Anathem in The Sword and Laser

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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Jun 10, 2009 Novel Currents rated it liked it

Oh goodness. Where to begin? Is this an enjoyable book? Yes. Is it the best science fiction I've ever read? Hardly. Are there some interesting, if not earth shattering, ideas peppered throughout this novel? Yes. Would I read it again? No.

Parts of Anathem are a rip-roaring, page-turning read. Parts are dreadfully boring. Stephenson's mistake is that, unfortunately, he simply hasn't built a story as interesting as the ideas in his novel. And that's a shame, because the ideas here are loads of fun. ...more

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May 18, 2009 Bryant rated it it was amazing

What a book. This is Neal Stephenson at his nerdiest. Some say that Anathem is more of a text book about phys than a fiction book, some say the first half rips off Harry Potter, some get angry at the use of a made up language, and others claim that they thought the concept was lame.

To these people, I say bah. I enjoyed this book TONS more than the Baroque cycle, but that is most likely because I understood the subject matter in this book. Much like the Baroque cycle was heavy on history and pol What a book. This is Neal Stephenson at his nerdiest. Some say that Anathem is more of a text book about phys than a fiction book, some say the first half rips off Harry Potter, some get angry at the use of a made up language, and others claim that they thought the concept was lame.

To these people, I say bah. I enjoyed this book TONS more than the Baroque cycle, but that is most likely because I understood the subject matter in this book. Much like the Baroque cycle was heavy on history and political science, Anathem is heavy on physics, astronomy, cosmology, astrophysics, and metaphysics. Luckily, I love all these things, and add that the main characters are, for lack of a better word, "physics monks", academics who are cloistered apart from society so their learnings and discoveries won't destroy the rest of civilization.

All in all, I found the 900 page book to be a real burning read, but not only because I was itching to find out what happened next, I was also immersed in their world. Many critics bash Anathem for going into heavy detail and conversations about the above subjects, which may be true, but it is crucial to the story, and crucial to the characters involved. These are people that are used to having dialogs, all day, every day, so why would they act any different in a time of crisis? Would Stephen Hawking pick up a flamethrower to push back the zombie horde? No, he'd probably figure out how to bend time, and teleport himself somewhere. But back to the flow of the book. I can understand how it would be slow for people who don't like physics and cosmology, but I found myself welcomed into a conversation.

As for the made up language: 1)There's an extensive glossary in the back. 2)There are many inserts with definitions of important words that have just been used, or will be used soon. But I found myself looking to the glossary very rarely, because most of the words can be figured out from context. To say someone put a geometric calca on a chalkboard showing that the angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees tells me that calca = proof. And many of the made up words are similar to their English counterparts, such as dialog instead of debate(and the English "dialog" would suffice, as well), arks instead of churches, fraa instead of "brother" or "father"(in the monkish world), suur instead of "sister"(monkish), Saunt or Savant instead of Saint, it all makes easy sense to me.

Even with all of the above stated, there IS a good story there. Its not as action packed as Snow Crash, Zodiac, or even Diamond Age. Its a good ride the whole way though, and reminds me of Cryptonomicon's tale as told from the modern day Waterhouse. Travels far and wide, unseen difficulties overcome by a distinctly non-superhero person. Towards the end of the book, I had to re-read a few sections to make sure I comprehended what was going on, but once I did, I was glad of it.

In short, I grokked this book(Anathem wasn't the first sci-fi book with made up words, naysayers) and would happily recommend it to anyone who wonders about the universe around them and how it works. I'll be sure to read this again one day, its going in my favorites pile.

One last word: Don't read the foreword. It ruins some surprises. ...more

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Aug 04, 2009 Tom rated it really liked it

Shelves: hard-copy

I wish I could have given this book five stars, but reading this book was such an investment of time & concentration (1000+ pages, a large number of made-up terms and references), it actually detracted from the enjoyment of it. I felt it didn't quite rate a "perfect" score.

It's mind boggling that Stephenson can dream up a universe of such depth and complexity. The story here is set in an alternate universe where scientists, philosophers and physicists have separated themselves from society in cl ...more

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Jan 03, 2011 Alec rated it it was amazing

It is extraordinarily difficult for me to put in to words exactly how amazing I found this book to be. It was so well crafted in so many ways that any attempt to do it full justice is doomed to rambling impotence. Suffice it to say that almost every tool of the narrative trade is here woven together in a feat of symphonic virtuosity unequaled in my experience. This may not be the greatest book ever written, but I have certainly never read another that registered with me so flawlessly. I will mos ...more

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