From the Bookshelf of The Sword and Laser…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought
Pretty much everything that happened in this book caught me unawares. It was just so random and bizarre that I only ever saw one thing coming. And the long-winded lectures on quantum theory and other topics got to be a bit much after a while. But I did enjoy the general story line of the book. There were a couple glaring errors that any good editor should have found, which are always annoying in a book. So while this book was entertaining, it in no way entranced me like Stephenson's other books
...more
I picked it up since it's a Hugo nominee. I only got half way through it...I borrowed it from the library and someone else has a hold on it. I love Stephenson's world-building and prose, but he's disappointed me gravely with his endings before. I tried reading the last chapter, which seemed okay but ended with a clunker of a line; and I read some of the next to last chapter. Looking at the summary on wikipedia, it looks like I passed over the bits that would have driven me crazy. I would still p
...more
Started out extremely slow for me, but picked up. It is hard reading due to the introduction of so many new words. But once they settle into your mind, the reading becomes far easier.
Some slow parts in the middle, but it was still a page turner for me. The ending was also interesting and unexpected. If you don't mind putting in a little work when you start the book, it should pay off. ...more
Some slow parts in the middle, but it was still a page turner for me. The ending was also interesting and unexpected. If you don't mind putting in a little work when you start the book, it should pay off. ...more
One of his best - still jam-packed with gorgeous language and ideas as usual, but much more of a driving plot than many of his previous efforts.
For me the best part of this book was exploring the world Stephenson built of academics in literal ivory towers as a kind of priest class, and I became less interested when the plot turned up. Even then it remained an interesting exploration of the many-world's hypothesis through a fictional narrative, even if, as usual, it got a bit messy at the end.
...more
Very enjoyable; be warned, the book introduces new words for things and concepts, and you have to dive in. I really liked it.
fiction,speculative
Dec 16, 2008
Ryan Mac
marked it as to-read
Jan 11, 2009
Chris Leon
marked it as to-read
Apr 09, 2009
Diana
marked it as to-read
May 18, 2009
Matthew
marked it as to-read
Jan 03, 2012
Jon Wills
marked it as to-read
