past about the first 1/4 or 1/3 of it. My first attempt was just after finishing Cryptonomicon, so maybe I went into it expecting something similar, but it was nothing like it. On my next attempt I will try harder to get past the first 300 pages and see how it improves beyond that point.

      --
      Beware of the Redittor who loans you a Sharpie.
    7. Re:Hooked too... by linearZ · · Score: 1

      Oh, the tangents are great. Crytonomicon had some of the best with Turing's bike, granny furniture, and shoes in the Philippines.

      But I have trouble believing that SnowCrash, Crytonomicon, and Diamond Age weren't edited. It would have been way too easy for those books to jump the rails in a baroque way.

      --
      Revolution is the opium of the intellectuals.
  14. beware of tangents by sshir · · Score: 1

    I would recommend waiting for an abridged version. Otherwise most people will pull aloud WTF! and close the book for good while slogging through one of (_many_) extremely boring and only marginally related to the main story tangents.

    1. Re:beware of tangents by dpidcoe · · Score: 2

      In my opinion the tangents were what made the books awesome. I particularly loved Tourings bike chain timing in Cryptonomicon, followed closely by relating the crew served machine gun to sawmill machinery. The bit where they come up with a complex algorithm to divvy up inherited goods on a 2d graph and use time on a supercomputer to calculate who gets what was also pretty good, though not technically a tangent.

    2. Re:beware of tangents by Rob+Bos · · Score: 1

      The diversions and tangents are totally the best part.

    3. Re:beware of tangents by sshir · · Score: 1

      And that's the problem - they _were_ fun in Cryptonomicon. But not because of being tangents but because of being wonderfully geeky. Alas, Neal decided that the fun of side stories are side stories themselves - not their content. As a result - his later books can be cut to 1/3 and be a much better read.

    4. Re:beware of tangents by garyisabusyguy · · Score: 1

      In many conversations the parts that cannot be directly discussed, and that may only be approached in tangents, are frequently the most interesting and informative.

      I learned quite a lot about information systems from the long and tangential stories of a retired mathematician who had decided to work at the local DOT as a form of amusement. He had odd habits like programming off of the top of his head at the card punch machine, and a demonstrated ability to know the current price of any US 50 cent piece ever minted

      I learned a lot from Lou, many aspects of Neal's story telling remind me of him

      --
      Wherever You Go, There You Are
  15. So a sudden and abrupt start by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    So a sudden and abrupt start rather than a sudden and abrupt ending? At least he's trying something new.

  16. Neal has a lot to learn by Xenna · · Score: 3, Funny

    That's not how you do online marketing. Try this:

    The first 26 pages of Neal Stephenson's new bestseller were *leaked* to the internet!

    That's work much better...

  17. I liked Cryptonomicon by Qbertino · · Score: 1

    Stephenson's books have gotten worse and worse as he's gotten older. Usually authors improve as they age, not put out dreck like Cryptonomicon.

    Sorry, but I liked Cryptonomicon. As I did REAMDE. Both pretty good books.
    The Baroque Cycle was a bit of a drag, that I admit.

    --
    We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
    1. Re:I liked Cryptonomicon by outlander · · Score: 1

      REAMDE was a little hard to get through, but that's because he jump-cuts more abruptly and in a shorter fashion, with fewer details, than other books. Still a great story and the big cat near the end was utterly satisfying......

      --
      "Truth is what works" -- William James "It works!!" -- o-dark-AM comment
  18. Its a hook by T.E.D. · · Score: 2

    Part of the game with novels is to put something intriguing in the first paragraph, preferably the first sentence. Something that will make a browser at the airport bookstore want to read more, if just to figure out how that's even possible. Something like, "Being dead turned out to have its advantages".

    I kind of make a game of reading novel first lines. IMHO, starting off with an exploding moon make this one of the better ones I've seen.

  19. I'm sold - can't wait for the rest by cslewis2007 · · Score: 1

    I really liked Cryptonomicon, but like others here, I bought Anathem, and just couldn't get into it. I hope they make a movie based on it, but it would be brutal. I think even Peter Jackson said it would be too long. Seveneves looks like it might be a fun read.

    1. Re:I'm sold - can't wait for the rest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anathem is pretty freakin' dense, and the theory that makes it interesting towards the end seems like it would be impossible to communicate effectively in cinematic form. It's pretty hard to communicate in book form,and I was already familiar with the concept before reading the book.

  20. Is it as good as.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... fivevif and sixis?

    1. Re:Is it as good as.. by drkim · · Score: 1

      ... fivevif and sixis?

      I'm guessing he's referring to the English phrase "sixes and sevens" meaning everything is mixed up or FUBAR.

      I first heard this in Gilbert And Sullivan's "HMS Pinafore":
      "Fair moon, to thee I sing,
      Bright regent of the heavens,
      Say, why is everything
      Either at sixes or at sevens?"

      Probably archaic now...

  21. Thanks for the info by franciscoeduca · · Score: 1

    Thanks, have a nice day :) http://www.educa.net/entrenado...