Anathem in The Sword and Laser

Jul 31, 2012 Ashley rated it really liked it

I admit, I’m a Stephenson fan. Not everyone is. I’ve read almost everything he’s ever put into print. His ideas thrill my imagination on a myriad of levels. Mostly though, he combines the excitement I get when doing recreational math with my love of a well turned phrase. Yes I said it, recreational math. Math makes me happy for some reason. It makes me feel as if the entire universe is spread out before me.

Anathem I recommend to very few, as much as I enjoyed it. You need to enjoy logic, mathema I admit, I’m a Stephenson fan. Not everyone is. I’ve read almost everything he’s ever put into print. His ideas thrill my imagination on a myriad of levels. Mostly though, he combines the excitement I get when doing recreational math with my love of a well turned phrase. Yes I said it, recreational math. Math makes me happy for some reason. It makes me feel as if the entire universe is spread out before me.

Anathem I recommend to very few, as much as I enjoyed it. You need to enjoy logic, mathematics, philosophy, and science fiction methinks. There aren’t a lot of people who fit that bill. It took me a bit to get into it, primarily because it was written in the first person. “I” don’t think that, you know? While first person isn’t as jarring as second, it still jars me, and it always says something about the quality of writing/story that I’m able to get past it. Even when I manage to read it I’m still mad at it, but not this time. I’m not entirely sure when Anathem drew me in, it was sneaky though. Every single time I was ready to put it down, Stephenson would do something that would guarentee I keep reading. So much so, that it was a totally different book at the end than the one I felt like I started reading.

Also? I really really recommend reading on the Kindle. I’m not a person who’s intimidated by length of tomes. Several that I have spoken to have mentioned the length of Anathem as holding them back, which drew a puzzled expression from me. It took me a bit to realize why my inner puzzlement was so great, because well, even with the progress bar, the Kindle is the great equalizer. So much so I just had to look up the page count, 960. Interesting. Which I suppose explains why it took me three days to read instead of one.

I’ve had a few conversations with various persons since reading it regarding Stephenson in general. It surprises me that I didn’t realize before his tendency to not commit to an ending and muddle about. I suppose because he was distracting me with his other hand whilst others were waiting for progression of plot. Silly me. But it explains why people I thought should love it, had some difficulty with Cryptonomicon. So much so, I need to re-examine my placement of it in the heirarchy of books I consider “good”.

Point is, Anathem stays on target throughout. Regardless of its length, it progresses, constantly. It avoids all the reasons people who say they enjoy the author don’t pick him up. Possibly his best work to date, even though I won’t claim its his most accessible. I wasn’t really interested in it until I kept noting the acclaim it was receiving, acclaim his other books didn’t really receive. Hmm, I’m not even sure why I wasn’t really interested in it come to think on it. Perhaps because of the long trudge it was to get through the Baroque cycle, hah, no, no perhaps about that. It was bloody work. And you might not know this, but I don’t actually like work. ...more

Like · see review

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

Like · see review

Nov 27, 2010 Jade Meskill rated it it was amazing

A little slow to start, and quite a dense read, but I kept pushing through and then couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed the attention to detail, even though it made it quite a lengthly novel. Unique and worth the read, one of my favorite Stephenson books so far. ...more

Like · see review

Nov 03, 2008 Dana rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction

I read this book in three days while on my honeymoon, and it was fantastic. I'd been looking forward to it for a long time, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. I pretty much love everything Stephenson writes, though, so this likely isn't a surprise. It's been a month since I read it, and I still haven't figured out a way to describe it without giving too much away or making things confusing, but in general I can say that I found the society he created around the Millenium Clocks fasci ...more

Like · see review

May 11, 2009 Walt O'Hara rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

Outstanding stuff. A little sleepy at the start, but what a world (worlds!) this is. I loved it.

Like · see review

Aug 18, 2008 Turi Becker rated it it was amazing

I would love to write a big, meaningful review of Neal Stephenson's latest, but I just can't seem to find the words. Instead, I'll give my normal, no-spoiler capsule review. Cloistered monks. Philosophy, religion. Multiple universe theory. All wrapped up in a big science fiction/adventure package, with Stephenson's trademark flashes of humor thrown in. I, at least, REALLY enjoyed it. ...more

Like · see review

Sep 01, 2009 Heather rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, favorites

As I delved into this volume I determined I was much too dense to understand a word of it. However, stubborness, and an unfolding storyline began to captivate my interest. I soon learned that there was a method to the theoric, mathic madness of Fraa Erasmus' world and became not only intrigued, but obsessed. ...more

Like · see review