<![CDATA[Cryptonomicon]]>

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Neal Stephenson enjoys cult status among science fiction fans and techie types thanks to Snow Crash, which so completely redefined conventional notions of the high-tech future that it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. But if his cyberpunk classic was big, Cryptonomicon is huge... gargantuan... massive, not just in size (a hefty 918 pages including appendices) but in scope and appeal. It's the hip, readable heir to Gravity's Rainbow and the Illuminatus trilogy. And it's only the first of a proposed series--for more information, read our interview with Stephenson. Cryptonomicon zooms all over the world, careening conspiratorially back and forth between two time periods--World War II and the present. Our 1940s heroes are the brilliant mathematician Lawrence Waterhouse, cryptanalyst extraordinaire, and gung ho, morphine-addicted marine Bobby Shaftoe. They're part of Detachment 2702, an Allied group trying to break Axis communication codes while simultaneously preventing the enemy from figuring out that their codes have been broken. Their job boils down to layer upon layer of deception. Dr. Alan Turing is also a member of 2702, and he explains the unit's strange workings to Waterhouse. "When we want to sink a convoy, we send out an observation plane first.... Of course, to observe is not its real duty--we already know exactly where the convoy is. Its real duty is to be observed.... Then, when we come round and sink them, the Germans will not find it suspicious." All of this secrecy resonates in the present-day story line, in which the grandchildren of the WWII heroes--inimitable programming geek Randy Waterhouse and the lovely and powerful Amy Shaftoe--team up to help create an offshore data haven in Southeast Asia and maybe uncover some gold once destined for Nazi coffers. To top off the paranoiac tone of the book, the mysterious Enoch Root, key member of Detachment 2702 and the Societas Eruditorum, pops up with an unbreakable encryption scheme left over from WWII to befuddle the 1990s protagonists with conspiratorial ties. Cryptonomicon is vintage Stephenson from start to finish: short on plot, but long on detail so precise it's exhausting. Every page has a math problem, a quotable in-joke, an amazing idea, or a bit of sharp prose. Cryptonomicon is also packed with truly weird characters, funky tech, and crypto--all the crypto you'll ever need, in fact, not to mention all the computer jargon of the moment. A word to the wise: if you read this book in one sitting, you may die of information overload (and starvation). --Therese Littleton

1166797

1999

Cryptonomicon

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5 11 false false Sat Jan 26 14:39:54 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 24 09:59:29 -0700 2007 Sat Dec 15 22:34:41 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 9 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 16 14:51:19 -0700 2007 Mon Feb 02 10:38:30 -0800 2009
Alright, a quick intro snipped from Amazon:

"Cryptonomicon zooms all over the world, careening conspiratorially back and forth between two time periods--World War II and the present. Our 1940s hero...more...]]> 5 7 false false Wed Apr 08 09:53:23 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 02 15:34:08 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 08 09:53:23 -0700 2009
Note: This review is from my blog, circa 2005.

I finished reading Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson about a week ago. It took me over a month to finish, not because it wasn't great and exciting, but because it was 937 fucking pag...more...]]> 4 5 false false Mon May 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Dec 18 07:09:07 -0800 2007 Wed Feb 25 01:53:41 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 6 false false Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Wed Sep 26 12:59:11 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 27 04:32:42 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 4 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Feb 25 17:57:11 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 27 12:27:25 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 4 false false Tue Jan 27 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Dec 06 15:30:39 -0800 2007 Tue Jan 27 20:45:25 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 6 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 23 20:28:15 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 08 17:23:16 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 3 false false Wed Jul 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 29 13:19:49 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 24 03:57:53 -0700 2008 Lisp, to qoute L. Peter Deutsch, can make you realise th...more...]]> 3 2 false false Mon Feb 11 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 30 21:11:40 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 30 21:13:46 -0700 2008
I liked the book a lot, but things about it have made me develop a whole speil. The story was great, interesting historical/thrill fiction. But! He could have easily cut a good 1/3 out of the book and it would have been fine. Mr Stephenson loves takin...more...]]> 5 4 false false Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Thu Oct 11 13:02:51 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 11 13:23:49 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 3 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Wed Aug 08 21:47:01 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 08 22:31:47 -0700 2007
It is a semi-historical adventure, so there's something for f...more...]]> 5 3 false false Thu Jan 31 13:05:31 -0800 2008 Thu Aug 02 19:31:53 -0700 2007 Thu Jan 31 13:04:56 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 3 false false Tue Oct 14 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 27 06:43:06 -0700 2007 Wed Feb 25 01:53:36 -0800 2009 3 Snow Crash will probably remain my all-time favorite Neal Stephenson novel, Cryptonomicon might take the crown as his best.[†:] As I write this review, I wrapping up my third reading of this novel.

BRIEF ASIDE REGARDING THE TIMING OF THIS THIRD READING: It is probably worth not...more...]]> 5 3 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat May 19 14:26:29 -0700 2007 Wed Feb 25 01:53:35 -0800 2009 more...]]> 1 1 true false Fri Sep 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 25 08:33:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 25 15:41:02 -0700 2009
Firstly, I did that This American Life offer with Audible so I could try it for a few weeks and get a free book out of the deal.

First off, Audible isn't particularly good. Though one credit generally will get you a book a month, their defin...more...]]> 3 2 false false Fri Oct 24 13:50:13 -0700 2008 Wed Feb 25 01:53:50 -0800 2009 Snow Crash or The Diamond Age. No matter now good they are, they will never be that much fun.)more...]]> 4 2 false false Tue Jan 13 01:17:52 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 01:46:39 -0800 2009
This is a brilliant book.

Not science fiction, really. More like history-of-science fiction. A World War II cryptography/adventure/treasure hunting story, with an overlarge dose of modern international computer corporation politics thrown in for good measure. Full of di...more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Sep 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 13 20:39:41 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 29 09:26:21 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 29 13:36:48 -0700 2008 Thu May 29 20:56:44 -0700 2008 more...]]>