Cryptonomicon by Neal StephensonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Here is my Goodreads review of this wonderful novel:
I first read this book early after the turn of the century and loved it, then moved on to the author's Baroque cycle "trilogy". I should have savored it more. So just now (19 Nov. 2011) I finished "re-reading" this novel via the audible version and because of the slower nature of listening to the words instead of power reading by sight I was able to savor the story.
The novel has almost 700 reviews here on Goodreads, so I won't go into any analysis of the novel except to say that it was much like Snow Crash in tone but unique in that the author was able to tell several simultaneous stories flashing between WWII and the late twentieth century involving many characters in settings all around the earth. And I feel that the writer pulled it all together and I didn't mind the anticlimactic ending; it was a relief.
If you are a geek or even a partial geek you will relate to the characters. Some reviewers seem disappointed that this novel wasn't some profound Henry James character study, but that wasn't the intent of the author. The story reverberates in my memory now and has given me an appreciation for avenues of research and learning that I had not previously spent much time considering. Thank-you Mr. Stephenson.
DISCLAIMER:
I don't condone the immoral parts of this story (there are a few here) or that in any other writings that I review in this blog.
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