rossbm's review against another edition
4.0
This is my second time reading Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age. I was prompted to reread it based on the fact that it features an educational book that customizes itself to the reader in order to accelerate their progress. Given the recent advancements in AI, in particular, in large language models, it seems that we are closer to creating something similar. For example, Khan Academy recently announced a personalized AI tutor.
The book does a good job of demonstrating how such a tool would work, and story of Nell, a young girl who gains access to such a book, is the most interesting. The idea of “phyles”, self-organizing sovereign entities based on culture and creed rather than territory is also interesting, especially when combined with the centralized nanotechnology fabricators.
However, other parts of the book are weaker, especially the underwater sex drummers as well as the Chinese civil war, neither of which are well explained or believable.
Overall, Diamond Age is a good book that is worth a read despite it’s weaker parts.
The book does a good job of demonstrating how such a tool would work, and story of Nell, a young girl who gains access to such a book, is the most interesting. The idea of “phyles”, self-organizing sovereign entities based on culture and creed rather than territory is also interesting, especially when combined with the centralized nanotechnology fabricators.
However, other parts of the book are weaker, especially the underwater sex drummers as well as the Chinese civil war, neither of which are well explained or believable.
Overall, Diamond Age is a good book that is worth a read despite it’s weaker parts.
polyesterbebe's review against another edition
3.0
Was hard to follow/read for me, but I'm glad I finished it.
wombat_88's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
downer_crows0m's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
jammasterjamie's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favourite by Stephenson, although I still do have to call it an incredibly well thought-out and imaginative story with some compelling action and inventive science. But, and maybe this is my fault because it has been a very distracting week on the home-front, there were also a lot of parts that were just seemed to sort of drag on into tedium and I found myself losing track of what was going on and therefore having to go back and re-read, only to have it happen again. I love the Cyber-Victorian twist to the genre, but in some ways I think trying to adhere to 19th Century novel structure might have hurt the readability of the story overall. Or, like I said, maybe I was just distracted. Overall, a good story, but not Stephenson's best, and unfortunately that credentials my review as well - If I were to go back and re-read a Stephenson novel, this would probably not be the one I would choose.
zeef's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-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
mdkdub's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
gullevek's review against another edition
3.0
This is my second book from Neal Stephenson and I liked it much more than the first one, Snowcrash. But still I can't help myself that it feels a bit unbaked.
While the basic idea is really great and it starts of very well, it then seems to loose course, drive a long on many paths and at the end gets rushed to a finish that is inconclusive in a view pages.
Still I quite enjoyed this book, but I can't really give it more than three stars. Thought I will read other books from him, because in a basic they are really very enjoy full reads.
While the basic idea is really great and it starts of very well, it then seems to loose course, drive a long on many paths and at the end gets rushed to a finish that is inconclusive in a view pages.
Still I quite enjoyed this book, but I can't really give it more than three stars. Thought I will read other books from him, because in a basic they are really very enjoy full reads.
azzurro22's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
casim's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A masterfully crafted and thoughtful read, combining fairy-tale wonder with counterculture nanopunk
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault