mmparker's review against another edition
4.0
A very interesting descendant of my all-time favorite book, A Canticle for Leibowitz. It's alternately fascinating, tedious, funny, mystical, and thrilling. Anybody who is a dilettante of philosophy and aerospace engineering should consider this one. Stephenson's imagined societies are ultimately a little too similar to each others' and to ours to achieve that magical strange-yet-plausibility that LeGuin so often does, which was my only real disappointment with the book.
bibliophilelinda's review against another edition
3.0
eal's other books are so engrossing. This one, unfortunately, is pretty boring.
tkat's review against another edition
1.0
I tried to read and enjoy this book, but I gave up after two chapters. I have no doubt that it is an excellent fantasy read, but the language that was used simply confused me. I could not follow it at all...
mrepilogue's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
kimu's review against another edition
4.0
November 2008: Initial thoughts... Just to be clear, I didn't like the Baroque Cycle - couldn't ever finish it. I love Stephenson's early work though - [b:Snow Crash|830|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157396730s/830.jpg|493634] is one of my all time favorite novels and I enjoyed Cryptonomicon. I'm finding Anathem to be just as dense and difficult to access as the Baroque Cycle, but I gave it a chance and now that I'm past the first 100 pages, I'm starting to get into the book. I'm still waiting for "the big idea" of the book though - what's the point of the book?
February 2009: This book took me forever to read, partially because it's insanely long but also partly because I kept getting distracted by other faster-paced books. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I would have rated it as a 5-star book, but it seriously could have been about 200 pages shorter and been a better book. I miss Stephenson's earlier novels, which were much tighter and faster-paced. There were a few points in Anathem where the characters were just monologuing needlessly. I'm glad I finished reading it, but these monologue bits made it a bit of a slog at points. Definitely worth reading if you enjoy well-constructed science fiction.
February 2009: This book took me forever to read, partially because it's insanely long but also partly because I kept getting distracted by other faster-paced books. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I would have rated it as a 5-star book, but it seriously could have been about 200 pages shorter and been a better book. I miss Stephenson's earlier novels, which were much tighter and faster-paced. There were a few points in Anathem where the characters were just monologuing needlessly. I'm glad I finished reading it, but these monologue bits made it a bit of a slog at points. Definitely worth reading if you enjoy well-constructed science fiction.
lindsayymack's review
5.0
The world that is created in this book, with its own language and political dramas, I just fell to loving this book and was unable to put it down. Starts a little slow with the "footnoted" dictionary excerpts - which are so well placed throughout the book - ended up loving the characters and trajectory, in spite of somewhat shallow descriptions thereof. I most appreciated understanding the language and logic aspects, so, admitting my nerdiness, maybe not for every reader, but worth a shot for anyone who liked Clockwork Orange, Maze Runner, or any book that slightly challenged your vocabulary and understanding of what is real while solving interesting puzzles.
dhwalter's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
cjelli's review against another edition
5.0
Stephenson's novels have usually walked a tight line between between entertaining action-thrillers and think-pieces on big concepts -- the Baroque Cycle, for example, blended economics, numismatics, mathematical theory with swashbuckling, (literal) piracy, and all manner of heists. If [b:Reamde|10552338|Reamde|Neal Stephenson|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1305993115s/10552338.jpg|15458989] tilted heavily towards the action side of the scale, Anathem tilts to the other: it is Stephenson as his most contemplative, inspired, so he says, by the Long Now project, quantum mechanics, and formal philosophy.
I knew little of the book before reading it, having avoided spoilers, but there were two oft-repeated complaints that I couldn't escape: that it's overlong, and drags in the middle; and that the book's use of invented language is silly and unnecessary. Uncharitable comparisons to the techno-speak of Star Trek & co. are inevitable, but I found that criticism without merit. He has good reasons for wanting to use different words, both from a structural view of establishing the setting, and for thematic reasons that tie back to his particular take on quantum mechanics as detailed in the novel. Similarly, the middle stretch of the novel -- which does, on first read, feel disjointed from the preceding and following chapters -- is rather neatly (albeit never explicitly) justified later; it's nicer to look back on than to read through, perhaps, but it does need to be there.
Saying more than that -- saying anything more at all -- feels spoiler-y, and this is a novel that benefits from being read without expectations.
I knew little of the book before reading it, having avoided spoilers, but there were two oft-repeated complaints that I couldn't escape: that it's overlong, and drags in the middle; and that the book's use of invented language is silly and unnecessary. Uncharitable comparisons to the techno-speak of Star Trek & co. are inevitable, but I found that criticism without merit. He has good reasons for wanting to use different words, both from a structural view of establishing the setting, and for thematic reasons that tie back to his particular take on quantum mechanics as detailed in the novel. Similarly, the middle stretch of the novel -- which does, on first read, feel disjointed from the preceding and following chapters -- is rather neatly (albeit never explicitly) justified later; it's nicer to look back on than to read through, perhaps, but it does need to be there.
Saying more than that -- saying anything more at all -- feels spoiler-y, and this is a novel that benefits from being read without expectations.
kwjr's review against another edition
4.0
Can't believe I ended up really liking this, but I ended up really liking this! The painfully slow introduction of an entire world history and philosophical viewpoint (literally) one definition at a time actually served a purpose and paid off in the end. I'll actually give this a second reading some day - I feel like there's a lot I missed because I was just not into it during the first 2/3rds of the book.
jstamper2022's review
3.0
Just bad. I'm sure some might like it but I don't know how with it's constant philosophical meanderings and mixed with a made up language without the benefit of a dictionary to decipher the meaning.