This book is classic Stephenson wrapped in a Techno "Thriller" -- The quotes are used due to the book's length (1000+ pages!) and Stephenson's writing style which doesn't really lend itself to the hard hitting, plot driven books usually classified as "thrillers"

I love Stephenson -- Cryptonomicon is probably my all time favorite novel. So while I enjoyed it (though it took a long time to read) casual fans may have a harder time digesting this one. The first third of the book (which at 300+ pages could be its own novel) feels like a straight forward thriller -- you're not sure what's going to happen, but you know the general direction it's heading in. Then, effectively all hell breaks loose and Stephenson manages to start 4+ threads going simultaneously and does a good job of bringing it all back together for a thrilling Hollywood-esque conclusion. The middle third of the book takes a committed reader to not abandon things.

I wished there was a bit more of Stephenson's quintessential humor thrown into the mix.

Bottom line: I liked the book because Stephenson wrote it. Fans of his work will probably enjoy it. New readers to Neal Stephenson: I recommend reading "Snow Crash" and "Cryptonomicon" to see if you enjoy his style for reading this one.