Anathem in Beyond Reality

Sep 14, 2010 Sandi rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, sci-fi, e-books

It took more than a year, but I finally finished Anathem. It had some really good parts, but it was surrounded by a bunch of really boring parts. By the last 100 pages, I just stopped caring. However, one thing you find with an e-reader is that the book you haven't finished just sits there mocking you, letting you know how close you are to the end. So, my Nook guilted me into finishing. The ending was pretty good, but it took way too long to get there. ...more

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Aug 18, 2009 Mike rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, audio, owned, standalone

Writing this review is going to be a challenge. I mean, how do I write a piece of commentary that adequately relates all of my thoughts and feelings about Anathem, Neal Stephenson's masterwork of epic science fiction storytelling? I'm not sure yet, but I'm going to give it a shot.

First off, you may notice that I only gave the novel 4 stars. That's simply because I base my star rating on how much I enjoy a novel, not necessarily on its quality or literary value. Although I recognize Anathem for w Writing this review is going to be a challenge. I mean, how do I write a piece of commentary that adequately relates all of my thoughts and feelings about Anathem, Neal Stephenson's masterwork of epic science fiction storytelling? I'm not sure yet, but I'm going to give it a shot.

First off, you may notice that I only gave the novel 4 stars. That's simply because I base my star rating on how much I enjoy a novel, not necessarily on its quality or literary value. Although I recognize Anathem for what it is, a brilliant piece of literature, independent of genre, I must admit that there are simply other novels that I have enjoyed more thoroughly, including Stephenson's own cyberpunk classic, Snowcrash.

With that said, let me start by saying that there were many elements of this novel that I did thoroughly enjoyed. To start with, I really liked the characters. Erasmus was an excellent protagonist that I could easily relate to and he was complimented with excellent secondary characters.

I also loved the world that Stephenson created. I don't think I've ever encountered such rich and detailed world building in a science fiction novel before. The universe was incredibly interesting and shockingly familiar, and that familiarity made the story all the more intriguing. I couldn't wait for more secrets of the universe (or should I say multiverse?) to be revealed. It was fascinating to learn how all of the worlds and races were interconnected.

In addition to the broader universe, the localized monastery was so intricately imagined, I was nearly dumbfounded. Needless to say, at some point, I stopped trying to figure out how the damn thing was laid out. It was far too complex for me to wrap my head around without a blueprint of some sort.

That is actually probably one of my few complaints. Although I loved the extreme detail of the architecture, I just couldn't follow it all. I don't know if that's the fault of the author or my own lack of imagination, but it was a little frustrating at times when I would realize that I just had no idea how Saunt Edhar looked. I even tried a Google search and was shocked that I couldn't find an image! I guess I wasn't the only one who was perplexed.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only time I was confused. I don't believe that I'm unintelligent, but my math education ended with pre-Calculus and, while I grasped most of the mathematical principles from the novel, it was sometimes a bit much to follow, especially considering that I listened to the audiobook, usually while driving.

I've listened quite a few audiobooks now and I've found that some novels translate really well--the drama and pace being perfect for an oral performance--and some don't work as well. Although I thought the novel was narrated very well, it was just a bit complex for an audio only experience. There were passages that I would have liked to reread and points when I would have like to pause and consider something. That is possible with an audiobook of course, but not nearly as convenient. It's also quite hard to go back and refer to something from a previous chapter.

I think the biggest issue with listening to the novel, rather than reading, it was missing out on seeing the unique spelling of the novel's vocabulary. I knew that there were spelling differences based on the narrators pronunciation, but I really wished that I could also see how the words were spelled. It felt like I was missing an important part of the novel.

Overall, the plot was excellent and well executed. There was plenty of drama, mystery, and suspense, despite the fact that there was little actual violence.

I would heartily recommend Anathem to any science fiction reader. It really was an excellent novel and I'm sure it will be long regarded as a classic. ...more

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Apr 03, 2009 Mosca rated it really liked it

Stephenson is definitely worth the effort it takes to wrestle his worlds into your brain. This is a philosophic speculation that has many abstruse dialogs possibly too dense for the casual reader, but that I felt were essential to the book's world building.

"Anathem" also stands the church/state relationship on its head by adding a third group--the Avout who seem to be a sort of cloistered philosopher/scientist discipline. But as the story develops, their status is more clearly understood--as is ...more

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May 31, 2010 Bill rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy

I read this 2 years ago and frankly don't remember a thing about it. Even reading others reviews doesn't flush out a memory. Would that I'd review these things if only to serve my memory... Perhaps it's yet another sign of a creeping dementia. Aging sucks!! ...more

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Sep 28, 2009 nimrodiel rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, 2009-books-read

I've been a fan of Neal Stephenson's books since I first read Snowcrash many many years ago. However, I had a hard time with this book. It wasn't the focus on hard science rather than computers. It wasn't the fact he went from the more cyberpunk plot to a fantastical world of monastaries and cloistered academics. It had a little to do with all the alternate words used for names of places and items and events.

The biggest hindrance that I had with the book was all the length to the build-up of the ...more

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May 10, 2009 Ken rated it it was amazing

This book was by far the best book I have read in a long time. While the book is the most action packed book I have ever read, I did not mind that. the coversations the characters had were interesting.
I opened this book with great trepidation, after the badness that was his Baroque trilogy this was a breath of fresh air. Back to his roots.
The book is kinda tough to start, cause he uses a whole different language but eventually it all starts to click in and you start to get the meaning.
The book d ...more

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Feb 06, 2009 Shellie (Layers of Thought) rated it did not like it

Shelves: read-abandoned, spec-fic-science-fiction

I got through the first 30 pages and gave up. I recommend this book for die hard sci-fi/math/history lovers. The author has included mathematical equations - which are discussed in length at the back of the book, a preface of historical events which lead up to when the story start, and its own language. Too much work for me.

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