The Rise And Fall Of D.O.D.O. review

The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. by Neal Stephenson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Some of the most enjoyable (if not the most ambitious) Neal Stephenson novels are ones he wrote in collaboration with another author. This would be a good example. The premise is that magic is a practical use of quantum mechanics that has worked for most of human history, but for a reason explained in the novel stopped working all at once back in the 1850's. A government project is set up to figure out why it stopped working and figure out a way to get it working again, at least on a limited basis. There is reason to believe that a hostile foreign power has already succeeded in doing this.

So what you have here is a novel with a fantasy premise written as if it is based on hard science. Not only that, but the authors succeed in keeping this premise interesting and believable for 752 pages.

The book is an epistolary novel, and the "epistles" include diary entries, email threads, Power Point presentations, etc. I've seen a few science fiction short stories done like this, but I think this may be the only S.F. novel to use this form.

There are quite a few female characters in the book (as witches must be female) and I would guess we have Nicole Galland to credit for making them as interesting and believable as they are.

The book is a great adventure story but Stephenson's sense of humor appears throughout. I can't give examples without spoiling the book, but there are some damned funny situations in this story.




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