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nachofergie's review against another edition
4.0
Bought this book at our local independent bookstore as a "summer read". First paper-based book I'd bought in ages... forgotten how heavy books can be (especially as this one runs around 1100 pages). Hugely enjoyable. Neal Stephenson has such a command of language, his books are always a pleasure to read. I love his observations, his wit, his characters. This one is an international cyber-thriller, multi-generational novel and fast-paced farcical romp - rolled into one. All very well executed. I'd give it 5 stars but then Snowcrash would need a 6th star.
jennywt's review
4.0
A fun, interesting page-turner. Not a poetic piece of literature and didn't leave me with much to ponder, but still great. Had some cheesy story elements, but overall an engaging story with likable lead characters. Whipped through it.
phillybass's review
5.0
Reamde is one of my favorite science fiction books. I read it first a few years after the book was published. Now I have read it for a second time in 2021 and I like it even better. The writing style is vivid and exciting, with well developed characters.
neophi's review
4.0
An enjoyable world encompassing romp building heavily on computer geekery circa 2010. At times bogged down in extraneous exposition it otherwise follows a fanciful but plausible storyline, casts intriguing characters, and concludes with one of his better written endings.
starsal's review
4.0
I read a review of this book which said this is Stephenson's most "accessible" novel to date. And that was meant as a bad thing. I don't really understand this attitude that books that are easy to understand ("accessible") are necessarily bad. I don't like poorly-written, simply plotted, shallow books, but just because something is relatively easy to follow doesn't make it bad, even if it's a Neal Stephenson novel. REAMDE is, indeed most likely Stephenson's most "accessible" novel to date. But I'm OK with that.
After [b:Anathem|2845024|Anathem|Neal Stephenson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1224107150s/2845024.jpg|6163095] he deserved a nice popcorn-y break, and it was fun for everyone involved. It's certainly not his most original, erudite, thought-provoking, or creative novel, but it's pure Stephenson fun. Fast-paced, funny, with wonderfully scientific notions and dialog (but, again, not too heavy) and fantastic Stephensonian characters, this is a wonderful romp of an adventure novel.
One might even call it a thriller. In fact, I think you might almost have to call it a thriller. In most books (or at least most books I read) the pace throughout is varied: There are fast action sequences interspersed with passages set at a slower pace. This book wasn't like that; it was all one headlong rush. That was my only complaint about it. The plot moved so fast that it left the reader breathless, and needing to take breaks from the books just to regain composure and focus.
But that's the worst thing I can say about the book. Mostly it's just pure fun, in the way only Stephenson can deliver. I highly recommend it. I read it on my honeymoon, the first book I ever read on my Kindle. It was perfect: funny, fast-paced, thought-provoking to just the right degree and eminently enjoyable.
After [b:Anathem|2845024|Anathem|Neal Stephenson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1224107150s/2845024.jpg|6163095] he deserved a nice popcorn-y break, and it was fun for everyone involved. It's certainly not his most original, erudite, thought-provoking, or creative novel, but it's pure Stephenson fun. Fast-paced, funny, with wonderfully scientific notions and dialog (but, again, not too heavy) and fantastic Stephensonian characters, this is a wonderful romp of an adventure novel.
One might even call it a thriller. In fact, I think you might almost have to call it a thriller. In most books (or at least most books I read) the pace throughout is varied: There are fast action sequences interspersed with passages set at a slower pace. This book wasn't like that; it was all one headlong rush. That was my only complaint about it. The plot moved so fast that it left the reader breathless, and needing to take breaks from the books just to regain composure and focus.
But that's the worst thing I can say about the book. Mostly it's just pure fun, in the way only Stephenson can deliver. I highly recommend it. I read it on my honeymoon, the first book I ever read on my Kindle. It was perfect: funny, fast-paced, thought-provoking to just the right degree and eminently enjoyable.
tranquilitycase's review against another edition
4.0
Really, really good. Hackers, rogue MI6 agents, MMORPGs, Russian mobsters, Chinese-style capitalism, jihadists, guns, and nice Iowa farm families. Non-stop excitement with a side of braininess.
dknippling's review
5.0
I love Neail Stephenson books. Sorry, I just do; I know there are flaws and I know they go on and on, but there you go. So don't expect a well-reasoned review here. BUT there were two things that especially impressed me here:
1) The description of the re-u at the beginning. Ah, the Midwest. Every line of description rang so, so true.
2) The ending was not his usual train wreck that slips out of your mind (I mean, really - think about Snow Crash. What do you remember about the ending other than "there was a dude with a nuke and glass knives, something about a refugee boat raft thingy, and the Mafia guy wanted to adopt YT"?) as being just too over the top to grasp. It might sound patronizing, but good job, guy, I liked it.
1) The description of the re-u at the beginning. Ah, the Midwest. Every line of description rang so, so true.
2) The ending was not his usual train wreck that slips out of your mind (I mean, really - think about Snow Crash. What do you remember about the ending other than "there was a dude with a nuke and glass knives, something about a refugee boat raft thingy, and the Mafia guy wanted to adopt YT"?) as being just too over the top to grasp. It might sound patronizing, but good job, guy, I liked it.
mindstab's review
1.0
Not at all what I was expecting from a Neal Stephenson novel. Still a decent amount of his ramblings but seemed somehow greatly less relevant or interesting (to me at least). I gave up around half way through the book,
bukephalas's review
2.0
Stephenson takes a lot of liberties here. I find it hard to believe that two people randomly plucked from China have such fluent English (or all the other people picked from non-English-speaking countries)...it's a little silly to make such an assumption.
That said, this book is good fun and a pretty quick read for the length, and quite enjoyable. I am always interested in Stephenson's ideas on currency and cryptography and wish this book had had a bit more of those. Should have stuck with the hackers more and the terrorists less (speaking of which, cliche anyone?!). And please (spoiler alert!), not everyone has to get romantically involved at the end, that was lame.
That said, this book is good fun and a pretty quick read for the length, and quite enjoyable. I am always interested in Stephenson's ideas on currency and cryptography and wish this book had had a bit more of those. Should have stuck with the hackers more and the terrorists less (speaking of which, cliche anyone?!). And please (spoiler alert!), not everyone has to get romantically involved at the end, that was lame.
keithlafo's review against another edition
5.0
Talk about a book that's deceptively fast-paced.
At first glance, you would not think Reamde reads like a tense action-thriller. It's 1000 pages long, loaded with long passages detailing the minutiae of different events and tasks, and it starts off pretty slow. However, in a matter of a few hundred pages, this book takes off and it doesn't stop until the final page.
Another reviewer described this as "14 Die Hards squished together", and while initially balked at such a description, I'm here to say that it is indeed apt. This book manages to cram a ton of action and suspense into its narrative without ever spiraling out of control. In fact, it's a testament to Stephenson's prose and storytelling that you know exactly what's going on at all times, and can easily follow each of the many characters, without ever feeling like you don't know what's happening.
I'm excited to dive into Stephenson's other books.
At first glance, you would not think Reamde reads like a tense action-thriller. It's 1000 pages long, loaded with long passages detailing the minutiae of different events and tasks, and it starts off pretty slow. However, in a matter of a few hundred pages, this book takes off and it doesn't stop until the final page.
Another reviewer described this as "14 Die Hards squished together", and while initially balked at such a description, I'm here to say that it is indeed apt. This book manages to cram a ton of action and suspense into its narrative without ever spiraling out of control. In fact, it's a testament to Stephenson's prose and storytelling that you know exactly what's going on at all times, and can easily follow each of the many characters, without ever feeling like you don't know what's happening.
I'm excited to dive into Stephenson's other books.